"Game developer" sues game critic for $10 million

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yourbeliefs

yourbeliefs

Something Profound
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Sep 20, 2007
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As game development has become easier than ever (to the point where I am actually in pre-production on a game of my own), sadly it also means that shovelware/cheap products are also easier than ever to produce (no I'm not planning on making that sort of stuff.) And with Steam's virtual complete lack of quality control, pieces of junk can share the same store space as high quality games. Anyways this leads us to news that reputed awful "game developers" Digital Homicide are suing game critic Jim Sterling for "Assault, Libel & Slander" because he had the gall to point out how horrible Digital Homicide's games were.

Although I think it's fair to say that this lawsuit has about as good of a chance of a snowball in hell, it is a sad and scary day when developers feel that they can claim damages by particular critics. While Jim Sterling may be known by some in the gaming world, there are quite a few others more famous than he, and Jim himself barely fits the rather ubiquitous definition of "Internet Famous."

Story here.

Someone on YouTube was nice enough to make a playlist chronicling the "struggle" between Jim and Digital Homicide. It's quite a few videos but I STRONGLY suggest you at least watch the "main" video that summarizes the first big battle stemming from "The Slaughtering Grounds."

List (FYI for some reason the timeline is a little off. Video 2 should be played before Video 1.)
Digital Homicide/Slaughtering Grounds story

Finally, this ongoing saga has been picked up by other famous YouTubers

Angry Joe
ProJared
Caddicarus
 
This seems like a publicity stunt to me. I doubt they seriously think they can sue someone for giving them a bad review. It does get them featured on major sites like Kotaku though.
 
Well it goes beyond just simply a bad review. Their contention is that Jim has made a concerted effort to hurt them by constantly pointing out their bad games and referencing them in negative ways (not dishonest, just negative.) So to them, this critic has gone above and beyond what would be considered standard criticism and has made a concerted effort to cause emotional and financial harm to their company. Don't get me wrong, I'm pretty confident their case will be thrown out, but this goes WELL beyond the criticism Jim had of "The Slaughtering Grounds."
 
So the guys from Digital Homicide have set up a GoFundMe to fund their legal fund to sue Jim Sterling. I'm sure you can imagine how well it's doing and how the reception has gone. The comments are quite amusing. Also, I'm PRETTY sure that you can't use GFM to fund a legal defense case, because not too long ago GFM shut down a campaign to help one of those bakeries that refused to make a cake for gay people (or something along those lines, don't quote me on that but the point is there is precedent for stuff like this to not be allowed.)



I'm sure this goes without saying, but PLEASE don't donate to the thing above.
 
This almost sounds like the case of Enigma Software suing Bleeping Computer for poorly reviewing their SpyHunter software. Enigma claims that Bleeping Computer get paid for sending people to MalwareBytes and therefore is in Bleeping Computer's financial interests to turn people away from competing products. http://www.scmagazine.com/enigma-so...m_campaign=Feed:+SCMagazineHome+(SC+Magazine)

The lawsuit is to squelch unfavorable press regarding DH's product. They do have some gaul taking for public support through GFM since it's usually the party being sued who is in need of financial aid...
 
Foxbat said:
This almost sounds like the case of Enigma Software suing Bleeping Computer for poorly reviewing their SpyHunter software. Enigma claims that Bleeping Computer get paid for sending people to MalwareBytes and therefore is in Bleeping Computer's financial interests to turn people away from competing products. http://www.scmagazine.com/enigma-software-files-lawsuit-against-bleeping-computer-for-bad-review/article/483474/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+SCMagazineHome+(SC+Magazine)

The lawsuit is to squelch unfavorable press regarding DH's product. They do have some gaul taking for public support through GFM since it's usually the party being sued who is in need of financial aid...
Click to expand...

First off, I'm surprised they got away with naming their software "SpyHunter", as that's not only the name of a game but also being adapted into a big budget movie. Maybe making it all 1 word was the key. But yeah that's quite a stretch for a lawsuit.

As far as DH goes, clearly you didn't read right. DH is the VICTIM in all of this! Jim Sterling is preventing them from making money by saying bad things about them that are probably true and thus preventing people from wanting to buy their games!

What it really is a case of is that DH got in over their heads by pissing off the wrong guy. I'm not saying that Jim Sterling is necessarily a heavyweight (no pun intended if you've ever seen him) in the game reviewer industry but he's got quite a lot of balls and determination. He's the former lead reviewer and editor of both Destructoid and The Escapist, and recently made a bold move by going completely independent and is only funded via YouTube Ad revenue and Patreon. And it looks like it was a pretty damn smart move as now he has complete freedom AND he's making more money than he ever did before (I refuse to look at it anymore because I get depressed at how much more money he makes than me). And I'm sure that amount is going to go up with people now likely going to throw in more money to support him.

Back on point, Jim doesn't let stuff slide. Anyone who follows his articles and videos knows that he refuses to let sh*t he disagrees with go, and will constantly rail on it if he feels he's in the right. And after DH put him through what they did earlier over his Slaughtering Grounds video they became a fixture of his. If DH had just let it go none of this would be happening now. Jim's been a lot meaner to other games, but the majority of them don't go and then try to silence him or "fight back." It's just more evidence that in this internet day and age, don't put stuff out there if you don't have a thick skin.
 
My point about GoFundMe is usually the person or entity being sued (the defendant) is the one who needs money. That is not the case with Digital Homicide. They need to beg for money to pay for bringing a libel lawsuit? If the suit had actual merit, I'm sure they could find a law firm who would take it for the usual portion of the damages. Sounds like the lawyers are being smart enough to realize they won't see any payoff, hence the need for GFM.

