The lawsuit targets game levels, AI behaviour and visual fidelity not present in the final version. Review embargos led to the gamers who pre-ordered ‘left in the dark’ as to the discrepancies.
The legal action being brought against SEGA and Gearbox by Edelson LLC, who is operating on behalf of plaintiff Damion Perrine, is seeking damages for pre-orders.
They also want those who paid for the game at launch to be covered in those damages, again because of the review embargo ‘hiding’ the vast differences between the trade show versions and retail product. Law firm Edelson LLC has gone up against publisher EA and Sony Computer Entertainment America.
Aliens: Colonial Marines has been a critical flop with fans of the Aliens franchise left bewildered by significant plot holes and ultimately a very lacklustre experience.
”Each of the ‘actual gameplay’ demonstrations purported to show consumers exactly what they would be buying: a cutting edge video game with very specific features and qualities,” the claim reads, reports Polygon.
”Unfortunately for their fans, 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.”
Edelson LLC’s Ben Thomassen said of the case: ”We think the video game industry is no different than any other that deals with consumers: if companies like Sega and Gearbox promise their customers one thing but deliver something else, then they should be held accountable for that decision.”
Aliens: Colonial Marines released on Xbox 360, PS3 and back in early February to a Metacritic in the mid-40s.
