Report: Sega acknowledges misleading Aliens: Colonial Marines ads

Following lodged complaints, Europe's Advertising Standards Authority contacted Sega regarding misleading Aliens: Colonial Marines ads. In response, Sega acknowledged that the trailers didn't depict the game accurately, and agreed to add a disclaimer.

6

Following the poor reception of Aliens: Colonial Marines and the resulting backlash against Gearbox and Sega, the European Advertising Standards Authority stepped in. In response to a complaint lodged against the company, the ASA contacted Sega and received a response admitting the ads did not represent the finished product, and agreeing to add a new disclaimer to them.

A letter from the ASA (via Videogamer) says Sega claims it was unaware of quality of the final product as of the time that the trailers were produced. However, the company "acknowledged your objection that the trailers did not accurately reflect the final content of the game." As a result, the company agreed to add a new disclaimer on the Web site and YouTube videos explaining that the trailers are from demo versions.

"Our role in cases such as this is to ensure that marketing material isn't likely to materially mislead the public," the letter states. "We consider that with this disclaimer in place, customers are unlikely to get the impression that the trailer shows the finished product, and the ads are therefore unlikely to mislead."

The letter also says that the complaint will be upheld informally, with a notice on its Web site added on March 27.

Editor-In-Chief
From The Chatty
  • reply
    April 3, 2013 9:00 AM

    Steve Watts posted a new article, Report: Sega acknowledges misleading Aliens: Colonial Marines ads.

    Following lodged complaints, Europe's Advertising Standards Authority contacted Sega regarding misleading Aliens: Colonial Marines ads. In response, Sega acknowledged that the trailers didn't depict the game accurately, and agreed to add a disclaimer.

    • reply
      April 3, 2013 9:08 AM

      Excuses are like assholes, everyone has one and they all stink.

      But seriously, after Aliens Vs Predator you think we are going to fall for this again? Sega who?

    • reply
      April 3, 2013 9:15 AM

      sorry we mislead you but we are gonna keep the money u gave us, k?

    • reply
      April 3, 2013 9:16 AM

      Sega who indeed. Sonic Generations had issues across all systems. Jet Set Radio doesn't run right on Xperia Play, yet still sold to xperia play customers, Sonic 4 Episode II even runs in the background on Android devices even when the game is closed. Too many issues and not enough support from this developer.

      • reply
        April 3, 2013 9:22 AM

        I still do love my dreamcast though. I'm feeling a little blasphemous.

    • reply
      April 3, 2013 9:33 AM

      IMO, Gearbox is still the leading cause and should get more blame and condemnation than Sega.

      While I currently dislike Sega for other reasons, I can empathize with them on this case just a bit. Gearbox had a completely different build they were showcasing for press releases and likely to publisher to show status of production. So of course when there's a misleading communication from the root of production, marketing would send out the wrong idea to publication. Gearbox probably kept the lousy build on the downlow until after initial reviews and post release.

      • reply
        April 3, 2013 9:38 AM

        That and Randy's bullshit lies, fuck him

        • reply
          April 3, 2013 10:27 AM

          He really does seem like the sleaziest person in gaming.

      • reply
        April 3, 2013 10:41 AM

        I wonder how many publishers he's shat the bed with already. I mean why would you piss off a big publisher like Sega and hope others will beat down your door after doing crap like this for nearly a decade.

    • reply
      April 3, 2013 9:41 AM

      What a weak response. The 'demo' footage looks better than the final unpatched game. Normally you'd expect the final polished game to look & play better than demo footage. So, this is really a kind of anti-disclaimer?

    • reply
      April 3, 2013 10:18 AM

      So wheres the refund?

      • reply
        April 3, 2013 10:22 AM

        Or class action lawsuit.

      • reply
        April 3, 2013 11:28 AM

        In the same place that Sega's funding towards the original Borderlands is.

    • reply
      April 3, 2013 10:56 AM

      It wasn't just the misleading trailers, hell every game company does it. It was the demo they put out (that people actually played) while the lying Randy said this was all actual game footage yet NONE of it was in the actual game. One thing GearBox does very well is PR and getting media to plaster anything he says on endless game sites. They knew the game was crap but crossed their fingers and shoved it out to the public to just forget about it and hope it all blew over. Good thing they got 2k on their side because without them this company would of been gone a long time ago.... They say they will continue to support the game but that's just bs they won't dare risk wasting their time on this game anymore and probably busy trying to milk borelands to death with dlc....

    • reply
      April 3, 2013 11:02 AM

      Insult to injury.

      Fucking Greabox.

Hello, Meet Lola