EA clarifies Battlefield 2142's IGA spyware

by Alexander Sliwinski { Oct 18th 2006 at 1:00AM }

Electronic Arts launched Battlefield 2142 yesterday and not too many people were happy to find spyware incorporated into the game. EA is confused why players have an issue with the sheet describing advertising spyware in their copy of Battlefield 2142 ... afterall, it's not like they didn't announce they were doing this months ago.

Joystiq asked EA to clarify this technology as there still seems to be some confusion (announcement be damned). An EA spokesperson stated, "It does not capture personal data such as cookies, account login detail, or surfing history." EA's statement to Joystiq can be found after the break.

In case you didn't read EA's letter in our post yesterday morning, please allow us to quote it to emphasize their clarification:

"IF YOU DO NOT WANT IGA TO COLLECT, USE, STORE OR TRANSMIT THE DATA DESCRIBED IN THIS SECTION, DO NOT INSTALL OR PLAY THE SOFTWARE ON ANY PLATFORM THAT IS USED TO CONNECT TO THE INTERNET."

If you want to play Battlefield 2142 or Need for Speed: Carbon, you'll just have to accept the consequences. IGA Worldwide -- the company taking your IP address and placing the ads in the game -- states on their website that "70% of gamers [are] saying that advertisements inside computer and video games help improve the realism of the gaming experience."

We're still waiting for EA to respond to several followup questions and will update this post when they do. Continue reading for their statement to Joystiq:

Electronic Arts statement (unedited):

The advertising program in Battlefield 2142 does not access any files which are not directly related to the game. It does not capture personal data such as cookies, account login detail, or surfing history.

BF 2142 delivers ads by region. The advertising system uses a player's IP address to determine the region of the player, assisting to serve the appropriate ads by region and language. For instance, a player in Paris might be presented with ads in French. The information collected will not be repurposed for other uses.

Battlefield 2142 also tracks "impression data" related to in-game advertisements: location of a billboard in the game, brand advertised, duration of advertisement impression, etc. This information is used to help advertisers qualify the reach of a given advertisement.

Tags: battlefield 2142, ea, IGA worldwide, spyware

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

draco @ Oct 18th 2006 1:12AM

see... nothing to worry about.

unbinds my panties from my within my male ass.

Daniel @ Oct 18th 2006 1:12AM

FUCK EA

wako @ Oct 18th 2006 1:12AM

LET ME GET THIS STRAIGHT...

I bought a game, so that I can play a game with advertisements. Despite I already PAYED for the game. I might as well just pirate the game because eventually, EA would get their royalties through all the advertisement they stuff me with.

Games that are free or services that are free like Battle.net, GunBound, etc, I dont care about advertisement. But now Im being stuffed with advertisement even though I am paying for a game? No way.

Amos @ Oct 18th 2006 1:13AM

The big question is - does it run independently of the game in the background? If so, it is, by definition, spyware. A trojan program constantly running "collecting" data that, inevitably, slows down your computer and opens holes for hacks. Fun stuff.

Shadow @ Oct 18th 2006 1:15AM

There is a really simple solution to this problem. Simply do not support EA, i have long went out of my way to boycott EA, and all games they are involved with. The only way EA will see that gamers care about our privacy, is if no one buys bf2142, or NFS Carbon. I haven't purchased an EA game myself since they marooned the dreamcast. I really don't have any regrets, i still have got plenty of games from developers.

merv @ Oct 18th 2006 1:22AM

Well I dont see how this is any diffrent to product placment in film, You pay for a ticket to see the film not to see them drinking coke. This is how I thoght they would be using your Ip address, so they can target ad's per region. It's not like millions of web pages don't do that every day, just look at google ad's or some of the ads on sites like myspace.

As long as it is all contained within the game eg the ad engin in part of the games code not a seperate program i don't really see a problem with it

Todzilla @ Oct 18th 2006 1:22AM

#3 Wako said it exactly. EA gets royalties for these ads and i would have no problem with the ads if it drove the cost of games down. Why not drop the price of BF2142 or NFSC down $20 and pass some savins on to the consumers. But unfortunately the consumers do not matter to these huge companies/monopolies. It's all about makin' that GTA.

Rawk @ Oct 18th 2006 1:23AM

Every single cookie from every single website you've ever visited does exactly the same thing. Hell, this blog does it. If anyone uses steam, the data it collects is 10x more invasive, basically tracking your progress step for step through the game. WoW does it too, pretty infamously. I mean, yeah, it sucks, but people have been doing this for years. EA just told people outside of the EULA. I hate it as much as anyone, but the fuss this is causing is insane.

Lofi @ Oct 18th 2006 1:24AM

i got 3 answers for that:

http://img216.imageshack.us/img216/3008/eapayso7.gif

and

http://img88.imageshack.us/img88/2816/eaitsinthegamenx1.gif

and

http://img88.imageshack.us/img88/2896/eagameplaydeathaa1.gif

Ritz @ Oct 18th 2006 1:25AM

Hrm, well their explanation makes sense, I suppose. How well you can take them for their word regarding not repurposing personal data, I don't know. Would the fact they have an ESRB privacy seal on their website mean anything? =(

Retrofied @ Oct 18th 2006 1:28AM

Yeah, McD ads in a space shooter set in 2149 is so realistic. Heck, McD will take over the world and require you to wear Ronald McD costumes.

Embassy @ Oct 18th 2006 1:36AM

so basically...EA is using a popular franchise and its customers to test, analyze and track marketing data.

great...you're all full price-paying lab rats.enjoy!

and EA doesnt get " royalties" on Ads...each company pays EA a certain price determined by how many "impressions" ( aka how many times the Ad is placed in the game) and frequency ( aka how many times those players see that particular ad)

i probably worded that wrong but blah u get the idea...still shady..but..i think companies do this to us on a daily basis..only difference with EA is that you're paying full price for the product and that they're openly admitting to doing this.

melcrose @ Oct 18th 2006 1:38AM

I hate to be a jerk here.. but . .

"As long as it is all contained within the game eg the ad engin in part of the games code not a seperate program i don't really see a problem with it"

Go back to school, son. Your "not seeing a problem with it" (based on your ability to express yourself) really REALLY doesn't matter.

Xvash2 @ Oct 18th 2006 1:53AM

Let's pay North Korea to nuke EA and their greedy-ass ways.

Off the rant wagon, the fact that we're still being charged FULL PRICE for the game is enough reason for my to give it the finger and save up for Gears of War. Its like buying Pay-Per-View and then having ads every 6 minutes.

Its like buying a DVD of a TV Show season and having the commercials left in.

So yeah. Everybody pirate the game! Show those billious bastards not to mess with gamers!

mentat @ Oct 18th 2006 2:19AM

I wouldn't complain so much about paying for a full game with in-game ads considering how much next-gen development will be costing. But what bugs me about this is that EA is basically porting their old titles with updates here and there. What are they paying for, I wonder?

Could it be all those offices for the people who don't actually do any development?

shoop008 @ Oct 18th 2006 2:24AM

This is not a big deal. There are a few billboards in the game and they have ads on them. You pay to go see movies with product placement and dont' get your tickets any cheaper. You already buy sports games with ads in them and don't make a fuss. Its one thing if they have ads on the characters or vehicles, but if there are billboards with ads that fit in the background who cares?
I've played the demo and really enjoy it, I will be buying the game. All corporations are out to make money and they will make it any way they can. