Class action suit against UBI

fredbass · 05-18-07, 07:36 AM

Who governs and holds a publisher responsible for their work anyway?

I think that's the deeper issue. I don't think it would be fair to single out any one particular publisher if many others work the same way.

Hitman · 05-18-07, 07:48 AM

Quote:

He was a bit vague on what the result might be but said we should at least all be able to get the SHIV purchase price back from UBI and maybe a bit more, plus they would have to foot the bill of the class action suit.

Legally speaking and according to spanish laws (Which I know quite well and are more or less similar to other EU countries in consumer's matters), in case of receiving a faulty product you can choose between: 1) Demanding the creator of it to correct it, or 2) Getting your money back plus resulting damage costs (If any). Yet if the creator doesn't want to correct faults or can't do it (If that's your option) and noone can fix it except him, you only have right to a compensation and your money back.

I'm only certain about one thing: When it comes to suing in the courts, lawyers always win. They will get their money no matter if you win or lose.

(Not that I mean you friend was trying to get customers! I just point out that for the rest of people involved, winning or losing is uncertain)

So at best suing will make a lawyer happy and get your money back. You will still not have a working SH4, and any remote chance of UBI fixing it or a future SH5 will dissapear.

rduffy34 · 05-18-07, 07:56 AM

Sorry guys...I guess I'm just not as upset as some of you about this whole patch thing. I have more important things going on in my life without worrying about some court case for a game patch?

And yeah! We sue them? No more SH games....Is that truly worth a law suit over a goddamn patch that 9 times out of 10 they will probobly release anyway.

mookiemookie · 05-18-07, 08:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rduffy34

Sorry guys...I guess I'm just not as upset as some of you about this whole patch thing. I have more important things going on in my life without worrying about some court case for a game patch?

And yeah! We sue them? No more SH games....Is that truly worth a law suit over a goddamn patch that 9 times out of 10 they will probobly release anyway.

Agreed 100%. Some people need to get a life. It's a game, for gods sake. Nobody's life, health or safety is at stake. You people need to go outside more.

UnSalted · 05-18-07, 08:24 AM

"Your honor, my clinets have been caused needless suffering and emotional distress by Ubisoft's failure to satisfy their needs for perfection in gaming. We demand our just recourse."

"What kinds of problems exist with the product, Counselor?"

"Your Honor, we feel that the games realism is a sham, the training provided by Ubisoft is lacking, and the game itself causes frustration."

"So let me get this straight.....people that sit at a PC for hours at a time pretending to be WWII submarine skippers are upset because of a lack of realism?"

"Exactly your Honor".

"OK....and they are upset because the radar doesn't work properly 24/7? And the torpedo tracking doesn't work on the little maps?"

"Yes your Honor, it's a terribly frustrating situation to be in."

"I see....people involved in a role playing game are frustrated. Have you filed a similar suit against Mother Nature by any chance?"

ryanwigginton · 05-18-07, 08:36 AM

stop fretting... there'll be another patch.

DiveMonkey · 05-18-07, 08:50 AM

Don't kid yourself you think a lawyer couldn't make a case!
If some women could sue MC D's over being dumb enough to dump hot coffee on herself...well, we all know how that turned out!

The question is "should UBI be sued"
I guess if you want another SH bad enough than no they shouldn't, but if you think the next SH will be half baked, features missing or don't work, than yea! they should be sued. That assumes there are any plans for another SH in the first place.

One thing all can agree on, SHIV should never have been released in the condition it was in! Some of it was so obviously bugged...one wonders if it wasn't intentional!

akdavis · 05-18-07, 09:10 AM

I've heard this so many times before...

ryanwigginton · 05-18-07, 09:14 AM

Come on guys! This is a game we're talking about. It cost £35 max. That's the price of a meal for two at a restaurant. So lets say the food's not what I expected. Do you think I'd sue the restaurant?! No, I'd just choose not to eat there again. Simple. And I heard someone say that they spoke to someone at Ubi and that NO-ONE at Ubi reads these forums... really? Well, lets just say I'd be extremely surprised if that were true.

