NMS under fire, KSP beware

[LordFerret]

'No Man's Sky' is under official fire for false advertising; Hello Games and Valve may be charged with series sanctions

I was wondering when it would come to this, especially having seen so much backlash online about the game's release. That said, I also can't help but wonder if KSP is skating this same thin ice, what with it's less than stellar v1.0 roll-out and console state.

 I also think Steam is overdue for a good flogging as well. Their past actions have been nothing short of criminal.

[Elthy]

KSPs 1.0 release wasnt that bad, there were a lot of games with a worse launch. NMS did something totaly different, they actively lied about features and trailers. For KSP there even was a demo and a beta, together with thousands of players sharing their experiences before launch. Everyone who bought it knew what he would sign up for.

[ZooNamedGames]

No wonder why Valve has been dropping the ball with TF2. Makes a lot of sense now.

[pxi]

Thing is, the ASA doesn't have a huge amount of teeth.  It can have an ad pulled, but that's about the extent of it afaik.  The 'sanctions' alluded to would seem to be a referral to Trading Standards (see this leaflet), and would only come into play if Hello Games were to keep acting contrary to the direction of the ASA, which frankly they would have to be insane to do.  Of course, Trading Standards might still choose to get involved regardless, which would be an outcome I'd frankly welcome.

What I find most interesting is how Valve have been dragged into this (based on the ads on the NMS steam page) but no mention of Sony, who are listed as Co-Publishers and should to my mind, share some of the responsibility for any false claims made by Hello Games.

As for KSP, regardless of how the game launched, I don't think it's even remotely in the same league as NMS.  I don't think Squad's going to be loosing any sleep over this.

[monstah]

6 hours ago, Elthy said:

NMS did something totaly different, they actively lied about features and trailers. 

This. KSP is fine, but NMS seriously dropped the ball. Just the other day I was re-watching one of their older presentations on GDC, they were clearly stating multiplayer and permanency were going to be a thing.

@pxi I've been wanting to ask you this for some time... what the hell is going on in that avatar?

[pxi]

@monstah see this at about the 1m05s mark.

[Frybert]

[MaxxQ]

3 hours ago, pxi said:

@monstah see this at about the 1m05s mark.

Heh... I knew what it was right away.  I haven't watched that movie too many times...

[LordFerret]

Still more news as of today on this issue. @pxi, seems you'll possibly get your wish here.

Quote

No Man’s Sky Reddit Review: Hello Games Could Go to Jail for ASA Case?

 

This could mark the start of a future trend.

Edited October 2, 2016 by LordFerret

[kerbiloid]

Mass Effect 3 should start worrying...

RottenTomatoes should extend their authorities...

"Be careful. Recently the counterfeit Christmas toys appeared in the shops. They look authentic, feel authentic, hang on a fur-tree like authentic, but don't make you happy."

Edited October 2, 2016 by kerbiloid

[pxi]

Quote

Should the complaints prove to be true, what will the penalty be for Hello Games and publisher, Valve? Will they pay a fine, or worse, go to jail? Not likely. According to a video game lawyer, Ryan Morrison, the ASA may just reprimand the developer and publisher.

“Morrison suspects something more along the lines of a strongly-worded warning advising Hello Games to be more mindful with its marketing in the future,” PC Gamer noted.

Hyperbolic title it seems.

I'd love to see Hello Games be forced to issue refunds of 50% of the RRP personally.  Frankly I'd be amazed if they make another game under their current incarnation - more likely you'll see the company quietly dissolved and the devs popping up under a new guise.  Moreso, they've basically made most of the cash they are going to make from NMS at this point, so it doesn't really matter if the ads are pulled or not.  So the only entity I'd see being affected long-term by official censure would be Valve, which wouldn't be entirely terrible, but frankly I don't really see Valve as the bad guy in this particular instance.  I'd much prefer to see Hello Games hit in a way that would actually hurt them.

EDIT:

(I actually liked ME3 despite the 3-colour ending.)

Edited October 2, 2016 by pxi
Unpopular opinion

[Dispatcher]

Osiris New Dawn seems similar to NMS in some ways.

Regardless of who could be copying some ideas from whom, OND was smart in going Early Access at Steam.  Due to its involvement and commitments with Sony, NMS didn't or could not do so.  Of course, some similar ideas could have sprouted independently.  The differences of planetary combat, vehicles and base building (and multiplayer!) are striking.

 

Edited October 2, 2016 by Dispatcher

[lajoswinkler]

KSP's popularity is not nearly high as it should be to create a critical mass needed for a public outcry to occur. It's also not a similar case because, n comparison to NMS's expectations, KSP's are way better realized.

 

Also the community behind KSP is way better. What I'm saying is not elitistic. It's simply realistic. A game which is more of a simulator than most other games out there (and one hell of a simulator) attracts, on average, a different kind of people. Not niche narrow, but it sure isn't wide as peasant games.

[p1t1o]

Jail lol, as if!

[LordFerret]

I tend to agree with pxi here, a stiff fine, and it should serve as a warning to others who might attempt to follow. Those that can't pay that fine however (blew their earnings already) could face jail ... it's not entirely impossible.

Edited October 3, 2016 by LordFerret