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38 CommentsAliens: Colonial Marines false advertising lawsuit is 'frivolous,' says Gearbox
By Emily Gera on May 03, 2013 05.03.13
Developer Gearbox is calling a lawsuit that claims both the studio and publisher Sega falsely advertised the controversial Aliens: Colonial Marines "frivolous," according to a statement provided to Kotaku. Following the news that Edelson LLC, a law firm representing plaintiff Damion Perrine, will file a class-action lawsuit against both companies, a Gearbox spokesperson released the following statement: "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." Sega also released a statement on the matter to Polygon, writing that the publisher "cannot comment on specifics of ongoing litigation, but [are]...
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10 CommentsSection 8 developer TimeGate Studios files for bankruptcy protection
By Michael McWhertor on May 02, 2013 05.02.13
TimeGate Studios, the Sugar Land, Texas-based developer of Section 8 and co-developer of Aliens: Colonial Marines, filed a petition for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Texas Southern Bankruptcy Court on Wednesday, according to court documents obtained by Polygon. The petition filed by TimeGate lists less than 50 creditors owed money by the game developer and total liabilities ranging from $10 million to $50 million. TimeGate's top creditors include companies like Unreal Engine developer Epic Games, online game service Agora Games and transmedia developer DJ2 Entertainment. Creditors listed in court documents also include a local pizzeria, to whom TimeGate owes $34.80, and video game agency Birthplace Management Group, which is owed $20,539.20. Also listed among TimeGate's chief...
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3 CommentsAliens: Colonial Marines lawsuit assigned dispute resolution, plaintiffs still seeking class action suit (update)
By Griffin McElroy on May 02, 2013 05.02.13
The lawsuit claiming Gearbox and Sega falsely advertised Aliens: Colonial Marines with misrepresentative trade show demos has been recommended alternate means of settlement by a California District Court judge, but the plaintiffs are still seeking class action status for the suit. According to two court documents obtained by Polygon, the case has been assigned to Maria-Elena James, federal magistrate judge for the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. The judge has ordered the two parties to consult with representatives for "Alternate Dispute Resolution" (ADR), a non-binding process overseen by either Judge James or an elected third party. This order is given to nearly all cases in the Northern District of California Court; both parties must discuss...
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91 CommentsGearbox and Sega falsely advertised Aliens: Colonial Marines with press demos, according to lawsuit (update)
By Griffin McElroy on Apr 30, 2013 04.30.13
Sega and Gearbox Software are the defendants in a lawsuit claiming the two companies falsely advertised Aliens: Colonial Marines with unrepresentative trade show demonstrations. The suit, obtained by Polygon earlier today, was filed yesterday in the Northern District of California court by law firm Edelson LLC on behalf of plaintiff Damion Perrine. Citing a number of California civil and business codes, the suit claims that Gearbox and Sega falsely advertised Aliens by showing demos at trade shows like PAX and E3 which didn't end up being accurate representations of the final product. These demos, which Gearbox co-founder Randy Pitchford called "actual gameplay," according to filing, were criticized after the game's launch for featuring graphical fidelity, AI behavior and even entire...
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35 CommentsAliens: Colonial Marines is no longer in development for Wii U
By Griffin McElroy on Apr 05, 2013 04.05.13
The Wii U version of Aliens: Colonial Marines is no longer in development, publisher Sega confirmed to Polygon earlier today. "Sega can confirm that the Wii U sku of Aliens: Colonial Marines is no longer in development," a Sega representative wrote. Rumors of the Wii U version have been circling since the end of March, after the port missed its Q1 2013 launch window. Both Sega and Cambridge, Mass.-based developer Demiurge refused to comment on the game's late arrival following the quarter's end. Earlier this morning, reports that the game had been pulled from several European retailers began to surface, likely leading to Sega's confirmation that the Wii U version had been scrapped. "We are constantly looking at all areas of our business and in this case have made the decision to not...
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5 CommentsAliens: Colonial Marines trailers deemed misleading in UK, get disclaimers
By Alexa Ray Corriea on Apr 03, 2013 04.03.13
In a letter in response to a player complaint, the U.K. Advertising Standards Authority said that Sega Europe acknowledged that footage used in trailers for Aliens: Colonial Marines were misleading, according to a post on Reddit. Reddit user "superdave" submitted the complaint to Sega regarding the "absurd" difference between trailers for Colonial Marines and the quality of the final game. "Gearbox and Sega spoke very clearly—by saying absolutely nothing—and showed the purchasing community that they would rather this mess all quietly disappear," he wrote, stating game companies need to be held accountable for "blatantly deceiving the consumer." According to the ASA's response letter after speaking with Sega Europe, the company said their trailers "used demo footage, created using...
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5 CommentsAliens: Colonial Marines PC patch addresses save game issues
By Samit Sarkar on Mar 19, 2013 03.19.13
Aliens: Colonial Marines developer Gearbox Software patched the Windows PC version of the game yesterday, fixing problems such as the issue some users were having with save games. It is the first time since the game's launch five weeks ago that the PC version has been updated. The 3.8 GB patch includes the changes that made their way to the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions of the game earlier this month, along with "additional changes that will be part of future updates for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3" and some PC-specific tweaks, said Sega community manager Clumsyorchid in a forum post. Changes specific to the PC version include improved texture resolution and the addition of a mouse smoothing option. The patch also includes "additional safeguards to better protect save data,"...
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5 CommentsAliens: Colonial Marines patch fixes campaign and multiplayer bugs
By Samit Sarkar on Mar 07, 2013 03.07.13
Aliens: Colonial Marines co-developer Gearbox Software patched the shooter on Xbox 360 today, fixing bugs in both the campaign and multiplayer modes. The patch will be available soon for the Windows PC and PlayStation 3 versions of the game, according to Gearbox's Twitter account. This title update, the first since the game's release in mid-February, fixes bugs such as players falling through the game world, weapons firing on their own, Achievements failing to unlock and text displaying incorrectly. It does not address a problem that some Xbox 360 players were having: Their games weren't saving progress. Check out the full patch notes below. General Addressed an issue that could sometimes cause co-op player revival to not work under certain circumstances. Addressed issues with...
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13 CommentsLayoffs hit one of the Aliens: Colonial Marines development studios
By Brian Crecente on Mar 04, 2013 03.04.13
Layoffs hit TimeGate Studios, the Houston, Texas-based studio that helped develop Aliens: Colonial Marines, today, the president of the studio confirmed to Polygon. "Today, we had to make the difficult decision to let go of some great game developers. This is never easy, and we're doing all we can to assist those developers affected," TimeGate president Adel Chaveleh told Polygon. "TimeGate is preparing, as is the entire industry, for the transition to next-generation consoles and new business models. As part of this reinvention, all projects and strategic initiatives continue to move forward at the studio." While Chaveleh did not detail the number of people impacted, sources tell Polygon that about 25 people were let go from the studio this morning. The sources also say the layoffs...
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19 CommentsAliens: Colonial Marines players reporting save games being wiped
By Samit Sarkar on Feb 15, 2013 02.15.13
Some Aliens: Colonial Marines players are having their save games wiped and progress reset, according to reports on the Gearbox Software forums. The problem appears to be confined to the Xbox 360 version of the game. Players are reporting that the shooter doesn't create save games on the console's hard drive. Instead, it only appears to save to the console's cache; when the cache is wiped, the save game — along with a player's progress in single-player and multiplayer — goes with it. Numerous Colonial Marines players are corroborating the findings and complaining about the problem in at least three different threads on the forums. No Gearbox support rep has responded to this specific issue yet. But when asked earlier this week about the preponderance of bugs throughout the...
