Brutal Legend in danger

[Banky71]

http://kotaku.com/5279036/activision-sues-brutal-legend-devs-to-halt-release

Publisher Activision has filed suit against Brütal Legend developer Double Fine Productions to prevent the release of the heavy metal game starring Jack Black, putting the title's Rocktober release in jeopardy.

According to a report from the Associated Press, Activision claims that Double Fine failed to deliver Brütal Legend on time and mostly on its dime. The suit contends that the Brütal Legend dev was paid $15 million to finish the game, but missed a key deadline, with Double Fine asking for another $7 million in development monies and a nine month extension.

When Vivendi and Activision merged last year, Brütal Legend was missing from the list of titles that Activision would inherit and publish. But Activision claims it still retains its rights to the open world action adventure and that the mega-publisher has suffered "irreparable harm" in losing the game.

The lawsuit is unlikely a surprise for EA and Double Fine, as Activision expressed its unhappiness with the game being handed over to its biggest competitor earlier this year. EA's response to Activision's legal threats called them as ridiculous as "a husband abandoning his family and then suing after his wife meets a better looking guy."

Brütal Legend's presence at E3 2009 is big. New publisher Electronic Arts is banking heavily on the game, but if Activision is successful in its latest round of litigation, it's possible that we might have to start looking forward to a Rockvember or Rockcember release.

[BuRn7 CaK3]

All Activision wants is money, which is no surprise.

[killer_roach]

All Activision wants is money, which is no surprise.

More than that. What they really want are the IP rights to the title.

[Banky71]

More than that. What they really want are the IP rights to the title.

Which they could have had and passed on.

[Goatbuster]

Let's go EA! Whoop that Activision ass!!

[BuRn7 CaK3]

More than that. What they really want are the IP rights to the title.

EA Publishes way better games than Activision.

[onduvalst]

I think looking at the evidence, any judge would see Activision doesn't have a leg to stand on and Schaffer had every right to find a new publisher. Acti is just trying to get some money like they did for Ghost Busters.

[killer_roach]

Which they could have had and passed on.

No. Double Fine owns the IP rights. What Activision has been trying to do is harass the developer into handing those rights over through any manner of procedural trick they could. There was talk before EA picked up the game that Activision was telling Double Fine that they could only seek a new publisher after signing off the rights...

[ThunderCurls]

Hahahaha their analogy was hilarious.

[Mystlyfe77]

EA Publishes way better games than Activision.

I disagree.

[BuRn7 CaK3]

I disagree.

So you like all the 37 Guitar Hero games Activision publishes? All of the Call of Duty games?

EA Published RB and RB2, Battlefield, and more that i just can't think of.

So far, EA is better.

Sure, I like Modern Warefare and Modern Warefare 2, GH1, 2 and kinda 3.


*edit* Also, I'm just talking about EA. Not EA Sports.

Not all of Activisions publishes are horrible. But alot of them are.

[ThunderCurls]

ea sports its in the game
ea sports its in the game
ea sports its in the game
ea sports its in the game
ea sports its in the game
ea sports its in the game
ea sports its in the game

[The Hungry Samurai]

Yeah this is really freakin low. Up till now I thought all the douchebaggery between EA and Activision was just business. I know it won't make a lick of difference in the long run but I'm done buying Guitar Hero and Tony Hawk titles.

The only group who's suffering in all this crap is Doublefine. I hope some of the music celebrities who put their work into this game take note of whats going on, spread the word to other musicians, and maybe they'll think twice before giving their masters to the GH brand.

Activision, you've finally singled yourself out as THE MAN. Shame on you.

[Banky71]

http://twitter.com/brutallegend/status/2033104173

[NormanCoxwell]

Bogus. I actually wanted to rent this game.

[Bulkdarthdan]

Money is the ONLY thing Activision care about these days.

[kiggidykev]

So they passed on it until it became popular, then wanted it back? Heh

It'll all come down to evidence, as Ondy said. I do hope this takes a big bite out of Activision's ego, though

[rockfresh126]

Man...i feel so weird. What happened to the days where EA was the devil?

Anyways, Activision has become utter evil. They passed on this game (as well as Ghostbusters) because it couldn't be "exploited" every year, and now that it's one of the most anticipated games of the year, they want to be *****es. Screw this company

[ArchangelZero]

Bullcrap...bullcrap...bullcrap...

Activision sucks...

