Randy Pitchford Did ‘Whatever the Fuck He Liked’ During Promotion of Aliens: Colonial Marines, Says SEGA

Randy Pitchford Did ‘Whatever the Fuck He Liked’ During Promotion of Aliens: Colonial Marines, Says SEGA

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Lee Bradley

In the ongoing class-action lawsuit against developer Gearbox Software and publisher SEGA regarding the marketing of Aliens: Colonial Marines, things just got interesting.

The two parties are currently accused of mis-representing the game in promotional material, with demos and trailers that did not reflect the finished product. Gearbox has previously denied any of the allegations, while SEGA had sought an out-of-court settlement.

However, it now appears that SEGA is attempting to lay the blame at Gearbox’s feet, singling out the studio’s boss Randy Pitchford for his role in leaking misinformation and overstating the quality of Aliens: Colonial Marines.

SEGA had initially been excited about promoting the game with Pitchford, a man they describe as a “respected development celebrity” who was “guaranteed to be headline material in worldwide press coverage.” However, the relationship quickly turned sour.

SEGA says the demo for Aliens: Colonial Marines shown at E3 2011 was “verified” by Gearbox as “the bar that we should use to determine where the entire game will be.” The key point here is that Gearbox told SEGA that the demo was representative of the finished game, when that wasn’t how it panned out.

Documents revealed during the case also show that the relationship between SEGA and Gearbox hit a low when Pitchford repeatedly revealed information to press without permission. Sega PR manager Matt Eyre accused Pitchford of “doing whatever the fuck he likes”.

In an internal email, Eyre said, “Apparently he did it twice on [Borderlands 2] also, against all plans and despite the fact they asked him not to. I think our best result here is that we have no more panel sessions.”

All of this casts doubt over Gearbox’s claim that it wasn’t involved in the marketing of Aliens: Colonial Marines. While SEGA had already reached a tentative settlement agreement with the plaintiffs for $1.25 million, Gearbox has requested to be removed from the suit. 

The developer maintains that if there is a case to be answered regarding the promotion of Aliens: Colonial Marines, it should be taken to SEGA. 

The next hearing will be held on October 29th, 2014.

[via Polygon]

