As reported by Game Informer on Monday, September 22, in response to the recent lawsuit brought on by former dictator Manuel Noriega , Call of Duty: Black Ops II publisher Activision and its attorneys, led by former New York City mayor Rudolph Giuliani, have filed to dismiss Noriega’s suit over his likeness in the Black Ops sequel.
According to Game Informer, Giuliani’s statement on the matter has said that Activision’s case is based on a fair number of things; the first of which is that Noriega’s cameo in Black Ops II is described as “ transformative, ” which puts his inclusion in the game under the protection of speech, as the former dictator is based in fictional circumstances.
Noriega is only featured in Black Ops II for less than one percent of the game, according to Game Informer. Giuliani has said that this figure is defined by the average gameplay across singeplayer, multiplayer and zombie modes.
” What’s astonishing is that Manuel Noriega, a notorious dictator who is in prison for the heinous crimes he committed, is upset about being portrayed as a criminal and enemy of the state in the game Call of Duty . Quite simply, it’s absurd, ” Giuliani said in a statement.
” I’m not interested in giving handouts to a convicted murderer and drug smuggler like Manuel Noriega who is demanding money from Activision and its popular Call of Duty franchise for simply exercising its right to free speech. Noriega’s attack on the rights of Call of Duty comes as no surprise considering he’s a lawless tyrant who trampled over the rights of his own people, ” he added.
Activision’s motion was filed on Monday in the Superior Court in the State of California. When questioned as to why someone so high profile was handling the situation, Giuliani responded that, “ this could have a chilling effect on all works of art, ” inferring books and movies as well as video games.
We’ll bring you more news on this story should further information reach our ears.
[ Game Informer ]