I think Ubi will realise the error of there ways if they release a SH5 or any similar game/simulation. Sales will be very low on initial release, unless... they allocate more time to there projects and allow the developers to complete.

harrymanback · 05-18-07, 09:16 AM

Divemonkey and Bane - well said. I can't figure out why people think that games are somehow different to every other consumer product and its perfectly fine that they shouldn't work out of the box. I'm pretty sure on the back of the packet it doesn't say

*CAUTION- Will require some poor Modders to spend weeks of their own unpaid time to make work. Will also require everyone else to spend several hours reading forums/tracking down mods/installing unofficial 3rd party software.*

Yep. I just checked. Its doesn't say that anywhere.

Obviously none of us will bother lauching a lawsuit. I'll just not buy a Ubisoft game again. Then Ubisoft will say "we have to release it in an unfinished state in because we don't sell enough copies of it". Stupid. You've got a great game - just finish it, put a shiny tutorial on the front end, and WHAMMY, you've got a profitable hit. Of course it will remain niche in its current release state.

Silence · 05-18-07, 09:51 AM

IMHO lawsuits are always a bad idea. Just wait like the rest of us and we will have new patches soon. Does anyone have any patience? Seems a sub skipper should be able to wait at least a little while.
james

pythos · 05-18-07, 09:54 AM

I work in the aviation field and have seen the effects of lawers and their damnable lawsuits. Little tiny plastic knobs for a non-flight related cabinet costing 100 dollars!!! Why because some lawers long ago sued Cessna aircraft company for some ridiculous amount of money because a similar part failed to work, and did not latch the cabinet.

This is also a result of the overregulation of aviation parts. Now mind you I am not for the free for all, stick on any part you want, that is prevelant on automobiles. But I do think for Non- flight related items in an aircraft there should be no need for regulation, or certification, and any lawer that comes in asking for huge sums of money, should be booted out of the court room.

Right....that being said.

If there were to be a class action lawsuit against ubi, we would never get an improvement to what we have, and possibly the comunity could lose all support for the SH series, possibly even including the closing of this site due to violations of intelectual property copyrights. Remember we are modding what the folks at ubi wrote.

This lawer is just one example of what is ruining our world more than helping it. He is the reason health insurance is unbelievable, and why insurance costs are as crazy as they are. I'm all for suing those that have greiviously harmed someone, or there is a clear case of incompetance, but to sue because a game does not work like you wished, I think is pushing it.

Bane · 05-18-07, 08:50 AM

Something like this may be inevitable. Consumers will only take the 'release now, patch later' business practice for so long before they decide to do something about it. I would hope so anyway.

I know I personally like to have the products I buy work correctly out of the box. If, for example, your new video card didn't work 100% out of the box you'd take it back without question. Just because we're now talking about a piece of software doesn't make any difference imho. It should still work 100% at the time of purchase and we shouldn't have to wait X months after purchase before it does.

Navigator857 · 05-18-07, 11:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by UnSalted

"Your honor, my clinets have been caused needless suffering and emotional distress by Ubisoft's failure to satisfy their needs for perfection in gaming. We demand our just recourse."

"What kinds of problems exist with the product, Counselor?"

"Your Honor, we feel that the games realism is a sham, the training provided by Ubisoft is lacking, and the game itself causes frustration."

"So let me get this straight.....people that sit at a PC for hours at a time pretending to be WWII submarine skippers are upset because of a lack of realism?"

"Exactly your Honor".

"OK....and they are upset because the radar doesn't work properly 24/7? And the torpedo tracking doesn't work on the little maps?"

"Yes your Honor, it's a terribly frustrating situation to be in."

"I see....people involved in a role playing game are frustrated. Have you filed a similar suit against Mother Nature by any chance?"

