Gearbox and Sega are both being sued over the advertising of Aliens: Colonial Marines in a class action lawsuit. The lawsuit alleges that the studio and its publisher deliberately mislead gamers into thinking that the game was something that it wasn't—a good game, and one that looked like the screenshots promoting the title ahead of, and even beyond its release.
Filed by Damion Perrine, the lawsuit seeks damages for people who purchased the game before the discrepancies between the game's advertising and the game itself had become publicly known. Edekson LLC, the law firm representing Perrine, issued the following statement (via Polygon) a few days ago:
"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."
Gearbox and Sega have since responded to the lawsuit, calling it "without merit."
"Attempting to wring a class action lawsuit out of a demonstration is beyond meritless. We continue to support the game, and will defend the rights of entertainers to share their works-in-progress without fear of frivolous litigation."
Who gets the money if the lawsuit is won? Well, everyone who bought the game and felt ripped off by it. That's what a class action lawsuit is. It'll be interesting to see if this goes anywhere.
