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Pitchford: Fans wrong to sue Gearbox over Aliens: Colonial Marines

MattyG

Banned
Pitchford also expressed that he believes that the market should judge a product, not the legal system.
This is true.

Until you straight up lie about your product with false advertising. You know, like breaking the law.
 

Hektor

Member
About that...

Didn't the documents reveal that Sega moved the game away from what it was originally (Alien 3rd person RPG) and turned it into a shooter with the manifesto specifically targetting Call of Duty?

Sounds like they both messed up but I think Sega should be holding a huge part of the blame here.

Thats not true. The RPG which was supposed to be developed by obsidian entertainment was a different game than Colonial Marines, which was always supposed to be a FPS.

Here is a news article from 2006:
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/obsidian-developing-segas-alien-rpg/1100-6163134/
 
Any more examples like these floating around? I guess I'm having a hard time not seeing both as really cruddy looking. Which is why I'm a little confused as the singling out of this game as an example of "false advertising" enough for it to go to court. I realize as well that the game itself is a turd but where is the line drawn for the wide amount of games that we take our lumps on when they fail to live up to their pre-release promise?

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/jimquisition/6832-A-LIE-ns-Colonial-Marines

this wasn't downgrading or anything like that watchodgs style, this was straight up fabrication from a "demo" of the game, from i think the E3 before it released.
 
Any more examples like these floating around? I guess I'm having a hard time not seeing both as really cruddy looking. Which is why I'm a little confused as the singling out of this game as an example of "false advertising" enough for it to go to court. I realize as well that the game itself is a turd but where is the line drawn for the wide amount of games that we take our lumps on when they fail to live up to their pre-release promise?

afauvv.gif


This one was mislabeled as the one with the HUD is the final game while the one without it is from the demo.
 

Anung

Un Rama
GAF: I just checked the company log. Dated 0-6-1-2-7-9, signed Pitchford, Randy J. You sent that game out there and you didn't even warn them. Why didn't you warn them, Pitchford?
Pitchford: Okay, look. What if that game didn't even exist, huh? Did you ever think about that? I didn't know! So now, if I went in and made a major development issue out of it, everybody steps in. SEGA steps in, and there are no Metacritic bonuses for anybody; nobody wins. So I made a decision and it was... wrong. It was a bad call, GAF, it was a bad call.
GAF: Bad call?
[GAF grabs Pitchford by his vest, shoves him against a wall]
GAF: This game is *dead*, Pitchford ! Don't you have any idea what you have done here? Well, I'm gonna make sure they nail you right to the wall for this! You're not gonna sleaze your way out of this one! Right to the wall!
[GAF lets go of Pitchford]
Pitchford: GAF...! You know, I... I expected more from you. I thought you'd be smarter than this.
GAF: I'm happy to disappoint you.

***

Pitchford: Look, this is an emotional moment for all of us, okay? I know that. But, let's not make snap judgments, please. This is clearly-clearly an important franchise we're dealing with and I don't think that you or I, or anybody, has the right to arbitrarily trash it.
Bravo!


Did Metacritic scores just drop sharply while I was away?
 

Markitron

Is currently staging a hunger strike outside Gearbox HQ while trying to hate them to death
About that...

Didn't the documents reveal that Sega moved the game away from what it was originally (Alien 3rd person RPG) and turned it into a shooter with the manifesto specifically targetting Call of Duty?

Sounds like they both messed up but I think Sega should be holding a huge part of the blame here.

I distinctly remember seeing screenshots of Colonial Marines in 2007/2008 where it was a tense, squad-based FPS. So if that is true then it happened a long time ago and can't possibly excuse the mess that Colonial Marines was.

Funding a AAA horror game with no shooting was a risky move on Sega's part and they deserve a lot of credit for it.

EDIT:

Thats not true. The RPG which was supposed to be developed by obsidian entertainment was a different game than Colonial Marines, which was always supposed to be a FPS.

Here is a news article from 2006:
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/obsidian-developing-segas-alien-rpg/1100-6163134/

Thereitis.gif
 

Cardon

Member
Just because there are more serious crimes committed in the world makes Pitchford not a criminal? He should not be subjected to the law because he only falsely advertised a product and took the money? It's a waste of the courts time to go after a guy like him?

