Legal Challenge For Black Ops Bugs

The rather unexpected Activision / Call of Duty news splurge continues with the announcement that Independent U.K. gaming pressure group GamersVoice are to report Activision to the Office of Fair Trading regarding what they describe as the ‘buggy and unfinished’ PlayStation 3 and PC versions of Black Ops.

GamersVoice issued an open letter to Activision which explains that they have been ‘inundated with complaints from people who have bought copies of Call of Duty: Black Ops.’ The letter asked Activision to reply within a month, they have not so the pressure group is proceeding with further action. Chris O’Regan, Head of Industry Relations at Gamers’ Voice, has said:

“As a result of their inaction we will test the might of government agencies against Activision. We can only hope this brings about some litigious action. These agencies do exist to protect our rights as consumers, let us see if they can fullfill their remit on this pressing issue.”

“GV wish to set an example with Activision to ensure games are not released in an unfinished state. If litigation is initiated, then a precedent would be set. In other words, publishers will have to reconsider releasing unfinished code in the future, in the UK at least.”

The full letter of complaint to Activision is below:

Dear Sir/Madam,

Gamers’ Voice is a consumer advice and lobbyist group that represents the video game consumer in the UK.  As part of our remit we are tasked to ensure that the purchasers of video games are given a fair hearing when they have a particular issue with a game they have bought.  It is for this reason we are contacting you now as we have been inundated with complaints from people who have bought copies of Call of Duty: Black Ops. They all concern the Playstation 3 console and PC versions of the game.

The complaints range from freezing when a new map is being loaded, locking up of PS3’s and PC’s while running the game, inability to log into multiplayer matches and connection drops mid game.  None of this apparently applies to the Xbox 360 version, which is clearly the lead platform for the title.

It is quite obvious that you have focussed a majority of your QA on the Xbox 360 version with the assumption that the majority of people who play the game will do so on that system.  Despite this, you have chosen to release it on multiple formats to maximise the revenue from sales of the game. By doing so evidence suggests that little attention was paid to the platforms with a smaller install base and hence a reduction in QA being employed for these versions.

It is now that your valuable customer base is bearing the brunt of this short sighted act of crass profiteering on your part, for that is exactly what this is. You have pushed out a game that is broken to the point of it not fulfilling its function as a piece of entertainment. Reading from the back of the game’s box, we quote:

“Epic single-player, acclaimed multiplayer and 4 player co-op Zombies”

What this tag line fails to have is the caveat that this only applies if you are playing the Xbox 360 version. None of this will be experienced by the purchaser of the PS3 and PC ports for they do not actually function as intended.

We therefore request that you offer by way of explanation to us why this has occurred and, more importantly, what are you going to do to recompense your customer base? You have one calendar month to respond to this letter. If no response is received or your retort fails to treat this issue with the gravity it deserves, we will be forced to take matters further.

Source: Gamersvoice / IncGamers