Digital Homicide demands safe space in Steam, sues critics and Valve

A short while back, Digital Homicide (a game developer) decided they were going to sue some 100 Steam users for giving negative reviews. Well, now they´re suing Valve as well...So this would be my (Justin Easler, TGG) take on the matter.

[Littil_Devil]

How very fitting, Digital Homicide commits digital suicide.

[TGG_overlord]

It´s going to get worse for sure. As rumors has it that they will go after Youtubers as well (their previous lawsuit is 100% real).

[Simon_the_sorcerer]

True, since Valve removed all their games from Steam :P

[Littil_Devil]

I think their whole shop got removed as well?

[rainslacker]

Can't get any safer than not being there.:)

[camel_toad]

It's ironic that our legal system in the U.S. is so criminal that it allows stuff like this to even make it past the front door.

[KentBlake]

10/10

[Simon_the_sorcerer]

This has to be the worst business practice that I´ve ever seen.

[TGG_overlord]

Well, it´s going to be hard to top this one for sure...

[Simon_the_sorcerer]

I´m honestly more worried about the outcome of the lawsuit, as it would be a pure deathblow to the games industry if Digital Homicide won in court...

[LordMaim]

...now let's watch them do something even more stupid.

[morganfell]

I don't think they will win. When they lose, I hope all the defendants counter sue for legal costs, lost wages, negative image impact, and pain and suffering. Drive digital homicide completely out of business. It will be a good day when they are auctioning off their office furniture to pay for the suit.

[Littil_Devil]

I think only Brianna Wu is close to this one (Kickstarter scam, pay for a iOS update and pay for cutscenes).

[Littil_Devil]

@Simon_the_sorcerer
"I´m honestly more worried about the outcome of the lawsuit, as it would be a pure deathblow to the games industry if Digital Homicide won in court..."

That would mean that neither Youtubers, streamers, Gaming sites nor Gaming critics, would no longer be allowed to criticize games for its flaws. As they could end up in court by doing so.

[TGG_overlord]

I was actually quite surprised to find out that Digital Homicide has been around for years, and that they have released some +18 crappy games during that time...

[ravinash]

I'm sure under free speech people can say what ever they like about the game.... if it's crap, it's crap.
If someone start making threats to someone and their family, that's another matter.
It's really down to what aspect of the criticism their suing for.

[carcarias]

Careful there friend, you don't want to be sued do you? Crappy? Is that a hate campaign you're starting? You may just hurt their feelings.

[RedSalmon]

To be fair most of those games are the exact same game repackaged to look ever so slightly different.

[rainslacker]

@ravinash

Yep, can't censor opinion. You can censor outright falsehoods by claiming libel or slander, but can't tell people that they can't have a negative opinion about something. That would never stand up in court. The actual lawsuit against the Steam users is DH claiming that they're being harassed in some sort of hate campaign, but the evidence they're citing seems more like people with negative opinions. The lawsuit against Steam is about how Steam is complicit in allowing the harassment.

That being said, even if a game isn't crap, one can still say it is, because ultimately, it's subjective.

[starforge71]

Never heard of them tbh

[TGG_overlord]

Either had I...But then I saw what went down on Steam. Furthermore, people started to reach out to me about the lawsuit. So I had to check it out for myself, well, there it was, in all its glory. So I´m going to keep a close eye on the lawsuit.

[hiredhelp]

Valve thoe removed all there crap to protect there users from anymore harm,tottall respect there while in process also given 2 fingures up to the devs for trying such a move.
Fact is they can take valve to court they wont win,(safe place wakeup call internet is not safe...)
You dont want bad comments its freedome of speech buddy and comments are there for just that.
This is why you deluded A@@ W@pies will fail in court you give your review copys to people you do your homework on them people first but they are reviewers to give us the good the bad and in this case the cr@p.

[TGG_overlord]

I spoke to some devs and publishers about this yesterday, and this kind of move is unheard of. So I take it that this is the first time that Valve has ever been in a situation like this before. I think Valve made the right call though (to protect their users). Absolutely, as I much rather take the good with the bad, then have no comments at all.

I think that DH doesn't have a chance in hell to win in court. As courts tend to favor consumers before companies, especially when it comes to customer reviews.

[rainslacker]

I don't think they expect it to go to court. I think they're sue happy hoping for a nice pay day from a settlement. Valve is the most likely person to settle from all this. Jim Sterling was more apt to settle. Suing the users was a dumb move, both from a business stand point, and from the point of view of trying to actually collect. Valve was under no obligation to protect DH from negative reviews, nor were they under any obligation to prevent a hate campaign. They could have removed any negativity due to a hate campaign against DH, should it be on their site in the interest of protecting the dev, but at no point do I feel that the comments posted on Steam by those being sued were framed in such a way that it went beyond negative critique.

