No Man’s Sky is being investigated by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) in the United Kingdom for false advertising.
In August, Hello Games released their highly anticipated action-adventure survival video game on PC and PS4 and they were quickly flooded with very negative reviews because of the long list of bugs that players encountered.
Moreover, many disappointed gamers asked for refunds. However, this did not stop the makers of the game from encountering great success with their product.
According to reports, the company has already sold 750,000 units meaning they have earned about $45,000,000. This week, Hello Games was hit with another controversy.
The Advertising Standards Authority has received numerous complaints from people claiming that many of the features advertised in promotional videos are not included in the game. Players are particularly frustrated by the material they see on the No Man’s Sky‘s Steam store page that just does not exist in the game.
In a brief statement, a spokesman for ASA revealed that they are indeed looking into the complaints, but would not disclose any further information at this time. ASA stated:
“We will ensure the advertisers are made aware of any points relating to other marketing material under their control (such as the Hello Games YouTube channel and website).The outcomes of ASA investigations are cross-applicable to other marketing making the same claims, so any decision reached in relation to the Steam page would apply to other advertising for No Man’s Sky where the same (or materially similar) claims appear.”
However, a Reddit user, who claims that he is among the people who contacted ASA, is shedding light on why he took action.
He said he filed the complaint not because he was angry, but because he wanted the company to resolve the matter. The gamer said he has not asked for a refund and added:
“I was alarmed after seeing just how vastly different the trailers for No Man’s Sky were from the actual released game. I feel properly misled.”
He also revealed that ASA had contacted him. He claimed:
“Today, I received a response from the ASA (Advertising Standards Agency in the UK), with regards to the trailers, screenshots, and general information on the Steam store page of No Man’s Sky, with regards to them being misleading and misrepresenting the actual game.”
Here are some of the discrepancies between the actual game and the ads:
“Videos:
User interface design
Ship flying behaviour (in formation; with a ‘wingman’; flying close to the ground)
Behaviour of animals (in herds; destroying scenery; in water; reacting to surroundings)
Large-scale space combat
Structures and buildings as pictured
Flowing water
Speed of galaxy warp/loading time
Aiming systemsScreenshots:
Size of creatures (9)
Behaviour of ships and sentinels (4, 5 and 8)
Structures and buildings as pictured (3)Store Page in general:
Quality of graphics
References to: lack of loading screens, trade convoys between stars, factions vying over territory”
Hello Games responded by repeating what they have been saying for weeks; they will be adding many new features and the issue will be handled in the coming months. They are apparently working hard on the matter and will provide a patch soon.
