So it’s come to this (not that we’re surprised). Sega and Gearbox Studios have been named as defendants in a lawsuit filed by Damion Perrine in the Northern District of California court against. Perrine is seeking to create a class action suit against the publisher and developer of Aliens: Colonial Marines, citing the deceptive and false advertising claims made by both companies during pre-release trade show demonstrations of the game.
Perrine has also used his suit to take aim at the review embargo critics had to operate under for Colonial Marines. According to the suit, because the embargo ended on the game’s release date, pre-order purchasers and early adopters were deprived information necessary to make an informed buying decision. I’m no lawyer, but I believe any judgment in favor of this part of the lawsuit would essentially make pre-selling any item illegal. In hoping for class action status, Perrine is seeking damages for anyone who purchased the game on or before its release date.
A statement from Sega said that Perrine’s lawsuit was “without merit” and the publisher plans to defend it “vigorously.” Gearbox also responded, saying, “We continue to support the game, and will defend the rights of entertainers to share their works-in-progress without fear of frivolous litigation.”
As terrible as this whole situation is, Gearbox does have a point.
