Activision sues Double Fine over Brutal Legend

by Christopher Grant { Jun 4th 2009 at 1:49PM }

Yahoo reports that Activision filed a lawsuit against Double Fine, developer of the Jack Black-fueled Brütal Legend, on Wednesday to "stop the release" of the game. The mega-publisher claims to have invested "roughly $15 million" into the game's development and that "it still has a valid contract to release the game," despite Double Fine transferring rights to Electronic Arts late last year.

Last February, Electronic Arts responded to Activision's saber rattling saying, "We doubt that Activision would try to sue. That would be like a husband abandoning his family and then suing after his wife meets a better looking guy." Yeah ...

So, to recap:

Sierra is subsumed into Activision, following the Activision Blizzard merger
Activision drops much of Sierra's lineup, including Brütal Legend
Brütal Legend looks for another publisher, but Activision is "blocking the process"
EA Partners swoops in as the game's new publisher
Activision sues Double Fine (that's this post)

Tags: Activision, Brutal-Legend, Double-Fine, e3-2009, EA, EA-Partners, Electronic-Arts, lawsuit, legal

Reader Comments (Page 3 of 5)

Zsavior @ Jun 4th 2009 2:29PM

I been waiting for this to happen so I can bite into them. STOP Buying GUitar Hero Games. It is the Same AND I MEAN the Exact same game as before only with new songs. They are milking actual talent to sell this crap. And the big DLC content is what.......OTHER SONGS! People are making them the monster they are now.

Was the first one fun, yea sure good But do you Need ten more of them? I like blizzard, I have nothing against them get the game there is actually some production put into that. But Guitar hero is a beast that needs to be put down. Activision basically didn't give a crap about the game till they saw how many people will pick it up.

P.S. I blame that cockmasters at Fox for this because they got away with it with Watchmen.

ste @ Jun 4th 2009 2:31PM

lol i love this boycott talk

your boycott would only last till mw:2 comes out

Flankenstein @ Jun 4th 2009 2:34PM

Well, I guess people could rent it or (gasp) buy it used, instead of paying full price.

Shingo_E_X @ Jun 4th 2009 2:33PM

So, why haven't they sued over Ghostbusters and 50 Cent: BOTS (they were part of the lineup that was dropped, along with Brutal Legend)?

XBL: Burritoclock PSN:Herbie Hat @ Jun 4th 2009 2:38PM

Brutal legend is starting to work its way into pop culture is some of it.

Probably there is a contractual differences as well.

Russ @ Jun 4th 2009 2:42PM

Don't forget Chronicles of Riddick

stevetp @ Jun 4th 2009 11:01PM

Because other publishers (mainly Atari) paid Activision a million plus per title for Chrionicles of Riddick, Ghostbusters, and 50 Cent, while they as yet haven't received a payout for Brutal Legend. The payout scheme has been total bullshit of course, as the company that actually fronted costs on these IP's (Vivendi) is no more. Technically one could consider it Activision's "acquired debt", but it truly is nothing more than profiteering on someone else's efforts.

B-ri @ Jun 4th 2009 2:36PM

really, Activision?

Your greed and idiocy is mind-numbing.

All you do is leech. Leech onto winning formulas, produce ten billion shit sequels, and generally ruin franchises.

And now your going after the best, small video game company for more money?

Obviously, Activision is going nowhere. Therefore, Activision needs: a complete overhaul of leadership and corporate thinking.

So, listen, Activision. Wipe those crumbs off your face. Now. We need have a little ta..look at me. No, stop getting into the cookie jar, LOOK AT ME! Now. See EA over there? He was a bully just like you. Now he's on the road to redem..STOP BEATING UP THE SMALL KID!! ACTIVISION!

dabamf @ Jun 4th 2009 3:50PM

The "LOOK AT ME!" must be spoken in the Dark Knight Joker voice...ftw.

doreo @ Jun 4th 2009 2:42PM

Activision passing up on a game that the hero wields a guitar? How odd...

disxunion @ Jun 4th 2009 2:51PM

Activision is washed up. Barely hanging on to their Guitar Hero franchise that still isn't better than Rock Band. Now they see they let one go and are trying to make a buck off it.

PersonOfSorts @ Jun 4th 2009 2:59PM

Unfortunately, the next Guitar Hero expansion pa- -*ahem*, sequel, will likely sell loads more than Brutal Legend. The development on those games are incredibly cheap, and only require a bit of investment in track licensing. It's a cash cow, and they're going to continue to milk it.

Just saying, it's a bit of a stretch to call Activision washed up.

