Are Bullshots Illegal?

Megalith

Megalith

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Obviously, they aren’t. But it’s kind of funny how a few games have been singled out for deceptive advertising when, as this video shows, edited screenshots, scripted trailers, and PC-powered show demos are practically a tradition.
 
I'm pretty sure in the U.K. Some developers/publishers have been fined over misrepresenting gameplay. I think Final Fantasy VII actually. The CG scenes were the only ones in commercials.
 
One of the many reasons why i don't buy games until they have been out for a while. The devs and publishers have trained me to ignore their advertising. Now I wait months or even years to look at their product when it hits some Steam sale. Then I go and watch actual game play, by regular people on Youtube to see how it looks and plays. It only takes a few early adopters to figure out if a game's marketing was complete BS or not.
 
heh bullshots tbh they arnt as bad as games from the 80s on home computers. commodore 64/ plus4/ spectrum/amige/atari st etc most of the disks and tapes covers would have "in game pictures" in the back that looked nothing like the games. think code masters were first to move away from it by adding ever so small text stating not actual game or if it was on a diffrent platform.
us gold and ocean software and some others were notorious for it.
 
Nolan7689 said:
I'm pretty sure in the U.K. Some developers/publishers have been fined over misrepresenting gameplay. I think Final Fantasy VII actually. The CG scenes were the only ones in commercials.
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well those CG scenes were actually in the game. Thing is I still think this would easily pass the "reasonable person" test since you'd have to be an idiot to think those CG scenes were real-time gameplay. I mean, every game was doing this back then. If someone showcased a CGI cutscene for Mario Bros on the NES nobody would actually think the game looked like that given their experiences with NES games. It'd be like if you thought the cover box art was the actual game.

The only time I got duped was when KillZone came out for the PS2. The PS2 was a big deal before its unveiling at the time, being the first 128bit console. Nintendo 64 set such a huge precedent with the leap to 64 that we were all assuming double the horsepower once again, especially with terms like "emotion engine" and 8 VPU's and all that shit. I remember seeing the KZ engine and immediately thought "that looks like CGI", but then they interviewed some Sony VP, perhaps the CEO himself and he confirmed it was real time. The interview really grilled him on it too as he was also in total disbelief. He didnt just let him get away with a simple shifty answer, he specifically and directly asked him in a variety of ways "is this real time gameplay, you are telling me this is not pre-rendered footage on a high end super computer, but this is the game itself running on a PS2" and the guy confirmed.

Well obviously that was all a huge lie and he of course backpedaled his answer saying "what I meant was that it was indicative of real time gameplay." In that situation I absolutely feel the game was deceptively advertised. Thing is you can watch a trailer for KZ4 on the PS4 now and it's the same shit again, pre-rendered footage, but no one would bay an eye because we all know better now. Go figure.
 
Blame yourselves for buying into DLC, Season Passes, and worst of all Pre-Orders when nothing digital ever sells out (unlike yesteryear when it might mean waiting weeks to get the game)

But hey, that preorder bonus skin was totally worth the money dudebro, amirite?

And to add to KZ's bullshit, please see FFVIII's BS dance scene being "realtime" during its E3 reveal
 
Essentially, this just solidifies the publisher's belief that marketing is more important than product.
 
It's all legal loopholes. Corporations made the wording to get away with BS. Same thing with the internet speeds. Up to 25 Mbps instead of the good words MBps.
 
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nysmo said:
well those CG scenes were actually in the game. Thing is I still think this would easily pass the "reasonable person" test since you'd have to be an idiot to think those CG scenes were real-time gameplay. I mean, every game was doing this back then. If someone showcased a CGI cutscene for Mario Bros on the NES nobody would actually think the game looked like that given their experiences with NES games. It'd be like if you thought the cover box art was the actual game.

