No Man's Sky developers investigated by the ASA

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Hello Games have attracted a lot of complaints from customers who feel deceived by the developer's advertising for No Man's Sky, and now the Advertising Standards Authority are involved.

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by Chris Brand

@pass_controller

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One Reddit user, going by the name of AzzerUK, claims to have received a response from the ASA, stating that Valve and Hello Games have been asked to defend, or remove, certain trailers, screenshots and information from the Steam store page.

Over on the No Man's Sky Subreddit, he stated; "I received a response from the ASA 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 mis-representing the actual game."

Before giving a list of the offending materials that the ASA have received complaints about, he went on to say; "In the ASA response, they say that both Hello Games and Valve have a joint responsibility, and so both organisations have now been contacted by the ASA and have been told to respond to the following issues which the ASA picked out as the primary issues (compiled from a number of complainants that contacted the ASA)."

The list, in full, follows.

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 systems

Screenshots:

• Size of creatures (9)
• Behaviour of ships and sentinels (4, 5 and 8)
• ​Structures and buildings as pictured (3)

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Store Page in general:

• Quality of graphics
• ​References to: lack of loading screens, trade convoys between stars, factions vying over territory

It's not the first time that a developer and/or publisher have found themselves in hot water over false advertising claims. SEGA and Gearbox Software were accused of misleading fans - and were even the subject of a lawsuit - after Aliens: Colonial Marines failed to live up to marketing promises.

Do you feel cheated by Hello Games, or do you think this is a bit of an overreaction? Let us know in the forums and comment below.

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