[timmay9]

I swear to god, if this game never gets released due to Activision. This is one of my most anticipated games. I hope this leads to people like Jack Black hating Activision's guts.

[BuRn7 CaK3]

Bullcrap...bullcrap...bullcrap...

Activision sucks...


I swear to god, if this game never gets released due to Activision. This is one of my most anticipated games. I hope this leads to people like Jack Black hating Activision's guts.

Double this.

I already hate Activision... I don't think i could hate them anymore.

[KampfVerein]

I never thought I'd be rooting for EA, but...there you go. Sign of the times.

[jeccaneko]

I thought Activision tried to sue them for this game before. Or am I misremembering?

[BuRn7 CaK3]

I thought Activision tried to sue them for this game before. Or am I misremembering?

Looks like it. ~> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brutal_Legend#Publishing_issues

And yes, Activision did drop Brutal Legend.

[Razputin]

Just one more reason to hate Activision. Didn't they drop the rights to Brutal Legend completely? They're just upset now that it has some positive buzz around it and won't have the chance to milk it on a monthly basis. Tim Schafer just can't catch a break, can he?

Note to Activision: I will be buying Prototype used. Suck it! :mad:

[theantkid12]

That analogy made my day.

[NoMoreVillains]

Man...i feel so weird. What happened to the days where EA was the devil?
He showed up!
4602

[Soja]

F#ck you, Activision. I hope every musical artist involved with this game gets pissed off at you and stops supporting anything Guitar Hero-related.

Activision has always been a tumor on the gaming industry, insomuch that Atari tried to sue them to stop them from releasing **** games on their console (http://www.cracked.com/article_17442_p2.html). (Scroll down to 'shovelware,' under the headline 'They've been trying since...')

If they've suffered 'irreparable damage' from the loss of Brütal Legend, GOOD.

[Zidane]

Man...i feel so weird. What happened to the days where EA was the devil?



They picked up on a Harmonix game, and everyone loves them.


Just one more reason to hate Activision. Didn't they drop the rights to Brutal Legend completely? They're just upset now that it has some positive buzz around it and won't have the chance to milk it on a monthly basis. Tim Schafer just can't catch a break, can he?

Note to Activision: I will be buying Prototype used. Suck it! :mad:

That oughta show 'em!

[war_lord]

Apples found this and mentioned it in the RockBand IRC channel: http://www.joystiq.com/2009/06/04/overheard-e3-brutally-jealous/



Overheard@E3: Brutally Jealousby Xav de Matos { Jun 4th 2009 at 3:30PM }



Activision Rep: "Have you been to the booth yet?"

Xav: "Not yet. I want to check out Brutal Legend... wait sorry, that's EA. You guys used to have it."

Activision: "Yeah. Don't rub it in."

For the record, this happened yesterday ... which makes today's law suit even more hilarious.


Funny, but I hope they didn't inadvertently incite the law suit.

[Idiostock]

I swear to god, if this game never gets released due to Activision. This is one of my most anticipated games. I hope this leads to people like Jack Black hating Activision's guts.

Watch Tenacious D get a full album by the end of the year lol.

Go Activision! Piss everyone off.

[CycoMiko138]

This is thoroughly disgusting and the reason I have a standing boycott of Activision.:mad:

[Soja]

Apples found this and mentioned it in the RockBand IRC channel: http://www.joystiq.com/2009/06/04/overheard-e3-brutally-jealous/



Funny, but I hope they didn't inadvertently incite the law suit.That's the burn of the year.

[kiggidykev]

Tim Shafer is awesome at comebacks (http://kotaku.com/5279255/tim-schafer-responds-to-activisions-brutal-legend-lawsuit)

[j_dub_rules]

This may be harsh, but Kotick needs cancer

[HeavyHorse]

Tim Shafer is awesome at comebacks (http://kotaku.com/5279255/tim-schafer-responds-to-activisions-brutal-legend-lawsuit)I love that man. Respect to him for responding so humorously about this huge bummer.

Him and the rest of Double Fine have already been though enough bumps in the road trying to get this game out too. Activision has enough money coming in already as well with the merger and franchises like GH and CoD. Only pisses me off seeing them go so low with this, picking on Double Fine.

I just hope Activision's move gets stricken down to the ground so we can all get excited about Brutal Legend's Rocktober release again.

[gosox333]

"a husband abandoning his family and then suing after his wife meets a better looking guy."Win. Win. Win. Win. Win.

