Sega And Gearbox Hit With Lawsuit Over False Advertisement

Aliens: Colonial Marines popped up in the news a few times last year, perhaps most notably last summer when word had it the game wouldn't have any female characters, a rumor that was squashed a couple months later. Now that the game has finally released, gamers have discovered a different area that has proved disappointing: the differences between the game demos and the game itself, which is different enough to be false advertisement, according to a recently filed lawsuit.

When you watch a video game trailer and demonstrations, it is both reasonable and logical to expect that the video game will be akin to those demos. As with movies and their pre-release trailers, there might be some slight changes, but overall you expect to receive a product that is by and large what you were shown. This same idea applies to any product, whether it's a used car or an app.

Such wasn't the case with Aliens: Colonial Marines, according to gamers who joined forces to file a class action lawsuit against Sega and Gearbox. The difference between the product they received and the demonstrations they were shown were enough to constitute false advertisement, they said. Press embargos ensured that those who made the purchase before the game was released had no way of knowing the differences.

According to the lawsuit: "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." When questioned by gamers about the issue, Gearbox's Randy Pitchford said that such a question is fair, and that they're looking into it. The lawsuit is being handled by Edelson LLC.

[via Escapist Magazine]