I agree trying these cases is probably tricky and complicated but Randy thinking he should be off the hook legally sets a bad precedent.

I just said I can partially understand his comment pertaining that to a degree, but personally I do think there should be some sort of legal blowback/judgement on Randy/Gearbox considering what they did both publicly and internally as a company.

Ultimately I do think at some point we'll see a legal case fully go through pertaining to false advertising of game in it's final retail form compared to whatever earlier video or "demo" was shown of it.
 

Toxi

Banned
LOL of course he's going to say the lawsuit was frivolous. That's what any company that got sued will say.

Pitchford is a scumbag and I will never buy a Gearbox game.
 

EDarkness

Member
I was looking forward to this game, too. It's a shame that they totally screwed the pooch. As such, I haven't purchased any other games from them.
 

Spacejaws

Member
Thats not true. The RPG which was supposed to be developed by obsidian entertainment was a different game than Colonial Marines, which was always supposed to be a FPS.

Here is a news article from 2006:
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/obsidian-developing-segas-alien-rpg/1100-6163134/

Ah ok I always thought the games were one and the same going through development hell.

But I am right in saying Sega got involved and tried to push the game to be more like Call of Duty...

http://kotaku.com/5986694/from-dream-to-disaster-the-story-of-aliens-colonial-marines

And then there was interference—with three companies involved in decision-making on Pecan, bureaucracy was inevitable. According to one source, Sega's producers wanted Colonial Marines to feel like Call of Duty—in other words, more shooting marines, less shooting aliens. Upper staff at both Gearbox and TimeGate disagreed with this mentality, the source said, and there was a tug-of-war between developer and publisher on how the game should be designed.

Which was a terrible desicion and Sega knows it now.
 

MouldyK

Member
They offloaded it to Timegate and killed them off basically!

We will never get another Section 8 and I blame Gearbox!
 

Anung

Un Rama
The game is still being sold on official sites and Steam using media that is unrepresentative of the product and is NOT marked as unrepresentative.

Sega actually lost a case with the ASA in Britain where it was ruled CM *had* been falsely advertised.

I've had Randy Pitchford lie to my FACE about how this game - which was largely outsourced - was such a passion project to him, and I've watched their scripted gameplay demos that were in no way marked as unrepresentative of the final product. I've played a "pre-alpha" version of the multiplayer that, it turned out, was no different from the alleged gold version.

Randy Pitchford is a liar.

Because he's the hero GAFham deserves, but not the one it needs right now. So we'll ban him. Because he can take it. Because he's not our hero. He's an outspoken guardian. A watchful reviewer. He's Jim Fucking Sterling, Son.
 

Big_Al

Unconfirmed Member
They offloaded it to Timegate and killed them off basically!

We will never get another Section 8 and I blame Gearbox!


This saddens me greatly :( I know Timegate didn't have the greatest track record but I have a soft spot for the Section 8 games, really enjoyed them.

Plus I know the Kohan games had their fans too.
 

inky

Member
The market decided your scummy practices deserved to be challenged in court you scumbag. The only thing that loses when you pull that shit is the industry and gamers.
 
As a Borderlands fan this saddens me that Pitchford still won't admit they screwed customers over with A CM. Guess I'll just avoid buying BL 3 till he owns up to this whole situation.
 
Never bought Colonial Marines and thus didn't have a vested interest in the lawsuit, but with a response like that I won't be buying any Gearbox software in the future.

The correct response is: "The lawsuit was not the right way to approach this problem, and we could not allow it to move forward as a legal matter, but the message that a significant percentage of our consumers were upset was received, loud and clear. Needless to say, we've done a full review or our marketing procedures and will be more respectful of our audience in the future."

You see? Nice and business sleazy, like water off a duck's back. You don't have to try very hard to be the minimal degree of apologetic that corporate America demands of you, for pete's sake. Most people aren't even asking you to be sorry with any visible sincerity, just to say you realize now it was a bad idea and won't be doing it again.
 
I'm not sure if a lawsuit was necessary, as I'm a big believer in caveat emptor when it comes to games (don't pre-order!), but Pitchford engaged in some real shitty practices with this game. To echo Jim, an apology would be nice, at the very least.
 
While I agree a lawsuit wasn't necessary, fuck Randy Pitchford.