Comments
42
  • I have heard that before sounds a proper douche bag, but he also looks a prick, must be a bitch working with him, i would love to slap him with the aliens case right across the face for the shite that was given.....
  • The reason why the game failed is because it's a poorly made piece of shit and they just need to accept they all fucked up.
  • Polish a turd won't change the fact it's a turd.
  • oh and while im on a rant "What the fuck Microsft" why is Minecraft on XB1 £115 plaaaaaaa
  • This fucking-highschool-girl-drama-bullshit is still going on?
  • Same dude that brought us Borderlands and Borderlands 2 right? ... go home SEGA, you're drunk.
  • @4 It's showing as $199.99 here in the US. I feel for the accidental purchases on this one.
  • @4 cos its not out till tomorrow so its a place holder!!
  • Wonder if the Duke Nukem fuck up and this will force Randy out ever since Borderlands was a massive hit he got cocky and believed that he could do anything and make a buck from it! Don't get me wrong GB do and can make some stellar games but when your handed the keys to TWO of the BIGGEST licenses and most wanted games in the world you DO NOT get cocky and just through them out there as quick as pos! You pool all you talents together and take your time and do whatever it takes to get it right!!!
  • Randy seems like a douche to be honest. He wants to be like the next Peter Molyneux who overhypes and spreads misinformation about the game. That is why I am a bit hesitant about the HD remake of Homeworld...
  • @7 I don't if they by it at that price then they deserve to get shot really, its only that price as a placeholder come 00:01 local times it will be the right price (well meant to be anyways)but if you buy it early (seen as they made it very clear release is Tomorrow) at that price your just a idiot pmsl :)
  • @6 you forgot that sega also claims he stole funds from alien cm to make borderlands 2 which can be why bl was a better experience. @4 and 7 it is the highest amount they can charge for a game they use it as a placeholder until the launch date they did that with items on 360 as well before launch
  • @12 arrrr right ok i get it now, still quite off putting though, ive never seen it high like that, but i do by physical disc, and rarely digital, I was just checking minecraft out on the XB1
  • A man will do anything when he's randy.
  • Never could stand Pitchford.
  • Pitchford is a prick - no Borderlands pre-sequel for me.
  • Gearbox are guilty, that much is obvious.
  • @12 I'd be more inclined to agree with you if SEGA actually put out some decent games, but I'm struggling to name 1 SEGA game that's sold really well.
  • To be honest there are three names in the industry I've never liked, Peter Molyneux for making promises he can't keep, Randy Pitchford for being in charge of a company that keeps taking half made games and marketing them so people will buy them half finished by which time they have our money and it's too late, and Cliff Bleszinski. However CliffyB has the right to be cocky because more or less every game he's been involved in has been great fun and always held true to the tenets of gaming...having fun. I hope that Pitchford takes heed and does what Molyneux did and just hands over the keys to the company before he drags the whole ship down.
  • im not sure exactly what Sega plan on proving by this, even if they do manage to pin the blame on gearbox for the whole thing its still their fault for allowing them to do it and for publishing the game in the end.
  • @ 22: Vanquish, Binary Domain and Bayonetta are great games, but great games don't necessarily sell well.
  • Hehehe "Whatever the Fuck He Liked" yeah he can do whatever want to saying. Gearbox ruined Aliens: Colonial Marines but also Sega is stupid for not testing game properly or check make sure game is polished well but Sega doesn't anyway. I basically blamed both. Good thing that game is not important title in 2013. Game is easy forgettable and moved on. :) BORDERLANDS 3 IS NEXT GEARBOX TITLE I WILL GETTING AND MAYBE THAT NEW IP GAME FOR NEXT GENS I WILL GET TOO. :)
  • Am I the only one who thinks SEGA are now the only ones ranting and raving about this still? They seem to be the only ones constantly pointing the finger at everyone else. Maybe they should look in the mirror.
  • People keep forgetting that SEGA is just the PUBLISHER, not the developer. #24, it's not their job to test the game. Sure, they can play it for quality control, but the blame ultimately falls on Gearbox for not delivering what they promised. You think EA or Activision plays every single game it publishes? I think not. They trust the developer to create a quality product. Randy is up there with CliffyB and Rod F. as the industries biggest douches who think their shit don't stink.
  • SEGA may have been the publisher, but that doesn't excuse them. If you had invested money into something and didn't keep an eye on it you are a total idiot with too much money to spend. 3 parties were involved in the making/publishing of this game. But more fault lies at SEGA's feet, they got 2 different companies to work together and didn't keep an eye on them, all they did was throw money at them and expected the problems to go away (or not appear). That is a sign of a bad publisher.
  • Oh I know that. I'm not excusing SEGA for publishing a shitty game, and they should have been keeping tabs on the development more closely, but with Gearbox outsourcing most of the campaign development to Timegate and SEGA not questioning it, both are to blame. But as I said, Gearbox is ultimately to blame for not developing the game they promised over a 6 year period. And as far as the advertising, SEGA only advertised and marketed what Gearbox gave them. That 10 minute narrated demo at E3 2011, I bet SEGA was none the wiser that Gearbox fluffed up that "staged" demo and didn't really know that it wasn't a representation of the actual game. They only knew what Gearbox told them. They fooled them AND us. Ultimately, I do agree that the publisher is responsible for whatever game it publishes regardless of the quality. But, what were they going to do? Trash 6 years and tens of millions of dollars of development? They published what they did basically to recoup something. They really had no choice. The game only sold about 1.4 million copies, so with all released versions (regular and regional collector’s editions), it made like $90 million, just a small dent in the development cost. Would you have cancelled the game? http://www.vgchartz.com/gamedb/?name=aliens%3A+colonial&publisher=&platform=&genre=&minSales=0&results=200
  • "doing whatever the fuck he likes" so did Sega... They're a dreadful publisher regardless that don't support their titles well in any shape or form that isn't Sonic. But i have to fully agree with @28
  • It doesn't take a genius to figure out Randy Pitchford is one of the industries biggest twats.They lucked out with Borderlands & have been living off that games reputation alone.Duke & Aliens:CM are probably more representative of the quality of work they produce but at the end of the day BOTH Sega & Gearbox took a giant dump on gamers & Aliens franchise fans around the world & made fucking stacks of cash doing it-for that I will NEVER purchase a Gearbox developed game new-I may buy a preowned copy-just so long as they don't get another penny out of me.
  • I was unfortunately one of those people who bought the collectors edition. They had the option to cancel the game and take a loss, but they instead chose to release it and then kick up shit that it didn't sell well and blamed everyone but themselves. When SEGA realized that the game wasn't what they thought it was (Which by itself is a stupid move on their part) they could of warned it's customers, but they didn't so they could cash in on peoples false hopes of the game. So they didn't publish what the game actually was. I don't disagree that Gearbox and Timesgate made a shit game (though it was fun..or funny, not sure which is worse). Obviously we cant blame GB and TG for the story as SEGA bought the story. Another annoying thing about it is that SEGA make it out that they are the only ones being punished for this game. TimesGate went bankrupt and people are boycotting Borderlands because of this game.
  • @30 i like how you said it was both SEGA and Gearbox but are only boycotting Gearbox products. People like you are the reason why they brought out online passes and the like. Game developers need the money more than the publishers and distributors (IE gamestop, game, amazon).
  • Feel like I'm getting way more entertainment out of this court battle than the game it is based on. If only they could get Pitchford on the stand yelling "you can't handle the truth!".
  • Fuck him.
  • As Sega fuck over so many devs mostly Platinum Games as of late on a consistent basis can we really all jump on the hate Randy Pitchford wagon?
  • SEGA = DOGSHIT ALWAYS HAS ALWAYS WILL
  • @36 - Yeah, the Genesis was dogshit...
  • No wonder Borderlands 2 is shit. Right next to Colonial Marines.
  • Do everyone a favor and stop bitching,you want a better quality game before actually releasing it then let the real gamers test it first.
  • I'm kinda hoping for Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel tanks, so Randy can understand how it feels when another company mucks up your IP... Randy is one of the biggest douches in the industry, right up there with Peter Molyneux, CliffyB, and Phil Fish... Peter and Randy lie and lie, and them lie a bit more. Cliffy is just arrogant as hell, and Fish is a loud mouth who can't take criticism, and insults his consumers more than actually appreciate them for investing money in his product... They should just take eachother by the hand, get on a boat, and leave...
  • @33 maybe this court case will be the new IP they are working on? Lmao u play as the lawyers
  • @#40 - Only one problem: The Pre-Sequel was developed by 2K Australia, so Gearbox will not be affected by the release. Well, except in some gamers' minds, I suppose. Just like some still think Irrational had something to do with BioShock 2, the Pre-Sequel will still get lumped-in with the Gearbox developed games. So Gearbox will still receive praise/scorn to a certain extent, deserved or not...
  • He sounds awfully professional.
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