Real world ads headed for Matrix Online
by James Ransom-Wiley 
{ Nov 18th 2005 at 1:00PM }
Update 38 will see the arrival of a massive in-game ad campaign
into the Matrix Online universe. Mega City billboards will now sport real world advertisements that will
change over time. But don't panic, player-favorite (non-real world) ads like those for Slumberil and the Sentinel will
remain in the game. In addition, the ad campaign will open the doors for the possibility of player advertising in Mega
City. Sony is toying will the idea of running contests in order to select player-generated ads. How about one for the
Blue Pill: "Ignorance is bliss"
[Thanks, Nushio & JamesO]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
drn @ Dec 18th 2005 10:01PM
atleast the ads are more exciting to look at than the actual game itself.
halcyongt @ Dec 18th 2005 10:01PM
My question is who are they advertising to? Isn't this game a step away from getting shutdown due to the fact that no one is playing it?
Nushio @ Dec 18th 2005 10:01PM
Yay! I tipped Joystiq and my name is on the main page! :D
I feel more important now. Thats twice i've tipped joystiq. I've been pressing F5 like crazy to see when It would be updated :P
Chiablo @ Dec 18th 2005 10:01PM
I don't mind in-game advertising, but if you are going to do it, reduce or eliminate the monthly fee... or do what Anarchy Online does and have the monthly subscribers get ad-free gaming.
Here's my submission for a Matrix Online billboard:
THIS SPACE FOR RENT:
Because Sony needs to milk us for more money!
Nushio @ Dec 18th 2005 10:01PM
I agree. One of the (many) reasons I dont buy MMORPGs is because of the monthly fee. If they really want us to sign up and play, make it free, they earn money from ads, and we enjoy yet another MMORPG
Steve G @ Dec 18th 2005 10:01PM
Okay, seeing a Batman Begins billboard in a Matrix game really destroys the pleasure of a self-contained game environment. I'm fine about ads in games that resemble real-world environments- Put all the Pepsi ads you want in your racing game. It doesn't interfere with the experience then. But something like THIS... it just yanks you out of the game world!
Wonderflex @ Dec 18th 2005 10:01PM
#5 - I agree with you totally, but sadly to continually update things with ever expanding quests, new character designs, and so forth, over a long period of time, requires a lot of capital beyond the $30 - $50 tag price.
The reason that FPS can get away with it is the fact that there really is little updating done to the game. You create it and it sits there. You release a few patches, maybe a few new models, but after that you pretty much have little left to pay towards the game.
InfoMofo @ Dec 18th 2005 10:01PM
The concept of real-world commercialism in a commercially-driven computer generated world based on a commercially successful movie franchise based on people being enslaved into a computer generated world is too post-modern for words... I kind of love it...
Dave @ Dec 18th 2005 10:01PM
Hah! InfoMofo, did you go to Syracuse University? Dennis Earle's post modernism class? I swear to god, I took a whole modern / post modern lecture class that ended up rotating entirely on The Matrix.