In all of my years of playing games, I have never seen someone so full of shit besides Peter Molyneux. This guy peddles the same shit for every game he makes, over-promising and under-delivering. Then, when the chickens come home to roost, he takes up one of two defenses.

Either he acts like a cocky, arrogant prick and makes excuses for the game and pretends the game was fine and we're all hyperbolic, or, he acts like a child, says he's being unfairly targeted and bullied and runs away.

This guy deserves to be taken to task for his part in that shambles and the team(s) should go down with him.

That felt so good to let out after all this time.
 

Illucio

Banned
The video game company that is just below EA in terms of scumbaggery.

Randy funnels money given by SEGA to make Aliens TWICE. (Or was it three times?) Using the money to make Borderlands instead. And then shipping it to ANOTHER company to finish the game because they found a loophole stating they just had to complete the game. Which is also why Aliens was a terrible game to begin with.
(The proof to this is rather simple, Gearbox simply had no money nor took any loans during the creation of Borderlands. The only income they had was money from Sega to be put into making Aliens.)

Takes the animation concept if Codehunters to use for their game Boarderlands, even being bold enough to wanting to hire the original creator to use his style, but then falling through with the plans when they realized it would cost a ton of money and stole his art concept soon after.

Gearbox withheld profits from the sale of Duke Nukem Forever from the original IP owners of the game.

This company is a disgrace to gaming because of Randy, I hope no major company will ever make a major dealing with them. Let them die, and give Boarderlands to Sega, the IP rightfully belongs to them as they unintentionally paid for it.
 

Dysun

Member
I'm always surprised to see how far Pitchford can go.

Totally unrelated, but I've always found Gearbox to be a mediocre developer and that includes Borderlands (their magnum opus lol). Good luck with Battlewhatever, that I couldn't pick out of a lineup with the other Battlewhatevers and Overstuffs
 

PSqueak

Banned
Guy is a scumbag and should be punished for his bullshit.

But sorry, i'll be selfish, and ignore this bullshit that doesn't personally affects me and buy Borderlands 3 because i like the series.

Im entitled to enjoy the game and still think the company is being a piece of shit.

Remember when this company also lifted stuff straight from the Empire Strikes Back poster and didn't give proper credit?

I seriously hate Gearbox

Pop culture reference: the game makes a pop culture reference and we are supposed to be shocked and outraged?
 

Sorcerer

Member
I just said I can partially understand his comment pertaining that to a degree, but personally I do think there should be some sort of legal blowback/judgement on Randy/Gearbox considering what they did both publicly and internally as a company.

Ultimately I do think at some point we'll see a legal case fully go through pertaining to false advertising of game in it's final retail form compared to whatever earlier video or "demo" was shown of it.

My apologies. It read as though I was attacking you. I wasn't.

Just pissed at Randy's justification that his crimes are okay when there are bigger fish to fry.
 

Cardon

Member
Sorry, it sounded like I was attacking you, I wasn't.

Just pissed at Randy's justification that his crimes are okay when there are bigger fish to fry.

Yeah no worries dude. Just wanted to clarify on my end if I wasn't clear enough due to typing my post while watching my kid lol.

But yeah, I think Randy needs to take his head out of his ass for the betterment of his company. Sure, perhaps Randy and some of the other higher ups may be more than deluded, but it would just be a huge shame if the company took a major stumble
if their attitude and actions blew back on the other employees if Gearbox had to shutter or scale down drastically.
 
Pop culture reference: the game makes a pop culture reference and we are supposed to be shocked and outraged?

Oh it's just the latest dodgy move around 'referencing' art in that game though. The whole games visual style was shifted from realistic to the Codehunters style, Gearbox even worked with that creator for a while before going quiet and stiffing him. In short Gearbox are scum with their constant pilfering of 'influences' without even trying to credit, let alone compensate, the original creator.

(http://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkai...e-most-controversial-studios-in-the-industry/)
 

Jibbed

Member
Remember when this company also lifted stuff straight from the Empire Strikes Back poster and didn't give proper credit?



I seriously hate Gearbox

Correct me if I'm wrong but, isn't that SW poster fan-made?

Also, the two are dissimilar enough to dispel that. Give me 10 minutes and I could find 10 more posters in the same style with the same colour palette.
 
