It seems that the Infinity Ward vs Activision fued will never end — The latest story says that ex-Infinity Ward employees are suing the massive publisher for half a billion dollars. Why, you ask?

According to G4, the below reasons:

- Unpaid bonuses from 2009 and 2010 sales generated by Modern Warfare 2 — fourth quarter 2009 and first quarter 2010, specifically.
- Bonuses “due and owing to them” past first quarter 2010.
- “Bonus/royalty/profit participation” related to “technology/engine” royalties, “other special performance bonuses,” “other studio bonuses” or “any other bonus/royalty/profit participation.”‘
- Lost value on “restricted stock units” that Activision “promised” would vest (read: own it in your own name and purchase it from Activision) when Modern Warfare 2 sales eclipsed Modern Warfare 1, which “has long ago occurred.”
- Money owed as it relates to Modern Warfare 2 “sister games, including but not limited to” the oft-mentioned Modern Warfare 3, “if Modern Warfare 3 is ultimately delivered and marketed.”
- Interest rates related to the above sums of money.

I’m rooting for Infinity Ward in this one. What about you guys?

If you’ve been following Brutal Legend, you’ll know that Activision is none too happy about EA gaining the rights to publish the game. In fact, they even went as far as asking a court to legally delay Brutal Legend after sueing the game’s developers.

Well, the final decision isn’t in yet but it looks like it’s going to be ruled in EA favors as the judge has expressed his disinterest in complying with Activision’s requests.

So, as of now, you can still expect to see Brutal Legend hit store shelves for the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 on October 13th of this year.

Read

It seems that the Entertainment Software Association is fed up with the Chicago Transit Authority’s advertising policy on M and A/O rated games and have decided to take it to court.

Now you may think it’s the CTA’s decision what they put on their buses and subways but the ESA’s argument is that there is no ban on R-rated movies or the like. This has led the ESA to suggest that this violates their constitutional right of free speech.

The ban on M and A/O rated games apparantly went down in January of this year but only now has the ESA decided to do something about it. We’ll keep you posted as this story unfolds.

via Kotaku

Square Enix has always been known to holds its own in court, especially on the grounds of software piracy. Unfortunately for a french retailer by the name of la société SAKURA, has come into their targets.

According to Kotaku, the French retailer has a retail store in Paris along with an online presence that sells all sorts of Japanese gaming material. Well, something fishy must have been going on as Square Enix says they “denounces SAKURA for the commercialization of products counterfeiting Square Enix’s FINAL FANTASY and FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST trademarks and copyrights to the FINAL FANTASY series”.

Common la société SAKURA, how long did you think it would take Square Enix to catch you?

It seems that a San Francisco resident by the name of Esther Leong has taken Square Enix of America to court for $5 million. The subject of the law suit is regarding MMO Final Fantasy XI and “unfair business practices, false advertising and unjust enrichment”.

According to Kotaku, Esther Leong is claiming that Square Enix “lied about or concealed its monthly fees, penalties for late payments, interest, restrictions and other things that should have been fully disclosed at points of purchase”.

Below is an excerpt from the court filings:

The deceptive advertising, unfair and undisclosed business practices, and concealment concern, among others:

i. Licensing of the online games software disguised as a sale;
ii. Monthly fees (“fees”) to play the online games;
iii. Penalties for late payment of the fees;
iv. Interest charges for late payment of the fees;
v. Charges while the online game account is suspended;
vi. Termination of the right to use the online games for late payment of the fees;
vii. User restrictions and conditions related to the online games;
viii. Termination of game data for payment of the fees.

Let’s see how this one unfolds.

Sure, Duke Nukem Forever may have been in development forever but it seems the guys over at 2K Games also had a Duke title in the works; Duke Begins.

This news comes to us as Take-Two attempts to get back some loans they gave to Apogee for the development of Duke Nukem Forever. Unfortunately, Apogee says that 2K Games put a stop to Duke Begins development in what Joystiq says is an attempt to gain the rights to the Duke Nukem franchise.

If there are any Duke Nukem hopefuls left out there you better keep your eyes peeled as there very well may be an onslaught of Duke news very soon.