Seriously, this is such a douchebag move. It's just so freaking low, it's unbelievable.

[BuRn7 CaK3]

Tim Shafer is awesome at comebacks (http://kotaku.com/5279255/tim-schafer-responds-to-activisions-brutal-legend-lawsuit)

That is hilarious! Go Tim Schafer! You tell 'em who's boss!

[LinkStrifeLeonhart]

Tim Schafer is now on the list of my heroes.

I do not know why he wasn't there before.

[miche.cs]

Tim Schafer is the dude. He always has such bad luck with his epic projects but always keeps things on the funny side of life. I was totally bummed out to hear about this this morning. Why wait until the last kick when EA and Double Fine have taken it to E3 to turn around and go, actually, wait...LAWSUIT! Seems petty and childish from Activision. Jealousy does not suit them.

[Colt_Steele]

They're just upset now that it has some positive buzz around it and won't have the chance to milk it on a monthly basis.
Get out of my head, you.
Somebody is royally pissed that Brutal Legend 2-5, Brutal Legend DS, Brutal Legend: Fleetwood Mac, Brutal Legend: Spinal Tap and Brutal Legend Greatest Hits won't be in Actiblizzard's E3 booth next year.

[FlameSama1]

Can you say...Brutal DJ?

Yeah, too bad I already have a full preorder on Prototype...*******s. Hopefully the court rules Activison to **** off.

[FloodOne]

Yeah, I don't care. I buy games, not stock in these companies.

[The Hungry Samurai]

Yeah, I don't care. I buy games, not stock in these companies.

You should care, if the lawsuit isn't settled properly it could push back the release date of a great looking game killing it's hype and potentially costing it important sales that would most likely go towards making a proper sequel to the game or another good game by the same creative minds.

Also keep in mind that Ozzy, Lemmy, Rob Halford, Lita Ford, and Jack Black have all put time and effort into this game, and may even be expecting some form of royalties for the use of their likeness. Since all are musical figures, how activision handles themselves in this situation may affect their personal opinions on the Guitar Hero name.

As a Rock Band fanboy I really do hope Activision makes a total ass out of themselves and then fail miserably enough so that musicians are less inclined to give out exclusivity rights to GH in fear of being viewed as sell outs. I also really hope that EA's Brutal Legend is in my videogame collection this Rocktober....so I can stop sounding like a videogame commercial asap.

[HeavyHorse]

You should care, if the lawsuit isn't settled properly it could push back the release date of a great looking game killing it's hype and potentially costing it important sales that would most likely go towards making a proper sequel to the game or another good game by the same creative minds.

Also keep in mind that Ozzy, Lemmy, Rob Halford, Lita Ford, and Jack Black have all put time and effort into this game, and may even be expecting some form of royalties for the use of their likeness. Since all are musical figures, how activision handles themselves in this situation may affect their personal opinions on the Guitar Hero name.

As a Rock Band fanboy I really do hope Activision makes a total ass out of themselves and then fail miserably enough so that musicians are less inclined to give out exclusivity rights to GH in fear of being viewed as sell outs. I also really hope that EA's Brutal Legend is in my videogame collection this Rocktober....so I can stop sounding like a videogame commercial asap.The commercial man sees the big picture.

[BuRn7 CaK3]

ROFL at the tag "douchebactivision" seriously, they should totally change it to that!

[citric_bullets]

Brutal Legend has been my number one most anticipated game since initially hearing about it like a year ago (well, The Beatles has the top spot for now, but between September and October, Brutal Legend will hopefully take it back).

While I'm so pumped for it that I would wait as long as I need to, if Activision delays it further, I will NOT be a happy camper.

[FloodOne]

You should care, if the lawsuit isn't settled properly it could push back the release date of a great looking game killing it's hype and potentially costing it important sales that would most likely go towards making a proper sequel to the game or another good game by the same creative minds.

Also keep in mind that Ozzy, Lemmy, Rob Halford, Lita Ford, and Jack Black have all put time and effort into this game, and may even be expecting some form of royalties for the use of their likeness. Since all are musical figures, how activision handles themselves in this situation may affect their personal opinions on the Guitar Hero name.

As a Rock Band fanboy I really do hope Activision makes a total ass out of themselves and then fail miserably enough so that musicians are less inclined to give out exclusivity rights to GH in fear of being viewed as sell outs. I also really hope that EA's Brutal Legend is in my videogame collection this Rocktober....so I can stop sounding like a videogame commercial asap.