The only time I got duped was when KillZone came out for the PS2. The PS2 was a big deal before its unveiling at the time, being the first 128bit console. Nintendo 64 set such a huge precedent with the leap to 64 that we were all assuming double the horsepower once again, especially with terms like "emotion engine" and 8 VPU's and all that shit. I remember seeing the KZ engine and immediately thought "that looks like CGI", but then they interviewed some Sony VP, perhaps the CEO himself and he confirmed it was real time. The interview really grilled him on it too as he was also in total disbelief. He didnt just let him get away with a simple shifty answer, he specifically and directly asked him in a variety of ways "is this real time gameplay, you are telling me this is not pre-rendered footage on a high end super computer, but this is the game itself running on a PS2" and the guy confirmed.

Well obviously that was all a huge lie and he of course backpedaled his answer saying "what I meant was that it was indicative of real time gameplay." In that situation I absolutely feel the game was deceptively advertised. Thing is you can watch a trailer for KZ4 on the PS4 now and it's the same shit again, pre-rendered footage, but no one would bay an eye because we all know better now. Go figure.
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Yeah, I don't think anyone reasonable is upset if the game obviously doesn't look like CGI, but when you have a gameplay trailer or commercial, running in realtime that looks great, but then the final game has clearly been downgraded, because they can't actually run that on the consoles, only demo it on PC, it would be nice to see an end to that practice.
 
tetris42 said:
Yeah, I don't think anyone reasonable is upset if the game obviously doesn't look like CGI, but when you have a gameplay trailer or commercial, running in realtime that looks great, but then the final game has clearly been downgraded, because they can't actually run that on the consoles, only demo it on PC, it would be nice to see an end to that practice.
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That's one thing, but when the PC version looks nothing like the gameplay trailers what is the explanation for that? I Think that clearly fulfills the criteria for misleading with malicious intent.
 
I have for a long time not trusted this pre order tom foolery it is a hoax. I as others have stated wait until some sound reviewers post some real game footage until I make a decision. I did pre order BF1 as I totally enjoyed the demo, it ran great and well probably got my moneys worth just out of that so the game has good promise.
 
They can label it "rendered with game engine" all they want but its all touched up with different textures.
 
STrAYeR said:
It's all legal loopholes. Corporations made the wording to get away with BS. Same thing with the internet speeds. Up to 25 Mbps instead of the good words MBps.
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You do know network traffic speeds are measured in (b)its, and data storage is measured in (B)ytes don't you?

If not, this is an industry standard that's been around for decades, which is why a lot of people will complain that they don't think they're getting the speed they paid for. -- Not deceptive advertising, just not informative enough on the tech jargon they use for those who aren't technically savvy.

Note: 1 Byte = 8 bits

Also: I do believe companies that willingly participate in deceptive advertising should be required to allow returns & pay whatever fine(s) are required by their content distributors as well as any local/federal legal fines.
 
VIC-20 said:
The advertising for mobile games is the pinnacle of misleading BS. It is matched only by Arbys commercials in what they depict vs what you actually buy.
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When I go to Arbys or Hardees, I get exactly what's in the pictures, unless it is just a regular roast beef. However, food glamor shots are not the same as graphic fidelity.
 
STrAYeR said:
It's all legal loopholes. Corporations made the wording to get away with BS. Same thing with the internet speeds. Up to 25 Mbps instead of the good words MBps.
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Yeah, no.

Sorry that people are idiots, but on the transport/telco side of the house data rates have ALWAYS been measured in bits, not bytes. This is not a 'ploy' to trick people, and I'd frankly be pissed if they advertised transport speeds in bytes given every standard is measured in bits.
 
Marketing is entirely about lies, smoke, and mirrors. It's why it's so impressive when you find honesty. I mean real honesty, not the spin. A company that admits it's errors gets huge respect from me, and possibly my cash if tied with another similar company.
 
Nearly all advertising is filled with lies designed to separate people from their money. That should be taught in schools. What's really amazing, is the percentage of the population that still believes it once they reach adulthood. Basically, people are stupid.
JosiahBradley said:
Regardless of legality, it is pretty piss poor ethically.
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That's why there are no ethics in business courses. Business is all about getting the most money from your customer for the very least that you can give them. Wash, rinse, repeat. The most successful people often have no ethics at all.
 
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