(not being a gamer, I actually thought the name of the poorly-reviewed game was "Assault, Libel & Slander"...;))
 
This is tangentially related to the OT, but it is just as important, if not more, in helping to protect Fair Use..

So H3H3 is a YouTube channel that apparently mostly deals with reaction videos, or rather, commenting on videos/things people do. Anyways apparently they went and critiqued the wrong YouTuber, specifically Matt Hoss, AKA "The Bold Guy." I have NO idea what his videos entail but apparently parkour is a main topic. He threatened to sue unless some conditions were met, then he did a copyright claim, and then he filed a frivolous lawsuit against H3H3. As a result, Philip DeFranco (apparently ANOTHER YouTuber) set up a GoFundMe for $100k, and they reached the goal within 21 hours. More amazingly is the amount of support they got from other YouTubers like Boogie2988, PewDiePie, and even the Fine Bros (who got roasted by H3H3 during their "React" controversy.)

I bring this up because the money from this is going to be used to help YouTubers and other critics alike protect themselves from lawsuits like this by providing a legal support group for those affected, meaning that now legitimate lawyers who know the law can help these people out and YouTubers can't be intimidated by these jerks with thin skins and big wallets. I donated some money myself to the fund as I think it's for a good cause. Not saying anyone else here has to (after all, they hit their goal) but I figured it was somewhat related to gaming as we've seen NUMEROUS instances of game critics getting abused in similar fashions, specifically Jim Sterling. Hopefully his case and this one will help set some positive precedence.

I guess I should also note that Matt Hoss is starting to get some (deserved) heat for this. A quick browse of his videos is showing a drastic dislike to like ratio, and I can't imagine that he became popular in the first place if that's how his videos were originally perceived.

Lawsuit Announcement:



GoFundMeLink



GoFundMe info and Support update

 
yourbeliefs said:
Well it goes beyond just simply a bad review. Their contention is that Jim has made a concerted effort to hurt them by constantly pointing out their bad games and referencing them in negative ways (not dishonest, just negative.) So to them, this critic has gone above and beyond what would be considered standard criticism and has made a concerted effort to cause emotional and financial harm to their company. Don't get me wrong, I'm pretty confident their case will be thrown out, but this goes WELL beyond the criticism Jim had of "The Slaughtering Grounds."
Click to expand...
Typical millennials who can't take criticism
 
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Juan_ said:
Typical millennials who can't take criticism
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I don't think it's a case of that. Apparently these developers are based in Russia, and the majority of people there haven't lived the same "pampered" lives as those we would consider Millennials here. I think it's a simple case of a group of a**holes. I mean it's not like DH put out a bunch of decent games and Jim was "that guy" that put them down. They had to knowingly put out sh*t and he called them on it, and because people saying your stuff is sh*t is bad for business, they decided to sue. I'm not trying to defend millennials here as much as I'm trying to just say these are flat out a**holes, and a**holes exist regardless of age, sex, and upbringing.
 
Juan_ said:
Typical millennials who can't take criticism
Click to expand...

WiCkeDuDe said:
That's exactly the same thing as saying millennials ....
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3887802120_1d5e1f7575_d.jpg


Just another case of old fogies deciding the next generation is the end of the world just like the generation before did to them. Us millennials would just like to say thank you for destroying the economy just before we graduated from college and draining the social security system we will pay into but never be able to collect.
 
king3pj said:
3887802120_1d5e1f7575_d.jpg


Just another case of old fogies deciding the next generation is the end of the world just like the generation before did to them. Us millennials would just like to say thank you for destroying the economy just before we graduated from college and draining the social security system we will pay into but never be able to collect.
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Whaaaaaaa Whaaaaaaa. Whaaaaaaa just go to work and the future will take care of it self
 
Juan_ said:
Whaaaaaaa Whaaaaaaa. Whaaaaaaa just go to work and the future will take care of it self
Click to expand...

I'm actually doing just fine. I have a good job, house, and contribute as much as I can to my retirement accounts because I know I will have to rely on myself for that. There won't be any pension or social security waiting for me when I'm 60.

Baby Boomers love to complain about millennials being lazy or whatever else we are supposedly doing (your generation raised us and taught us these things by the way.) However, they never acknowledge that the economy is different now than it was when they were in their 20s. I'll just leave this here.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/...-boomers-american-economy-20151107-story.html
 
king3pj said:
I'm actually doing just fine. I have a good job, house, and contribute as much as I can to my retirement accounts because I know I will have to rely on myself for that. There won't be any pension or social security waiting for me when I'm 60.

Baby Boomers love to complain about millennials being lazy or whatever else we are supposedly doing (your generation raised us and taught us these things by the way.) However, they never acknowledge that the economy is different now than it was when they were in their 20s. I'll just leave this here.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/...-boomers-american-economy-20151107-story.html
Click to expand...
Sounds like you had good parents..we need more people like you..economy always changes
 
Okay, let's not turn this into a full blown argument over which generation is the cause for all the problems in our country. I didn't personally agree with Juan or Wicked's assessment that Digital Homicide's behavior could best be equated to that of an entire generation of people. People being unable to take criticism and lash out in childish ways have been around since the beginning of time. I myself am on the tail end of what is considered Generation X, or as I like to call it, "Degeneration X" but I've seen enough issues with all generations (including my own) where blame can be assigned.

And lest we forget, according to EVERY past generation, the newer generation sucks (NSFW language but VERY funny.)
 
Ol' George became more bitter and less funny as he aged. Sad. He was so great.
 
I always liked George Carlin; probably why I get such a kick from Louis Black.
 
In case you thought this case couldn't get any more screwed up, now Digital Homicide is suing around 100 Steam Community Users for posting negative reviews of their games. I'm not kidding. NSFW language in video

 
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