Hahahaha, now THAT is awesome. About the only thing in this thread that makes any sense, what-so-ever. Kudos. I would write more but I'm actually going outside at the moment.

theluckyone17 · 05-18-07, 07:57 AM

Yeah, this has my vote of "bad idea." Ubi would suffer, the dev's would suffer (no more sub sims through Ubi), and we'd suffer. The lawyers would probably be the only ones that make out.

I don't know if this has been said yet (and I'm trying to keep this from flaming), but anybody who figures SH4 doesn't make the cut are more than free to help out on the Danger From The Deep project (dangerdeep.sourceforge.net). If SH4 is bad enough to frustrate you to the point of wanting to sue, take that frustration and redirect it to a good purpose.

05-18-07, 07:36 AM	#1
fredbass Ace of the Deep Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: New Port Richey, Fl, USA Posts: 1,066 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	Who governs and holds a publisher responsible for their work anyway? I think that's the deeper issue. I don't think it would be fair to single out any one particular publisher if many others work the same way. __________________

05-18-07, 09:10 AM	#8
akdavis Samurai Navy Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Fort Worth, Texas Posts: 597 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	I've heard this so many times before... __________________ -AKD

05-18-07, 09:51 AM	#11
Silence Watch Join Date: May 2007 Location: Nebraska, U.S. Posts: 17 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	IMHO lawsuits are always a bad idea. Just wait like the rest of us and we will have new patches soon. Does anyone have any patience? Seems a sub skipper should be able to wait at least a little while. james __________________ "No matter where you travel, when you meet a guy who's been... There's an instant kind of friendship 'cause we're brothers of the 'phin." - Robert Reed, G.W. Carver (SSBN-656)

05-18-07, 09:54 AM	#12
pythos Grey Wolf Join Date: May 2005 Location: Somewhere over there Posts: 834 Downloads: 46 Uploads: 0	Good God NO!!!! I work in the aviation field and have seen the effects of lawers and their damnable lawsuits. Little tiny plastic knobs for a non-flight related cabinet costing 100 dollars!!! Why because some lawers long ago sued Cessna aircraft company for some ridiculous amount of money because a similar part failed to work, and did not latch the cabinet. This is also a result of the overregulation of aviation parts. Now mind you I am not for the free for all, stick on any part you want, that is prevelant on automobiles. But I do think for Non- flight related items in an aircraft there should be no need for regulation, or certification, and any lawer that comes in asking for huge sums of money, should be booted out of the court room. Right....that being said. If there were to be a class action lawsuit against ubi, we would never get an improvement to what we have, and possibly the comunity could lose all support for the SH series, possibly even including the closing of this site due to violations of intelectual property copyrights. Remember we are modding what the folks at ubi wrote. This lawer is just one example of what is ruining our world more than helping it. He is the reason health insurance is unbelievable, and why insurance costs are as crazy as they are. I'm all for suing those that have greiviously harmed someone, or there is a clear case of incompetance, but to sue because a game does not work like you wished, I think is pushing it.

05-18-07, 07:56 AM	#3
rduffy34 Watch Join Date: Sep 2006 Posts: 16 Downloads: 149 Uploads: 0	Sorry guys...I guess I'm just not as upset as some of you about this whole patch thing. I have more important things going on in my life without worrying about some court case for a game patch? And yeah! We sue them? No more SH games....Is that truly worth a law suit over a goddamn patch that 9 times out of 10 they will probobly release anyway.

05-18-07, 08:24 AM	#5
UnSalted Machinist's Mate Join Date: Apr 2007 Posts: 130 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	"Your honor, my clinets have been caused needless suffering and emotional distress by Ubisoft's failure to satisfy their needs for perfection in gaming. We demand our just recourse." "What kinds of problems exist with the product, Counselor?" "Your Honor, we feel that the games realism is a sham, the training provided by Ubisoft is lacking, and the game itself causes frustration." "So let me get this straight.....people that sit at a PC for hours at a time pretending to be WWII submarine skippers are upset because of a lack of realism?" "Exactly your Honor". "OK....and they are upset because the radar doesn't work properly 24/7? And the torpedo tracking doesn't work on the little maps?" "Yes your Honor, it's a terribly frustrating situation to be in." "I see....people involved in a role playing game are frustrated. Have you filed a similar suit against Mother Nature by any chance?"