And this affects me how?

So a game gets pushed back. It wouldn''t be the first time I've had to wait longer for a game I'm waiting for.

FF XII, Borderlands and GTA IV were all games I was looking foward too, but had to wait extra long for one reason or another. I lived through that, I'll live through this.

[CycoMiko138]

And this affects me how?

So a game gets pushed back. It wouldn''t be the first time I've had to wait longer for a game I'm waiting for.

FF XII, Borderlands and GTA IV were all games I was looking foward too, but had to wait extra long for one reason or another. I lived through that, I'll live through this.

There's a difference between those examples and this. It's perfectly reasonable when a studio or publisher holds back a game's release to make sure that it's quality is up to expectations or to avoid competition with other major releases (especially it's own). Activision is purposely trying to disrupt the release of a game they passed on because their biggest competitor now has it. Shameful and embarassing, Douchebagtivision.

[FloodOne]

There's a difference between those examples and this. It's perfectly reasonable when a studio or publisher holds back a game's release to make sure that it's quality is up to expectations or to avoid competition with other major releases (especially it's own). Activision is purposely trying to disrupt the release of a game they passed on because their biggest competitor now has it. Shameful and embarassing, Douchebagtivision.

Look, I'm pretty sure Acti/Blizz doesn't have a leg to stand on with their litigation. It's not a huge deal.

also, LOL @ people thinking that this will hurt the sales of this game. Everyone knows that Double Fine's games don't sell well at all.

[killer_roach]

Everyone knows that Double Fine's games don't sell well at all.

Bad use of the plural.

Double Fine's games is a data set of one; one that was, no less, published by Majesco. Keep that in mind :)

[citric_bullets]

also, LOL @ people thinking that this will hurt the sales of this game. Everyone knows that Double Fine's games don't sell well at all.

You're forgetting that this game has Jack Black's name attached to it, and has EA backing it. People eat JB up, and EA has the cash to promote the crap out of it. This one has much potential...

[The Hungry Samurai]

And this affects me how?

So a game gets pushed back. It wouldn''t be the first time I've had to wait longer for a game I'm waiting for.

FF XII, Borderlands and GTA IV were all games I was looking foward too, but had to wait extra long for one reason or another. I lived through that, I'll live through this.

Well.... the post you replied to pretty much explained how it affects you. Waiting sucks, Doublefine making money= better games, musicians angry at Activision may mean more DLC for Rock Band.

I'm assuming you do play Rock Band right? Seeing as you're here and all.


Look, I'm pretty sure Acti/Blizz doesn't have a leg to stand on with their litigation. It's not a huge deal.

also, LOL @ people thinking that this will hurt the sales of this game. Everyone knows that Double Fine's games don't sell well at all.

Weren't you the one who said they didn't care about the business aspect of games a few posts back?

[ArmsAreLoud]

You're forgetting that this game has Jack Black's name attached to it, and has EA backing it. People eat JB up, and EA has the cash to promote the crap out of it. This one has much potential...

In addition, Rob Halford is voicing the lead villain, and there are going to be other rock god cameos throughout.

As for what Activision is doing, that's publishers in general for ya. They can't make the games themselves, so they throw money at them until the game can't leave. Fortunately, Activision's usual strategy isn't working this time.

[Zidane]

In addition, Rob Halford is voicing the lead villain, and there are going to be other rock god cameos throughout.


I'm almost sure Rob Halford only plays a minor villain in the game (The hair metal guy.) he plays a bigger role as a ally.

[DethTung]

All Activision wants is money, which is no surprise.

Activision=McDonaldizationers of video games

They prefer quantity=quality rather than quality=good game.

[Zidane]

Activision=McDonaldizationers of video games

They prefer quantity=quality rather than quality=good game.

To be honest, every one in a while you'll get a double Quarter pounder with cheese, fries, and a coke-and it'll be the best thing ever. (COD 4)

[DethTung]

If all video game publishers were fast food restaraunts, Nintendo would serve those awesome Jr. Bacon Cheeseburgers with seasoned curly fries and a refreshing drink of Royal Crown Cola. That, my friend, is why Nintendo lives through every crisis.

[Metal_Man]

GODDAMN ACTIVISION!!!!!!!!

lol caps