Posted in: Games, Video Games | Tagged: entertainment, games, Hello Games, No Man's Sky, video games

No Man's Sky Wasn't Falsely Advertised Says ASA

Published Wed, 30 Nov 2016 05:37:56 -0600

The debate about how much of No Man's Sky pre-release advertising was above board has raged on since the game was released. What was and wasn't in there has been the ire of a lot of gamers, who were disappointed in their purchase, even taking their complaints to advertising boards about possible action.

The Advertising Standards Authority was a big one, and in an extensive report by Eurogamer, it's been revealed that the board has decided that the Steam page used to advertise the game did not falsely advertise to consumers. If you want the nitty gritty details as to why the game was given a pass, defintely go read the report. You can also read the ASA's own report right here.

On the whole investigation, the board said:

We considered that the overall impression of the ad was consistent with gameplay and the footage provided, both in terms of that captured by Hello Games and by third parties, and that it did not exaggerate the expected player experience of the game. We therefore concluded that the ad did not breach the Code.

It seems the investigation was pretty extensive too, with the company playing large portions of the game, as well as Hello Games providing video evidence from them, and from third parties on YouTube, of certain things happening in game that were complained about. For things the board couldn't see replicated, like animals knocking over a tree, they considered these fleeting and not something that would really sell the game. Also, the fact it is precedurally generated seems to have helped in explaining why some players wouldn't experience 'x' complaint.

This is almost certainly going to be a controversial ruling, but any ruling here couldn't have been. Personally, I probably side somewhat with the ASA on this. Not to say the gamer's complaints are wrong, but largely, I think the advertising is on point with what the game is, and the game became the target of a very disgruntled internet campaign. There are reasons for that disgruntledness, but at the same time, I don't think No Man's Sky did too much more on its main channels than what a ton of AAA games do as well. Of course, it would be great if we knew exactly what our experience would be when we picked up any game, but gamemakers will always try to show their game in the best light. That isn't going to change anytime soon.

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