While the Aliens: Colonial Marines fiasco seems to have come and gone (and taught us all a good lesson), one gamer is so angry at Sega, that he has filed a lawsuit against the publisher.
Damion Perrine has accused Sega of delivering a far inferior game to that shown during the marketing period, essentially accusing Sega of the “classic bait-and-switch”, false advertising, breach of warranties, fraud in the inducement, and negligent misrepresentation.
The game itself looked incredibly promising during preview events and demonstrations, yet the retail release was a far cry from what was shown. The game features shoddy textures, simplistic AI and lacked all the dynamic lighting, atmospheric effects and general polish that the demo showcased.
“Defendants never told anyone – consumers, industry critics, reviewers or reporters – that their ‘actual gameplay’ demonstration advertising campaign bore little resemblance to the retail product that would eventually be sold to a large community of unwitting purchasers,” the complaint states.
Perrine feels that gamers were completely blind-sided, and were delivered something that was essentially nothing like the promised product.
“As such, these ‘actual gameplay’ demonstrations – which were defendants’ primary (if not only) method of advertising ‘Aliens: Colonial Marines’ – served as public, pre-release guarantees: put your money down, and you’ll receive at least what you saw in the demos – which showcased the game’s graphics engine, level design, and artificial intelligence, among other specific qualities and features.”
Do you think Perrine is in the right to sue Sega? Do you think publishers should take responsibility for misrepresentation of games?
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