The only game genre where advertising should, theoretically, be acceptable, is sports games. After
all, sports are commercial in nature. You pick up a NASCAR title, you
have to expect a huge DuPont logo on Jeff Gordon's ride. This article mentions those games outside the genre. Such as
Anarchy Online where, if you have a free account, you're exposed to advertising to cover the costs of your
cheapskatery.
It's hard to forget the orgy of sponsorship in recent EA games like Need for Speed Underground 2 and Burnout 3. In the
former, you're branded pager goes off regularly. (No free advertising here.) In the latter, you whizz past advertising
not just for EA's other games, but also for a certain brand of deodorant. It adds nothing whatsoever to the game. The
game didn't cost you any less, yet you're being bombarded with advertising every five seconds. Advertising on network
TV is used to pay the costs of the shows. DVD's, it's to hype other DVD's. Where's the benefit here?
Massive could be perceived as evil. Out to ruin our gaming experience. "Before you kill this boss, here's a message
from AT&T." If advertising in games was going to drive down the costs, then fine. Of course, the games will stay
the same price, only the developer will make more money. The consumer doesn't benefit at all, and yet another medium is
sacrificed on the altar of advertising for someone who isn't you to make a quick buck. Subtle advertising is one thing.
Product placement, when done well, can add to the realism of any medium, whether it be movies or games, simply because
of the consumer driven society we live in. When you're stuck driving past the same deodorant billboard over and again,
or your fantasy/sci-fi game is trying to sell you a Mountain Dew, then it's gone entirely too far. To call Massive evil
is probably a stretch. However, a lot depends on your definition of evil I guess.
Reader Comments (12)
Posted: Dec 18th 2005 9:47PM (Unverified) said
advertising in gaming will be huge. what sucks is that the companies will probably just eat up the these fees without passing it on to the consumer.
they'll be making more money off the games and we'll still be paying $60 a pop for next gen games.
jason
http://www.xboxsoftmods.com/main/
they'll be making more money off the games and we'll still be paying $60 a pop for next gen games.
jason
http://www.xboxsoftmods.com/main/
Posted: Dec 18th 2005 9:47PM (Unverified) said
if the advertising is going to keep next gen games from going to $60 then i'll accept the ads. but if they still cost $60 then what's the point?
Posted: Dec 18th 2005 9:47PM (Unverified) said
>>of course, the games will stay the same price, only the developer will make more money.
well, actually, only the publisher will make more money. it is unlikely that the money made from advertising will be passed to the developer. maybe the big name developers (who are already making good money) will get a cut, but not the smaller developers.
well, actually, only the publisher will make more money. it is unlikely that the money made from advertising will be passed to the developer. maybe the big name developers (who are already making good money) will get a cut, but not the smaller developers.
Posted: Dec 18th 2005 9:47PM (Unverified) said
what's the big fucking deal? ignore them, or be encouraged to buy the other products. i know if i was in anarchy online or matrix online, i see a billboard with an advertisement for chex(if somehow i notice it), i'm just going to dismiss it. it's not like i made the game, so i have no room to complain. yes, i paid for it, but i know full well what i'm paying for is something that someone else made and may or may not have contain i don't care for.
i know for dvds, sometimes i'll catch previews of movies that i forgot about or didn't realize were coming out. tv, well i don't really watch tv so that doesn't effect me. the only time it'll ruin my gaming experience is if random skin textures are plastered with 'ibm' written across them, or housing structures shaped like a giant can of hair spray. chances are the shitty games will take the crappy approach for advertising, and the better ones will do product placement(like having mt. dew vending machines in the hallways of the office buildings you go through, or a mcdonalds on the streets of la in thaw). i wouldn't have a problem with advertising in gaming honestly. just like dvds, i can skip it if i have no interest in it, and focus on the game.
i know for dvds, sometimes i'll catch previews of movies that i forgot about or didn't realize were coming out. tv, well i don't really watch tv so that doesn't effect me. the only time it'll ruin my gaming experience is if random skin textures are plastered with 'ibm' written across them, or housing structures shaped like a giant can of hair spray. chances are the shitty games will take the crappy approach for advertising, and the better ones will do product placement(like having mt. dew vending machines in the hallways of the office buildings you go through, or a mcdonalds on the streets of la in thaw). i wouldn't have a problem with advertising in gaming honestly. just like dvds, i can skip it if i have no interest in it, and focus on the game.
Posted: Dec 18th 2005 9:47PM (Unverified) said
i don't mind the advertising one bit. afterall games are suppose to be realistic. how are they going to be real if you are driving down the highway in gta and do not see one billboard adverstisement. if you owned a large company or even a small one, you would love to have your logo in a video game or anywhere else you could get it.
Posted: Dec 18th 2005 9:47PM (Unverified) said
this is from the same site that posts all the articles on how developers are claiming that they are going to need bigger and bigger budgets and more and more people to create games in the future. hasn't anyone thought that these advertisements are a way for them to make widen the increasingly thin margins they make on a game.
the fact of the matter is, while i am not looking forward to paying $60 for a game, prices have to rise. genesis games cost $50 in 1992, don't you think it costs a little more to make halo 3 than earthworm jim??
the fact of the matter is, while i am not looking forward to paying $60 for a game, prices have to rise. genesis games cost $50 in 1992, don't you think it costs a little more to make halo 3 than earthworm jim??