Correct me if I'm wrong but, isn't that SW poster fan-made?

Also, the two are dissimilar enough to dispel that. Give me 10 minutes and I could find 10 more posters in the same style with the same colour palette.

The white landscape in the background is identical to the black landscape on the right poster.
 

PSqueak

Banned
Oh it's just the latest dodgy move around 'referencing' art in that game though. The whole games visual style was shifted from realistic to the Codehunters style, Gearbox even worked with that creator for a while before going quiet and stiffing him. In short Gearbox are scum with their constant pilfering of 'influences' without even trying to credit, let alone compensate, the original creator.

(http://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkai...e-most-controversial-studios-in-the-industry/)

Oh yeah, i remember being dissapointed when i found about this, still didn't magically erase all the fun i had with the games.

Feel bad for the creator of the original short tho, because i wouldn't have given BL a chance if it looked like it originally did.
 

Roshin

Member
Pitchford also expressed that he believes that the market should judge a product, not the legal system.

I'm a little confused by this one. Didn't the market "decide" to take it to court?
 
Oh yeah, i remember being dissapointed when i found about this, still didn't magically erase all the fun i had with the games.

Feel bad for the creator of the original short tho, because i wouldn't have given BL a chance if it looked like it originally did.

Nor mine but once I read this I felt I couldn't go there again, oddly enough I had that older style trailer on my PS3 for years because I loved the 'explore giant planet' style it seemed to be repping at the time. Of course I enjoyed what it became but I still want that game so I hope No Man's Sky scratches that itch.
 
But Borderlands 2 was good??

He means "I'm surprised publishers continue to give Gearbox money, because they used money SEGA gave them for Colonial Marines on Borderlands."

That said, are any publishers actually giving Gearbox money up-front for development these days, or are they simply shopping out mostly finished games for marketing and distribution? There's a pretty big difference.
 
"You'll never believe this one weird trick Randy Pitchford used during the demonstrations of Aliens:Colonial Marines. "

Its called lying.
 

Slappers Only

Junior Member
I amazed at people's capacity to get worked up over things like this.

Yeah, the game was pretty bad. I gave it a shot, cringed as it sucked out loud right in front of me, and then life went on moments afterward. Am I missing out on something for not having let this in under my skin?
 

PSqueak

Banned
I amazed at people's capacity to get worked up over things like this.

Yeah, the game was pretty bad. I gave it a shot, cringed as it sucked out loud right in front of me, and then life went on moments afterward. Am I missing out on something for not having let this in under my skin?

The money scammed from sega for this game that was instead used for borderlands 2.
 

antitrop

Member
Pitchford deserves to be an industry pariah for this. Absolutely shameful that he's so unwilling to take any blame for this. In a time for humility, he decided to put up the flame shield and push forward.

If Aliens misrepresentation wasn't a lie and was actually just a HUGE misunderstanding, by all means Randy, I'm waiting for you to go ahead and dispel that "myth".
 
I amazed at people's capacity to get worked up over things like this.

Yeah, the game was pretty bad. I gave it a shot, cringed as it sucked out loud right in front of me, and then life went on moments afterward. Am I missing out on something for not having let this in under my skin?

You're missing out deception. People paid hard earned money for this and didn't get what was promised in every media shown by Randy's team.

They're lucky Steam Refund didn't exist back then or this game would be in a bigger negative than it is now.
 
I amazed at people's capacity to get worked up over things like this.

Yeah, the game was pretty bad. I gave it a shot, cringed as it sucked out loud right in front of me, and then life went on moments afterward. Am I missing out on something for not having let this in under my skin?

You could easily say and be dismissive over anything with that attitude. Those shootings/bombings/etc sucked, but life goes on moments afterwards. Yeah, it's a videogame, but people value things drastically differently. What doesn't affect you may someone else. And rather than be quiet and move on like you said you have you'd rather complain about people complaining. So really, what does that say about you?
 

Etnos

Banned
I amazed at people's capacity to get worked up over things like this.

Yeah, the game was pretty bad. I gave it a shot, cringed as it sucked out loud right in front of me, and then life went on moments afterward. Am I missing out on something for not having let this in under my skin?

Some people work hard to earn $60

Can totally see why would they be worked out when they were basically con out to buy this game
 
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