It looks like Sega has finally admitted that Aliens: Colonial Marines was not good enough, though only after being told to by the Advertising Standards Authority in the UK. According to the ASA, four complaints were made against Sega before the company agreed to amend its advertising; trailers for the game (in the UK at least) will now feature a disclaimer informing the viewer that the footage is taken from the demo and not the game itself.
One of those four complaints was from a Redditor who goes by the handle of subpardave, who shared the letter he received from the ASA informing him of Sega's agreement. According to the letter, Sega told the ASA that it wasn't aware of the issues with the quality of the game when the trailers were created, but acknowledged “that the trailers did not accurately reflect the final game”. As a result, Sega will add a disclaimer on its website and to its YouTube content that explains that the footage is from the demo.
Here's the disclaimer currently displayed on the game's website:
“PLEASE NOTE:
The trailer footage shown uses the in-game engine, and represents a work in progress.”
subpardave explained that the motivations behind his complaint had nothing to do with trying to get compensation or to have Sega end up with a big fine:
“The games industry – like any other – needs to be held accountable for blatantly deceiving the consumer. And doubly so when a wall of silence is the only response to resounding criticism for shipping a shoddy product, having shown off one with all the bells and whistles.”
The complainant seems happy with the result. Are you?
