EA jumps on the in-game ad bandwagon [update 1]

by Kyle Orland { Aug 31st 2006 at 1:55PM }

Reuters is reporting that Electronic Arts has signed deals with Microsoft-owned Massive Inc. and IGA Worldwide to put in-game advertising in up to seven games, including Need for Speed: Carbon and Battlefield: 2142. EA Vice President for Online Commerce Chip Lange promised that this is just the beginning, saying that EA is negotiating with other providers to put ads in many future titles.

While sideline billboards in Madden or racing games won't look out of place, it might be a little jarring to see an ad in the middle of Battlefield's battlefields. It might be worth it if the ads lead to lower prices for games, but we're not holding our breath on that count. How do you feel about ads in your games?

[Update: the AP is reporting that the ads will be automatically updated over broadband connections on the PC and Xbox Live]

Tags: battlefield, battlefield 2142, Battlefield2142, electronic arts, ElectronicArts, game ads, GameAds, in game ads, InGameAds, need for speed, NeedForSpeed

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

travis @ Aug 31st 2006 2:01PM

I think we've all said it a million times before...as long as the add can contribute to the game's realness (i.e. billboard in a city, decals on a race car, etc.) then its ok. Once you start hindering the game with them, its gone too far.

JesusXP @ Aug 31st 2006 2:02PM

Nothing goes with your futuristic game set in the year 2142 war, than a nice McDonalds billboard..

KR @ Aug 31st 2006 2:02PM

"EA Vice President for Online Commerce Chip Lange promised that this is just the beginning, saying that EA is negotiating with other providers to put ads in many future titles."

He says that like it's a good thing.

JesusXP @ Aug 31st 2006 2:04PM

How about lowering the price of these released titles now that EA is generating revenue off of the in-game ads?..yeah that doesnt sound like EA to me either..

SickNic @ Aug 31st 2006 2:08PM

As long as they can implement ads that don't take away from the game's atmosphere, than I am all for it. It's not like you can walk down a random street without seeing an ad anyways.

But, they minute they start putting ads in loading screens, or it disrupts the game in any way, I will cease to support that developer/publisher/game...

Gabriel @ Aug 31st 2006 2:09PM

I'm with Travis (#1).
They could have replaced all the HL2 signs with advertising and I wouldn't have noticed...

I won't care either if my character wears Nike clothes and RayBan sunglasses... usually these brands are somewhat copied into the game anyway...

The thing is that'll be seeing these ads, the developer will be stuffing their pockets and I'll still pay the same amount of money.
And also, if in-game advertising really takes off, all the fun mocking-ads will be gone from games...

vidGuy @ Aug 31st 2006 2:09PM

The constant "Old Spice Red Zone" and "CocaCola" banner ads and SPOKEN advertisements kind of gets to me in NCAA and Madden. Yes, it's supposed to be like a telecast play-by-play, but don't hit me with an ad, especially the SAME ONE, every time I'm in the redzone.

Billboards, ok. Spoken ads are pushing it.

ill trooper @ Aug 31st 2006 2:13PM

This isn't really that new, other than the 'massive' angle; we all griped about the omnipresent 'cingular' logo and the 'meet me at the BURGER KING™' after the race' tactics EA used in Need For Speed Underground2...

I'll sum up my opinion quickly, so as not to annoy people who ironically find people disappointed by in-game advertising more upsetting than the in-game advertising itself (GSI, I'm looking at you ;) ):

I understand it's purpose, I know it's pervasive all through television, movies, and yes, gaming, but it's not lowering prices in any way, nor seeming to aloow for 'more' for the same price... So it's annoying to me. I like the weird fake ads from the past.

Todd @ Aug 31st 2006 2:18PM

Ugh, advertising. While I realize the importance and point of advertising, I'm going to have real big issues if when I leave the game untouched and Sonic decides to start reciting slogans instead of just looking at his watch.

"Buy Pepsi, it's great!" * glug glug glug *

Oh the horror!

Super Duper MArio @ Aug 31st 2006 2:20PM

$$$money for the fatcats...

?help offset higher dev cost,like those of the ps3 maybe...
4 sure on games that got out of hand ie: unreal 2007

lower price for us, no...

lets say most games come out @ 59.99, would unreal come out @64.99 to offset cost? ,nooo... they would take the loss and make millions in the long run

jc @ Aug 31st 2006 2:21PM

http://www.joystiq.com/2006/01/11/in-game-ads-infiltrate-counter-strike/

I still think it is a bad idea for gamers, and a great idea for game makers who want just want to make tons of cash.

