Star Trek Online dev sued by PR firm
Dark days are ahead for Perpetual Entertainment. After placing their mythology-based MMO Gods & Heroes: Rome Rising on indefinite hold, the Star Trek Online developer is being sued by their former PR company, claiming thousands of dollars worth of unpaid invoices, breach of contract, as well as several charges of fraud against the developer and its employees.
The public relations firm Kohnke Communications had been in charge of marketing for Gods & Heroes, and is now claiming over $10,000 worth of unpaid invoices for their work, in addition to bonuses that would have been due to Kohnke upon the release of the MMO. In total, Kohnke seeks to claim between $70,000 and $280,000, which, according to the law document, are reflective of what Kohnke would have earned after Gods & Heroes' launch, depending on sales numbers and other factors.
Kohnke alleges that Perpetual Entertainment took steps to directly avoid paying the PR firm for services rendered on the canceled title. Perpetual placed Gods & Heroes on indefinite hold following numerous delays and layoffs. After acquiring new investors, the company shifted focus to Star Trek Online, taking the sci-fi MMO in a more casual direction.
The public relations firm Kohnke Communications had been in charge of marketing for Gods & Heroes, and is now claiming over $10,000 worth of unpaid invoices for their work, in addition to bonuses that would have been due to Kohnke upon the release of the MMO. In total, Kohnke seeks to claim between $70,000 and $280,000, which, according to the law document, are reflective of what Kohnke would have earned after Gods & Heroes' launch, depending on sales numbers and other factors.
Kohnke alleges that Perpetual Entertainment took steps to directly avoid paying the PR firm for services rendered on the canceled title. Perpetual placed Gods & Heroes on indefinite hold following numerous delays and layoffs. After acquiring new investors, the company shifted focus to Star Trek Online, taking the sci-fi MMO in a more casual direction.












Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
sifer2400 @ Dec 12th 2007 7:10AM
this game is gonna suck i can feel it
Ps YES im first lol 7am
Ted @ Dec 12th 2007 7:13AM
lol, I was confused by how long it took for someone to make the first comment...
FOXHOUND @ Dec 12th 2007 7:48AM
ol'Gene must be spinning right now...
...25¢ a gander!
joevill @ Dec 12th 2007 9:17AM
"Prepare for assimilation, resitance is futile! Your knowledge is now ours... wait... what is this... a subpoena? NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!"
pwned!
Chris @ Dec 12th 2007 4:45PM
"your money will be assimilated, your knowledge is ours, prepare to lose everything.. RESISTANCE IS FUTILE!"
- average lawyer
WiNG @ Dec 12th 2007 10:11AM
People should just play EVE Online.
gonk @ Dec 12th 2007 10:29AM
or mass effect
Lemmiwinks @ Dec 12th 2007 12:09PM
Yes. Because EVE is so very accessible.
I love EVE, but it's not "casual" enough to reach the audience they're going after with STO.
I do wonder, though, how many Trek fans who are also gamers would consider themselves to be casual gamers.
Aurvant @ Dec 12th 2007 11:48AM
Wow, Perpetual is undergoing a faster downward spiral than Trilobyte...
Although, at least Trilobyte at least put out two wonderful games before they imploded in on themselves. Perpetual just made a lot of promises and then got infected with the EPIC FAIL! bug.
Idontknowanymore @ Dec 12th 2007 12:48PM
Someone should tell this PR firm that its not good for business to be suing former clients for what would/might have been. You get bonuses when things go well for a company, if they don't you get nothing thats how it works. It doesn't mater if you were responsible for the issues or not. Now other companies are going to look at this and possibly think twice before hiring the firm.
Zeromark @ Dec 12th 2007 1:44PM
If anything, it's just the opposite. PR firms operate on credibility, and Perpetual blowing them off hurt their credibility - tanamount to saying, "You are a crappy PR firm."
If they didn't file suit, it would shout to the rest of the PR industry that their ethics may be in question, and lose other clients. It will also remind any clients in the PR field not to breach contract, because if you piss off PR or the Media, they will tank you in the court of public opinion.