DrRocktopus @ Jun 4th 2009 2:58PM

Activision is hardly washed up. They're one of the most successful game companies out there right now thanks in no small part to business tactics like these as well as exploiting name brands like Guitar Hero despite declining product quality.

I don't like it anymore than you guys but these are the business practices that win.

disxunion @ Jun 5th 2009 1:44AM

i'm sure guitar hero would sell more than brutal legend. it's just stupid that they let the ip go and now want to make money off of it now that it's getting some press.

I say you snooze you lose. Activision is a successful game studio mostly because of their previous games. Right now there are many game studios that make games that are way better than what Activision puts out. They just milk Guitar Hero and Call of Duty.

spate @ Jun 4th 2009 2:51PM

What third-party developer is going to want to sign with Activision after this fiasco?

DrRocktopus @ Jun 4th 2009 2:53PM

This sounds exactly like what happened with Fox, WB and Watchmen a few months back. I wouldn't expect Brutal Legend's release date to actually be affected, this is just Activision looking to get a piece of the pie now that the game is close to release and looks like it could be a success.
To be perfectly honest I'm expecting they'll get exactly what they want.

Jess Q. @ Jun 4th 2009 5:46PM

Which is totally unjust and proves that our legal system is a JOKE AND A HALF.

Ugh.

I wish I could pirate the game and send the money for it directly to Tim Schafer, so Activision can't get a cut.

LegendK1ll3r @ Jun 4th 2009 3:00PM

Please, no one tell Activision that Ghostbusters is about to release.

Karasudark @ Jun 4th 2009 3:01PM

So you all would be ok if someone gave you a large amount of money to paint a picture and after you were partway done, they decided they didn't want you to finish the picture. They paid for the picture right? So its theirs, not yours, not unless you give all the money back. But you then take that picture to someone else and they say they will pay you to finish the picture. But doesn't the picture belong to the first guy? So you can't give the picture to someone else who doesn't own it. So when you try to give the picture to the second guy, the first is going to get mad for sure. You are stealing from him effectively. That is what is going on here, not Activision-Blizzard being the evil empire. You want evil empire, look at EA. They came into Utah, bought 6 small game companies, laid off the people working on them, and sent the game ideas to California to be made. So is EA the good guys? I think not. I've been dealing with EA since the days of Hard Hat Mack and Archon, and EA is no longer in it for the games. They just want the next big thing that will make them the money they need to buy a mansion and a yacht.

XBL: Burritoclock PSN:Herbie Hat @ Jun 4th 2009 3:44PM

That's not even close to the real world scenario. Activision did not pay for the entire development, and they dropped the project which double fine had their own money in, and if they don't release a product then Double Fine loses as well.

So YOU are ok with a huge company canceling a project and pretty much destroying a small company simple so that another large company doesn't make a teeny bit of money off of it?

To use your little scenario this would be like an art gallery seeing your painting THAT YOU WERE ALREADY PAINTING and offering to advance you a little money for food while you finish it (NOT pay your light bill, mortgage, gas etc.). Then when you are almost done, they decide they don't want it and say they are not going to let you sell it at their gallery, so YOU take it to another gallery which lets you show and sell it. Then the original art gallery burst in and SUES YOU.

VaultICEE @ Jun 4th 2009 10:01PM

Karasudark, you should take some lessons in business. (or simple logic)

glasshawk @ Jun 4th 2009 10:57PM

Simple business lessons? I work in the software industry. I've been a programmer for about 15 years. I watched the way EA moved in, bought Access Software, pillaged the games they made, and then fire everyone there who wasn't willing to take a pay cut and move to California. No small time game company has the money to go through the whole development cycle of a game without a publisher willing to back the game. An established company, with a number of games that can push a large number of units might be able to do it, but those companies can nearly always self-publish. And do you think a big softare company is just going to give 15 million dollars to a small company out of the goodness of their corporate heart? Not going to happen. Before any company hands over that much money, there are contracts in place that pretty much bind that game to the funding company. Once this hits court, its going to come out that Double Fine signed away part of the rights on the game, and their attempting to sell the game's publishing rights to EA is a breach of said contract. Activision and EA will come to a mutual agreement on this, wherein EA publishes the game but ends up paying royalties to Activision or pays a much larger then 15 million dollars to get the full rights to the game. Been there, watched the same kind of thing happen from the front lines of a company. So go cry all you want how Activision is evil, every company is this way. If a independant company had gone through EA, Microsoft, UBISoft, or anyone elseand got money to make a game, there are strings attached. And no company is going to just cut those strings. Activision may have scuttled development of the game, but ater sinking that much money into the development of it, no way are they just going to give EA a free 15 million on a game and go happily skipping through the flowers.

