Class Action Lawsuit officially filed against SBS, Xsolla, others- Link to complaint

Slapshot1188

Hot off the press:
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/692855824858480761/806613902812643338/2.1.21_Class_Action_Complaint_Xsolla.pdf

Slapshot1188

coretex666 said:

Slapshot1188 said:

Hot off the press:
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/692855824858480761/806613902812643338/2.1.21_Class_Action_Complaint_Xsolla.pdf

May this serve as a deterrent for both, parties like the plaintiff and also the defendant.

It has become too common that (1) developers using crowdfunding and sales of virtual products as a source of income for their project development, employ various unethical practices with the aim to encourage people to purchase their online products and financially support the development of their project and (2) people naively spend money on various projects which bear a high level of risk while not doing and possibly not being capable of performing a proper due diligence.

The way the laws work you aren't supposed to have to do due diligence for every purchase you make.  Companies have to be truthful in what they say. 

This is also kind of a unique case in that (as hypothesized months ago) it really focuses on their stupid TOS.  SBS said no refunds, but also said that their TOS was superseded by the TOS of 3rd party providers.  Well, their payment processor (Xsolla) had a policy that explicitly said you COULD get a refund prior to software being delivered.

If Xsolla did not have that, then this would be a much weaker case.  

It's also interesting that they also seem to be alleging fraud on the part of SBS:

16. In or around July 2017, SBS released a detailed announcement which advised of SBS’s timeline, its systems, and it progress regarding CoE development. Within this update, SBS showcased a video with game play footage. Nowhere did this video say or have any disclaimer which stated that what was being shown was not actual gameplay footage of CoE. Instead, Plaintiff later found out the footage SBS offered as game play footage of CoE was actually cinematics. Generally, when game play footage is shown it boosts the confidence of the community to further support the developer because it lets consumers know what the game currently looks like. This delineation is important because if it was game play footage that means SBS had taken actual game development to show its consumers development progress as opposed to cinematics which can be made in a studio to simply post online and is not taken from the actual development of the game. 

Mendel

I hope this case sets a precedent against companies using cinematic movies as opposed to actual game footage to represent their product.  The industry has been rife with this practice for some time now.  Using movies in this way can be very deceptive of the actual product and does the consumer a great disservice.

Slapshot1188

Mendel said:

I hope this case sets a precedent against companies using cinematic movies as opposed to actual game footage to represent their product.  The industry has been rife with this practice for some time now.  Using movies in this way can be very deceptive of the actual product and does the consumer a great disservice.

I assume they are referring to this infamous State of Elyria update;
https://chroniclesofelyria.com/blog/21106/State-of-Elyria-July-2017

Seeing this again made me chuckle:
http://media.chroniclesofelyria.com/videos/Chronicles_of_Elyria_Pre-Alpha_ElyriaMUD_Walkthrough_Preview.mp4

Mendel

Slapshot1188 said:

Mendel said:

I hope this case sets a precedent against companies using cinematic movies as opposed to actual game footage to represent their product.  The industry has been rife with this practice for some time now.  Using movies in this way can be very deceptive of the actual product and does the consumer a great disservice.

I assume they are referring to this infamous State of Elyria update;
https://chroniclesofelyria.com/blog/21106/State-of-Elyria-July-2017

Seeing this again made me chuckle:
http://media.chroniclesofelyria.com/videos/Chronicles_of_Elyria_Pre-Alpha_ElyriaMUD_Walkthrough_Preview.mp4

Probably so.  That's the one I remember.  Stills images and movies, all presented as in-game footage.

cheyane

Hopefully this will lay the foundation for other successful lawsuits should this succeed and some legislation for more accountability.