Judge decrees Guitar Hero III lawsuit bullsh**
Where do these people come from, exactly? You know, the ones that spend their lives prowling the darkest corners of the Internet waiting for that one piece of scandalous news that might become the basis for the next great get-rich lawsuit.
I’m all for a legal system that protects the rights of the unfortunate and defenseless souls who find themselves at the mercy of some greedy corporation, but the American judicial system has strayed so very far from the path of reasonableness it’s ridiculous.
The world of video games is not commonly the most target-rich environment for such schemes, but last year one enterprising swindler saw Activision’s little Guitar Hero III (Wii edition) boo-boo as his big break.
In case you missed it, soon after the title shipped in October, players discovered that the sound in the game only output in mono, not full stereo as was promised on the box. Angry gamers complained to Activision and for a period of time, the company’s official response was that they were “looking in to the situation.” Soon after, however, the issue was confirmed and a program was announced to replace all of the offending game disks.
Now, to a reasonable guy like me that sounds like a responsible game company admitting to their mistake and taking very acceptable steps to remedy the situation. But for a fellow in San Diego named Samuel Livingston, apparently backed by a gang of New York City attorneys, that just wasn’t good enough. Lo and behold, a lawsuit was filed that accused the publisher of misleading consumers and originally sought to garnish all profits from the game.
Thankfully, the judge in this case has seen reason and dismissed this ridiculous lawsuit. Activision agreed to replace the defective games (which they were already doing) and to not sell any more mono versions of Guitar Hero III (duh!). Livingston, on the other hand, agreed to release Activision from any future litigation related to the matter (which he shouldn’t have started in the first place).
So, after six months of paper filing, posturing and other legal nonsense, we’re right back to where we were in the first place. Yep, that sounds like the American justice system alright.
Via Next Generation
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