So before you go telling me to learn business or logic, go work in the software industry. Or even better, go wrap yourself in bacon and swim in the shark tank, that would be safer.

-Karasudark-

Petar @ Jun 4th 2009 3:01PM

I must say that EA during last 2 year grew my respect towards 'em. Activision turned into that hating i want money EA :( let's milk franchises and sue as much as possible ^^ activision ignore, (expect dj hero) ^^

Dustin @ Jun 4th 2009 3:06PM

If activision is a publically held company then its purpose is to create as much profit as possible for its shareholders. I understand morally/ethically there are issues with this behavior, but the thing to remember is corporations are not bound by ethical or moral standards. There only purpose is to make money for their shareholders. So as the saying goes (a lot of different ones apply here), Hate the game, not the playa.

headkicker @ Jun 4th 2009 3:04PM

Activision acting like dicks? WHAAAT?

J. Sykes @ Jun 4th 2009 3:05PM

under what legal right do they have to sue.

According to the summary, didnt THEY drop the game.
Maybe the summary isn't totally complete.

Johnny Neat @ Jun 4th 2009 3:09PM

Activision CEOs are pathetic. Greedy and Pathetic.

Ranelar @ Jun 4th 2009 3:09PM

I swear I saw this post months ago, with the exact same husband - family analogy. Am I crazy?

golobulus @ Jun 4th 2009 3:09PM

WHAT DOES JACK BLACK THINK OF ALL THIS?

Magresda @ Jun 4th 2009 3:10PM

Activision - you've officially STEPPED OVER THE FUCKING LINE!

lanceyami03 @ Jun 4th 2009 3:14PM

Is this the Megaton?.....

xxmongrelxx @ Jun 4th 2009 3:19PM

i bet everyone at Activision rode the short bus as a kid...

fffunfarm06 @ Jun 4th 2009 3:18PM

once mw2 comes out, im done with activision. btw EA's beatles rockband intro is absolutely sick. thank you ea for all your support in great games.

Neuromancer @ Jun 4th 2009 3:19PM

Let them sue, if they're in the wrong it will only cost them money. EA will go to bat for Double Fine I'm sure.

Xizer @ Jun 4th 2009 3:20PM

Fuck Activision. They're going on the piracy-only list.

That company will never see a dime out of me again.

XBL: Burritoclock PSN:Herbie Hat @ Jun 4th 2009 5:50PM

Can you imagine the power of the internet if it were able to mobilize every one to ONLY pirate activision games, and NOT pirate Brutal Legend?

It would be so beautiful... but alas it is but a pipe dream.

Kevin949 @ Jun 4th 2009 3:22PM

what the fuck is activisions problem with this game coming out?

The Baron @ Jun 4th 2009 3:26PM

I like to think of EA as a heroin addicted teacher and Activision as a crack-powered thug. EA will pull their habit of franchise exploitation behind close doors on stuff like The Sims, Spore and sports games where it can't hurt anybody and act like a great publisher when it comes to proper titles.

Activision on the hand will punch your teeth out and force a Guitar Hero controller down your throat.

razer922 @ Jun 4th 2009 3:30PM

What's Step 6? Murder Bobby Kotick's face.

This is probably the most predictable yet worst thing that could have happened to this.

Oh, well. Here's hoping the judge has sense enough to know THEY DROPPED THE FUCKING GAME.

Tony @ Jun 4th 2009 3:35PM

Activision can suck my vanilla salty balls.

derdaim @ Jun 4th 2009 3:33PM

Somehow this news makes me REALLY angry.
Like "I'll punch you in the face"-angry

tommy @ Jun 4th 2009 3:34PM

EA doesn't make rock band

Jess Q. @ Jun 4th 2009 5:51PM

http://www.ea.com/games?franchise[]=franchise.rockband

Harmonix "makes it," but EA distributes it.

Or something like that.

Jugg4n4ut @ Jun 4th 2009 3:38PM

wow tht is ridiculous

BetterLivingThroughScience @ Jun 4th 2009 3:36PM

smart. this is yet another move by activision to be the "most hated company" by gamer fanboys. they see people softening on sony and ea (microsoft before them) and so there is a space opening in the biggest douchebag company area.

personally, i think this is the final nail in a stack of them that has pushed me to to avoid activision completely. their leadership as of late is incredibly short-sited and stupid.