DonovanAlabaster @ Aug 31st 2006 2:24PM

#5 - I think eventually all struggling/fledgling publishers will sell space during load screens. It might start small, a logo intertwined with game stills, increasing to load screen 'shoot the coke bottle' minigames. Eventually full-on commercials. What else are they going to do with all that Blu-Ray space?

DocGonzo @ Aug 31st 2006 2:36PM

Sad thing is, this is GOING to be the way of the future. Always-on broadband is too tempting for any game dev to pass up; especially when they know that every single gamer in the world is just going to roll over and take it. They get money for the ads, and they get money from the software sales, as far as they care to look everything is shiny.

Or, we could take the stand, and tell them now that we do not want ads in the games. If they must put the ads in, then create a micropayment system - every time I see a real-world product in my virtual world, you drop a penny in my pocket...or, give away the games for free.

I play to escape reality, I do not want to be seeing things that remind me of the outside world in my gaming sphere. And advertising in the real world is already too prevalent; I happily admit to destroying ads that I feel have no place in the world. I have adblock plus installed for my Firefox. I change the channel when a commercial comes on. I will pirate a divx copy of a DVD I own already simply because I don't want to deal with the 'do not pirate' and 'this is copywritten work' crap that they have before the unskippable previews that come before the menu before the movie. I DON'T LIKE ADVERTISING. And I'm gonna be telling that to the game companies.

Thomas Crymes @ Aug 31st 2006 2:37PM

All of your worst ad fears will eventually come true. The key is that when a publisher tries it, that the consuming public says "No!"

On the flip side, it will take only one publisher to start selling games on the cheap and using the in game ads to bolster revenue, and be a rousing success, for most other publishers to follow suit.

And one publisher will refuse to run in-game ads and charge more because of it and no one will buy their pricey game and they will go bankrupt and fall by the wayside.

You heard it here first.

Luke @ Aug 31st 2006 2:39PM

In game advertising is a great way for the companies to continue to make revenue on games and keep production levels high. Unfortunitly some games haven't been able to excute this the correct way. We all know of SWAT 3's crappy update that only added ads to the walls and the Subway Sandwich incident in Counter Strike. The two questions are always,

Where is the money going towards? and
Will the ads be appropriate to the game and not become a problem as I'm looking at how stupid it is while a sniper is getting better aim?

Todd @ Aug 31st 2006 2:44PM

I don't mind product placement on objects in the game world which are done tastefully. Examples are:
- Cans of soda are brand names, rather than the ambiguous "Soda"
- Weaponry is specifically labeled by real manufacturers, instead of the generic "gun"
- People running around wearing clothing have logos, insignias, branding, etc. Same goes for hats.
- Cabs and buses driving by have advertisements on the sides, as they typically do in today's society
- Turning on a TV, an interactive object in the game world, results in an advertisement flashing on the screen for a few moments
- Subways have advertisement posters strewn all over, as they typically would

Anyways, you get the idea. I don't mind THOSE obvious forms of advertisement as I think they tend to give the gaming world more realism. Face it, those forms of advertisement exist already. I'm more worried about having the average NPC suddenly turn to me and say, "I heard the new Grand Theft Auto 10 is a great game. Sells for $50. Why not go to your local Target and pick up a copy?"

tactics @ Aug 31st 2006 2:53PM

ackkkk good point. marketing-speak NPCs would be a fucking NIGHTMARE. let's hope they don't go there.

-"superfan" tactics.

Gabriel @ Aug 31st 2006 2:53PM

#17 (I'm more worried about having the average NPC suddenly turn to me and say, "I heard the new Grand Theft Auto 10 is a great game. Sells for $50. Why not go to your local Target and pick up a copy?")

If this happens I bet developers will be that this is ultimate AI, incredible immersion and innovative gameplay reality or something...

dave smith @ Aug 31st 2006 2:53PM

Ads in games? God, I hate the idea with a passion and will actively avoid buying any games with ads in them for as long as possible. Isn't there enough advertising in my life already? I mean really, enough is enough you money grubbing suited swine. If you've invested millions into a game and want to offset the costs a bit there are different and better ways than whoring your work out to Madison Avenue. better yet, make a game that is worth paying for and guess what? It will sell enough for you to make huge piles of money for your wallowing pleasure. In game Ads marks the end of innocence for the videogaming as an artform. It now falls into a slimy, bug infested hole where eventually ad dollars will control content. All hail the mighty dollar! All hail mediocrity! All hail the ponography of Capitalism: Advertisment.

Jay @ Aug 31st 2006 2:54PM

So, I pay for their game and my bandwidth for them to deliver ads to me? That means I'm paying for advertising ... that would make me stupid. Since I don't want to be stupid, I won't buy games with ads. Simple enough.

kylekyle @ Aug 31st 2006 3:43PM

The problem I have is with the idea that these ads will somehow add realism to the game world. They will be constantly rotating, and new spots can easily be added or changed. I believe those two factors will prevent any in-game streaming ads from being immersive or easy to ignore.

