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SEGA and Gearbox are facing a class action lawsuit claiming the pair mislead consumers with advertising which “bore little resemblance to the retail product”.
The lawsuit was filed earlier this week in the Northern District of California court by law firm Edelson LLC on behalf of plaintiff Damion Perrine, reports Polygon.
“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. “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.”
You can see for yourself how the final game differs from earlier footage in our video comparison.
Edelson explained its reasons for taking the case.
“The gaming community had a strong reaction to the release of Aliens: Colonial Marines,” Edelson LLC’s Ben Thomassen told Polygon. “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.”
SEGA and Gearbox are yet to offer comment on the lawsuit, but SEGA Europe has previously admitted that its trailers for Colonial Marines “did not accurately reflect the final content of the game”.
Do you think SEGA and Gearbox has a case to answer to, or is the class action lawsuit a step too far? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
Source: Polygon
