Sega og Gearbox sagsøgt

Gearbox Software er muligvis mest kendt for Borderlands og Borderlands 2, som på mange måder er blandt mine favoritspil, men studiet er for tiden havnet i en storm af ulykker. Årsagen bag Gearbox' triste stund kommer i form af deres seneste udgivelse, Aliens: Colonial Marines, der har skuffet både fans af serien og gamere generelt.

Det står faktisk så ilde til, at både Sega og Gearbox netop er blevet sagsøgt ved et såkaldt class action lawsuit. Søgsmålet udføres af advokatfirmaet Edelson, som tidligere har sagsøgt EA for ikke at levere på et løfte. Edelson sagsøgte de to studier i mandags, hvorfor sagen stadig er i sin spæde begyndelse, men de forudser dog et favorabelt resultat.

Men hvad er problemet, egentlig? Ser du, Aliens: Colonial Marines er ikke blot et skuffende spil. Det er et tilfælde, hvor udvikleren har vist en demo, som ikke indikerer det rigtige produkt. Det er da meget normalt, at en demo ikke nøjagtigt viser produktet, men det er ikke normalt, at demoen er væsentligt bedre end selve spillet. Utallige fejl, glitches, bugs, tåbelig A.I., grafisk inkonsistens, etc. beviser, at demoen var manipuleret for at sælge et på alle måder underlegent produkt. Mange gamere og fans blev naturligvis stødt af denne praksis. Tingene blev ikke bedre, da Randy Pitchford (chef for Gearbox) bekræftede uoverensstemmelsen mellem demo og spil.

Tiden vil nu vise, om Sega og Gearbox skal en tur i retten. Det er vanskeligt at have sympati med Gearbox i en tid som denne, og jeg håber, at de mange fans og gamere får refunderet deres penge. Aliens: Colonial Marines har vanæret branchen, og det skal de ikke slippe af sted med.


English version:

Gearbox Software may be mostly known for Borderlands and Borderlands 2, which are among my favorite games, but the studio is now in a bit of trouble. The reason why the studio is facing sad times come in the form of their latest game: Aliens Colonial Marines. The game has disappointed both fans of the series and gamers in general.

In fact, things are so bad for Gearbox that a class action lawsuit now targets both them and Sega. The lawfirm filing the case, Edelson, has previously sued EA for not delivering on a promise, and they predict a favorable outcome. However, the case was filed only a few days ago so at this point it's hard to expect anything, but it does look favorable for the consumers.

So what seems to be the problem, officer? You see, Aliens: Colonial Marines isn't merely a bad and disappointing game. It's a case where the developers showed a demo that didn't indicate the quality of the final product. But it's kind of ordinary that a demo doesn't exactly show the end product, but it's definitely not ordinary for the demo to be vastly superior. Numerous flaws, bugs, glitches, foolish A.I. and graphical inconsistencies prove, that the demo was purposely manipulated to sell an inferior product. Many gamers and fans were of course offended by this. Things didn't get better when Randy Pitchford, president for Gearbox, admitted the discrepancy between the demo and the game.

Time will tell if the case will see the inside of a courtroom but it's definitely tough to feel any sympathy with Sega and Gearbox at this point. I sincerely hope that everyone gets a refund because Aliens: Colonial Marines has disgraced the industry and the developers should not get away with it.