Jake @ Aug 31st 2006 3:57PM

Hopefully, load screens that give you tips for in-game strategy will be replaced with advertisements. Also, brand knowledge like "why Nike's are better" should be necessary to solve puzzles. *To open the door, put the Reeboks in the fireplace and the Nike's on your feet* Your playing info and demographics should also be manditorily sent to advertising companies so that your game uses the proper advertisements in it. We wouldn't want to advertise the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to a 35 year old. Instead of Giant Enemy Crabs, we could be attacked by Giant George Foreman Grills. That would be neat.

Vercin @ Aug 31st 2006 4:11PM

I'd be pissed if Showtime and HBO started showing me commercials, since I pay full price for those, too. Just as I'd cancel those services if they started feeding me advertisements, I wouldn't buy a game with non-immersive advertisement in it. I don't pay people to try to convince me to spend more money.

Jeff @ Aug 31st 2006 4:11PM

"in a racing game's billboards or car decals, or in a gta/saints row game's billboards"

GTA's billboards are jokes. Make them real ads and you immediately detract from the game. Many of the billboards tie in to the radio ads also. How can you forget the Degenatron? "I'll never go to school again!"

As far as I'm concerned, if a game has cheesy fake ads, then they're just not trying hard enough.

Tomas @ Aug 31st 2006 4:20PM

i agree with travis.

ads on videogames is another step gone too far from the advertising/marketing people. part of the reason people play videogames in the first place is to get away (at least for a little bit) from that world saturated with advertising messages, not to go right back into it!

man, f*ck EA. they're already huge with their overhyped sports titles, i don't see why they really need to take money from private companies to dish us out commercialized version of Battlefield.

big MEH on this one.

next thing u know, your favorite rockstar will be taking money to drop the name of some shitty brand. or ur favorite graphic artist will be forced to include company logos in his/her works. oh, wait..! that's already happenin'. =/

Matt @ Aug 31st 2006 4:36PM

I suppose it's possible that if videogames enter into a true multi-tiered industrial structure (like the movie industry), product placements will be restricted mostly to the giant-seller's like Madden and GTA, which really wouldn't be any skin off my ass.

Since the publisher can move more "eyeballs" through those huge games, they can make more money from that ad space and possibly hand down that income to make better, smaller games. Or, just give themselves pay-raises and screw their emp's and us.

Even the first scenario makes me uneasy, really. If I see a Coke ad in Beyond Good and Evil 2, b*tches will die.

Duscrom @ Aug 31st 2006 4:56PM

It's funny.. In the past game makers had to play the company to put real names into games.. Sega had to pay for KFC to be in Crazy Taxu.. but Burgur king paid EA to be in Fight Night Round 3.

tactics @ Aug 31st 2006 7:47PM

good point, jeff. the ads in GTA were hilarious.

-"superfan" tactics.

SnapperDragon @ Aug 31st 2006 8:00PM

It sucks that they can make money off of us buing the game; it sucks worse that they can steal our bandwidth and put ads in our games using something that they don't pay for. I seriously object, and in fact, this is one thing that is putting me off. Why does MS need to make us pay for Live when they deliver ads right into our consoles? The scales have tipped, and not to the gamer or consumer's favor.

This is all one sided. I will support companies that do not do this as a matter of policy. I'm hoping Nintendo does not go there because at the moment, they seem to me to be the only company with a friendly attitude towards it's customers.

Yeah, I got a 360, but I REALLY REALLY resent that I need to "subscribe" for on-line play, while at the same time the ads get fed to the console for free by MS.

Maybe I can figure out some way of blocking this traffic...whether with DNS black listing or a filter of certain ad sites. Anybody know?

tactics @ Aug 31st 2006 9:22PM

i despise advertising. i see it everywhere, constantly shoving useless products that i don't need and don't want down my throat. BUT.

even *i* have played a game, sat back, and thought, "those billboards are cheezy... it would actually be *better* if they were real ads." for example, in a racing game's billboards or car decals, or in a gta/saints row game's billboards. a hockey game's paneling. shit like that. that makes plenty of sense.

even a little "smith&wesson" logo on the side of my pistol in a first person shooter... or obviously discernable car/shoe/building designs: "oh, look! that guy's wearing adidas shelltops!" or, somebody driving an old school cadillac, or "dude, that looks exACTLY like the transamerica building!"

these are examples where advertisement, (or product recognition) actually contributes to the experience and increases the realism of the game, and if they stick to this formula - not only do i NOT have a problem with it, i actually encourage it.

-"superfan" tactics.