05-18-07, 08:36 AM	#6
ryanwigginton Weps Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Nottinghamshire Posts: 368 Downloads: 68 Uploads: 0	stop fretting... there'll be another patch.

05-18-07, 08:50 AM	#7
DiveMonkey Torpedoman Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 111 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	Don't kid yourself you think a lawyer couldn't make a case! If some women could sue MC D's over being dumb enough to dump hot coffee on herself...well, we all know how that turned out! The question is "should UBI be sued" I guess if you want another SH bad enough than no they shouldn't, but if you think the next SH will be half baked, features missing or don't work, than yea! they should be sued. That assumes there are any plans for another SH in the first place. One thing all can agree on, SHIV should never have been released in the condition it was in! Some of it was so obviously bugged...one wonders if it wasn't intentional!

05-18-07, 09:14 AM	#9
ryanwigginton Weps Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Nottinghamshire Posts: 368 Downloads: 68 Uploads: 0	Come on guys! This is a game we're talking about. It cost £35 max. That's the price of a meal for two at a restaurant. So lets say the food's not what I expected. Do you think I'd sue the restaurant?! No, I'd just choose not to eat there again. Simple. And I heard someone say that they spoke to someone at Ubi and that NO-ONE at Ubi reads these forums... really? Well, lets just say I'd be extremely surprised if that were true. I think Ubi will realise the error of there ways if they release a SH5 or any similar game/simulation. Sales will be very low on initial release, unless... they allocate more time to there projects and allow the developers to complete.

05-18-07, 09:16 AM	#10
harrymanback Watch Join Date: May 2007 Posts: 26 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	Divemonkey and Bane - well said. I can't figure out why people think that games are somehow different to every other consumer product and its perfectly fine that they shouldn't work out of the box. I'm pretty sure on the back of the packet it doesn't say CAUTION- Will require some poor Modders to spend weeks of their own unpaid time to make work. Will also require everyone else to spend several hours reading forums/tracking down mods/installing unofficial 3rd party software. Yep. I just checked. Its doesn't say that anywhere. Obviously none of us will bother lauching a lawsuit. I'll just not buy a Ubisoft game again. Then Ubisoft will say "we have to release it in an unfinished state in because we don't sell enough copies of it". Stupid. You've got a great game - just finish it, put a shiny tutorial on the front end, and WHAMMY, you've got a profitable hit. Of course it will remain niche in its current release state.

05-18-07, 08:50 AM	#13
Bane Torpedoman Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Michigan, USA Posts: 119 Downloads: 33 Uploads: 0	Something like this may be inevitable. Consumers will only take the 'release now, patch later' business practice for so long before they decide to do something about it. I would hope so anyway. I know I personally like to have the products I buy work correctly out of the box. If, for example, your new video card didn't work 100% out of the box you'd take it back without question. Just because we're now talking about a piece of software doesn't make any difference imho. It should still work 100% at the time of purchase and we shouldn't have to wait X months after purchase before it does.

05-18-07, 07:57 AM	#15
theluckyone17 Captain Join Date: May 2006 Location: Niskayuna, NY Posts: 482 Downloads: 103 Uploads: 0	Yeah, this has my vote of "bad idea." Ubi would suffer, the dev's would suffer (no more sub sims through Ubi), and we'd suffer. The lawyers would probably be the only ones that make out. I don't know if this has been said yet (and I'm trying to keep this from flaming), but anybody who figures SH4 doesn't make the cut are more than free to help out on the Danger From The Deep project (dangerdeep.sourceforge.net). If SH4 is bad enough to frustrate you to the point of wanting to sue, take that frustration and redirect it to a good purpose.