Is the brütal truth that this game could become just a legend? Image: EA.
Having made an impressive showing during this week’s E3 Expo in Los Angeles, eagerly anticipated videogame Brütal Legend is now overshadowed by the prospect of being bound in legal chains after becoming the subject of a tussle between rival publishing heavyweights
Specifically, leading third-party publisher Activision is preparing to drag Brütal Legend development studio Double Fine Productions through the courts and is also attempting to prevent the game from being launched at retail in October through main market rival Electronic Arts (EA).
According to an Associated Press report, Activision yesterday lodged a complaint against the Brütal Legend developer in a Santa Monica court, claiming that Activision still holds a contract with Double Fine to release the game and has already invested some $15 million USD into its development.
It remains to be seen how the court approaches Activision’s complaint, not least because Brütal Legend was one of several titles supposedly ditched by the publisher in 2008 during its merger with Vivendi Games. Electronic Arts moved to pick up the title in December of 2008.
Activision initially threatened legal action regarding Brütal Legend in February, according to a Variety report. However, the threat was seemingly laughed off by Electronic Arts at the time after an unnamed EA source said that Activision suing would “be like a husband abandoning his family and then suing after his wife meets a better looking guy.”
Evidently the estranged husband is back, and he’s bitter enough to drag the whole family and the better-looking guy through the legal system to prove a point.
Brütal Legend, which boasts a lead character styled upon and voiced by Hollywood actor Jack Black, revolves around a heavy metal roadie lost in a fantasy land; the game was a core component of Electronic Arts’ high-profile press conference at E3.
Source:Thetechherald.com
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