The Sterling case is a bit different, as they're claiming libel, as well as Sterling instigating a hate campaign. Sterling is unlikely to settle on principal, particularly if he knows he's right.

Valve is unlikely to settle because they don't like to be bullied, and likely will just force DH to court because they know that DH doesn't have the resources to go too far with these lawsuits. Even if they force the issue, a judge or exploratory jury probably won't find anything there to allow it to take up the courts time, and it's possible the case can be dismissed pretty quickly due to lack of evidence or claim. It doesn't take much to file, and since they aren't willing to retain a lawyer, it means they have no interest on spending money to seek recourse against how they were wronged, or they can't find a lawyer who feels they are in the right enough to take the case on spec or pro-bono. That alone should be evidence enough that they have no case without the need to try and interpret constitutional rights or analyze the situation.

If they had real merit to their case, this is the kind of case where they'd be getting offers from big name attorneys that would take it on just to have something that could potentially get put into precedent and have a huge effect on the future course of constitutional law. At least that's what my fiancee told me since she's a lawyer....of matters that involve civil rights and constitutional law. She looked at it all and said the Sterling case, with potential libel, was the only real case there if they could prove that actual libel had occurred. She also said that the impetus is on DH to prove that actual libel occurred, but Sterling would have to be able to back up his assertions, which I assume he could if he knows the exact instances of what he claims. Since he kept it pretty broad, it wouldn't be too hard to just cite one example and be able to walk away from it.

@your comment below

Steam will actually remove threats from their service. They however, can't, and aren't responsible for policing the rest of the internet.

[TGG_overlord]

@ravinash
"I'm sure under free speech people can say what ever they like about the game.... if it's crap, it's crap.
If someone start making threats to someone and their family, that's another matter.
It's really down to what aspect of the criticism their suing for."

"if it's crap, it's crap" - That part I´m cool with as well.

"If someone start making threats to someone and their family, that's another matter.
It's really down to what aspect of the criticism their suing for" - I didn´t see any comments like that? (did Valve or DH remove them from Steam?). Furthermore, then I would do at least three lawsuits a week. As that´s the kind of stuff that I have to deal with almost every week now.

[GrimReaperGamer]

I heard that once you die and are placed in the ground you are pretty safe. Take note members of Digital Homicide, maybe you should choose this option.

[TGG_overlord]

Well, to be fair. That´s the road that they have chosen for themselves...

[Fishy Fingers]

So, can I expect to get paid if I leave a positive review Mr Easler?

[TGG_overlord]

I highly doubt it :P

[BrianOBlivion]

I think that when all the affected parties get dragged into court, everyone involved need to be made aware of what they are really dealing with: the root of the issue is mental illness.

[TGG_overlord]

Mental illness, greed and a serious case of hybris.

[DillyDilly]

Wont a judge just laugh at this lawsuit ? Grow thicker skin this would be like if any director in Hollywood sued everyone on Rotten Tomatoes for not liking their stuff but either way these people will likely never make another game again

[TGG_overlord]

I would laugh at this lawsuit if I were the judge in question, because it´s like you say. Exactly! I think that they will be out of business very soon.

[rainslacker]

Don't know about laugh. Judges that I've seen for civil matters that involve the bill of rights don't tend to take these things as a laughing matter. They in fact, greatly dislike those who try to circumvent the bill of rights for their own gain, and likely could shut down any future lawsuit as well as have strong critique against those who are bringing it to court through a judgement which states exactly why the suit has no merit. DH would do well to never let this get to court, because a judgement against their suits could prevent actual valid claimants from similar, but different practices, from being brought up in the future. DH could always do another lawsuit under a different framing, but the first judgement could bring prejudice to the following cases, as it could be seen as a fishing expedition which the courts frown on as it wastes their time for more important matters.

[feraldrgn]

Can anything be done against the "game developer"?
Or can they just continue to abuse whoever they like?

[Simon_the_sorcerer]

I think that´s the main reason why Valve steeped up to them and slapped them on the wrist. As that kind of behavior towards consumers are unacceptable.

[rainslacker]

They can be counter sued. Sterling and Valve are unlikely to do so. however, those 100 people could counter-sue for defamation of character should they be able to prove that the suit was harmful to them in some way, which could be as simple as emotional distress in some cases.

That would actually be quite interesting to see two counter suits actually make it to court, as they'd likely be tried together(think people's court type stuff but in a real court), but given the nature of DH suit, it'll likely get dismissed, leaving them in a position where they then have to defend themselves against what could potentially be a rather sizable judgement multiplied by 100 people. Funny thing is though, those 100 people would likely get free representation, because there are a lot of lawyers out there who would take the case pro-bono due to them being about consumer rights, free speech, or just wishing to litigate a case that deals with constitutional law.....which would be bad for DH, because I doubt they lack the intelligence to actually defend themselves against even a half-assed attorney who has a basic understanding of litigation or proper procedures.

[Mrveryodd]

So you gunna sue Valve .... good luck with that bud they got more money than GOD

[Simon_the_sorcerer]

Valve has so much money that most people can´t even imagine how much money they have.

[opinionated]

Steam has every right to shitcan them. These absolute morons that are trying to make safe spacing a civil right deserve to be shamed out of business. It's sad because our academics teach and embolden these utterly ridiculous ideals. These people are fucking cancer, useless dipshitters.

[Tetsujin]

So in short, they didn't make their return on sales, so sue Steam AND fans to recoup loses? That's what I'm reading between the lines. I looked at their game list, and honestly they don't look appealing at all. In the article they first went after Steam for business purposes, now the fans because of low scores? Develop better games, and stop trying to make quick cash-ins. I will almost guarantee they will go through a restructure, and maybe a name change after all this settles.

It's sad when Freedom of speech means "as long as it doesn't involve me/my company I approve it."

[ElementX]

Freedom of speech only refers to sharing your opinions openly without government retaliation i.e. you can't be arrested for talking about politics or preaching on the street corner. A lot of people misunderstand what Freedom of Speech is and think it refers to everything but that's not true.

[rainslacker]

The principals of freedom of speech are also extended to the private individual, regardless of it it is negative against another person or entity. The fact this could potentially go to court involved government intervention, which is how this kind of case would be tried. As such, 1st amendment rights extend to this case, as the people were free to discuss or convey their opinions regardless of what they were.

I do believe you're saying that free speech doesn't mean people are free from repercussions from what they may say, but I feel the framing of your comment was to say that the people expressing their opinions did not have the right to do so. I don't know what the people that had negative things had to say felt about if they were beyond reproach, but in no way do I feel their opinions constitute a private entity from going after them in such a way to supress their opinion because it was potentially harmful towards DH. People shouldn't have to be on pins and needles when expressing their opinion.

Hateful speech or harassment is not covered under the 1st amendment, which is the premise of the lawsuits, however, given the evidence, it's hard to say if this kind of behavior has taken place, and the evidence provided by DH seems more about them feeling they were harassed rather than being able to show an active hate campaign like they are implying.

[ElementX]

I was saying that Freedom of Speech protects you from government entities. They can't censor, arrest, or suppress people for speaking their minds or sharing their ideas. Freedom of speech doesn't mean you can say whatever you want about anything you want and not face any consequences, only that the government can't do anything.

[MCTJim]

oh isn't that cuteeee...they need to go to their safe place...hahahahahahahaha

[Perjoss]

Digital Homicide seem to be committing Digital Suicide.

I think by this point they just walk down the street, point at random people and then sue them :D

[Kokyu]

He'll have them after him next. They make crappy games well they should go mobile then.

[-Gespenst-]

They're overreacting of course, but Steam should meet them halfway. It should be possible for users to downvote nonconstructive, hateful troll comments out of existence or something. Maybe it should even be possible for developers to remove troll comments, though some might abuse that.

I just hate the way the trolls always win - they never get punished. It's always "there's nothing we can do, just put up with them." It's always "grow a thick skin", and the trolls are never told to stop being a$$holes. The trolls don't have to stop being a$$holes, they're just allowed to be freely be a$$holes with impunity. It ain't right. Maybe Valve can't police the trolls, but perhaps the users could.

It would be ludicrous if these guys were suing for bad reviews, but they're not really doing that. It's the troll comments like "kill yourself" that they're unhappy with. It's also true that gamers don't really see the work that goes into the game, they only see the end product, and this ignorance makes it easier for them to be harsh. This doesn't mean that games can't and shouldn't be criticized, but sometimes people are a little bit inconsiderate.

[Maxor]

Ban them forever.

[NeoGamer232]

While I don't agree with what they are doing, I think people should be held more accountable and liable for random scathing posts on the Internet.

Sometimes they do cause irreparable harm to the companies and people. Everyone and every company should be treated with respect.

[SynestheticRoar]

Let me get this straight. Their suing the people who purchase those sorry games. Now their trying to sue valve? WTF.

[zakarul]

by now should be pretty easy for them to steal the "worst company of the year award" from EA

[alfcrippinjr]

now after reading it he going after people who threaten him and his wife from steam
and it looks like steam did nothing at all.

which is total nasty
these so called keyboard warriors like to hide behind there pc only.

for sure i would do the same and sue them if it was me.
the evidence is there in plain site.

but when saying a lawyer will take on the case if he gets the funds.

of course a fucking lawyer will take on any case its called a pay check.
they dont give a shit.

i wish him good luck in finding out who the users are on steam

because cyber bullying has to stop now to much going on