ZeniMax sued over Fallout 4 live action trailer

Back in 2015 during the build up to Fallout 4's release, a live-action trailer for the game was produced, featuring a song titled ‘The Wanderer'. Unfortunately for Bethesda's parent company ZeniMax, the singer of that song doesn't appear to be a big fan of the trailer and is suing ZeniMax Media for just over $1 million.

As revealed in court documents obtained by Polygon, singer Dion DiMucci claims that ZeniMax breached their contract, which gave DiMucci a right of refusal and right of bargain for the licensing fee. It seems that DiMucci may not have gotten a say in the ad after all. As for why he doesn't like the ad in question, it is largely down to the fact that ‘The Wanderer' character in the video shoots a gun. You can see the video for yourself below:

Here is the full quote: “Defendant’s Commercials were objectionable because they featured repeated homicides in a dark, dystopian landscape, where violence is glorified as sport. The killings and physical violence were not to protect innocent life, but instead were repugnant and morally indefensible images designed to appeal to young consumers.”

The final point of contention appears to be about the ad misrepresenting the story DiMucci was trying to tell with the song: “In The Wanderer, Dion gives life to the story of a sad young man who wanders from town to town, not having found himself or the capacity for an enduring relationship”, however in Zenimax's ad, ‘The Wanderer' is depicted as someone who “roams from one location to the next, armed and hunting for victims to slaughter”.

As for damages, DiMucci wants the video taken down and $1 million.

KitGuru Says: The argument here seems a bit over the top, given there is maybe three seconds of shooting in the entire video. During those shooting scenes, we don't see any human characters die either, though a cockroach does get its life cut short.

Become a Patron!