Posted: Dec 18th 2005 9:47PM (Unverified) said
looks like gaming is taking another page from the movie industry. it started with a few name brand products appearing in movies (men in black.) then it moved on to having one or two commercials before the previews start (body fantasies and bod fragrances.) now we are subjected to about 5-10 minutes of commercials ripped directly off of the television and dozens of name brand product placements that have infested the movie theater experience (i-robot.)
it's forced me to wait for the dvd release of most movies because i don't have to wait for advertisements to end to enjoy the movie i paid for.
is gaming next? in the future, will i need to wait for previews of other games before the main menu will load? will i be firing a coke-cannon instead of a flak-cannon? will nazi soldiers be smoking cigarettes and your avatar is the allied "truth-for-youth" representative out to extinguish them made possible by at&t?
already we can some product placement in games, and publishers advertising their other games in existing titles. for example... go play splinter cell: chaos theory; on one map you can overhear some soldiers talking about prince of persia being so good that it'll be game of the year. although this is humorous, i think it marks the demise of truly "free" gaming.
hopefully there will be mods to remove advertising from games. of course, the government will probably freak out about that too.
it's forced me to wait for the dvd release of most movies because i don't have to wait for advertisements to end to enjoy the movie i paid for.
is gaming next? in the future, will i need to wait for previews of other games before the main menu will load? will i be firing a coke-cannon instead of a flak-cannon? will nazi soldiers be smoking cigarettes and your avatar is the allied "truth-for-youth" representative out to extinguish them made possible by at&t?
already we can some product placement in games, and publishers advertising their other games in existing titles. for example... go play splinter cell: chaos theory; on one map you can overhear some soldiers talking about prince of persia being so good that it'll be game of the year. although this is humorous, i think it marks the demise of truly "free" gaming.
hopefully there will be mods to remove advertising from games. of course, the government will probably freak out about that too.
Posted: Dec 18th 2005 9:47PM (Unverified) said
adds will be there for a real good reason. the cost of making games it going to skyrocket and i think this will be a great way of curbing that. and maybe keeping the price point at around 50 bucks.
Posted: Dec 18th 2005 9:47PM (Unverified) said
yes, keep buying up everything, you sheep! as long as the money flows, they'll keep pushing and pushing.
baaaaa!
baaaaa!!!!!
baaaaa!
baaaaa!!!!!
Posted: Dec 18th 2005 9:47PM (Unverified) said
its very very different to see appropriate real-world trackside ads in gran turismo or a nascar game where they literally are part of the realism of the environment, than to see an ad for a specific brand of deodorant constantly repeated in an arcade racer like burnout...
this is bullshit, and its companies like ea and microsoft that will end up ramming it down your throat more and more in the future...this is why i'm more interested in japanese-developed games, where the game creators (usually) have more of a sense of purity of their art form...you don't see doritos or hershey bars amongst the objects rolled up in katamari damacy, and you don't see a chex billboard in the background in soul calibur...its a matter of integrity, and i pity you younger gamers who say "who cares?" and let the wave of rampant consumerism wash over you like its normal and no big deal...it cheapens every experience it infects.
this is bullshit, and its companies like ea and microsoft that will end up ramming it down your throat more and more in the future...this is why i'm more interested in japanese-developed games, where the game creators (usually) have more of a sense of purity of their art form...you don't see doritos or hershey bars amongst the objects rolled up in katamari damacy, and you don't see a chex billboard in the background in soul calibur...its a matter of integrity, and i pity you younger gamers who say "who cares?" and let the wave of rampant consumerism wash over you like its normal and no big deal...it cheapens every experience it infects.
Posted: Dec 18th 2005 9:47PM (Unverified) said
god damn it i'm sick of advertising. i'm sick of the pushiness, i'm sick of the gaudiness, i'm sick of the inappropriateness, and i'm sick and tired of constantly being told i need to "consume." is there any place left in the world that hasn't been corrupted by a deluge of marketing?
to the advertising world as a whole: please do me a favor and just shut the f*ck up.
to the advertising world as a whole: please do me a favor and just shut the f*ck up.
Posted: Dec 18th 2005 9:47PM (Unverified) said
#10: that would be funny, actually, to suck up real objects in katamari damacy. i can imagine a pa strip where someone is playing katamari, and it's like 'i just sucked up your alienware!
#11: wtf are you doing on joystiq, it has ads too! i believe you are confusing the docile, non-intrusive 'adsense' ads and the invasive, pervasive, and cheapening 'shove breasts in face!' ads.
#11: wtf are you doing on joystiq, it has ads too! i believe you are confusing the docile, non-intrusive 'adsense' ads and the invasive, pervasive, and cheapening 'shove breasts in face!' ads.
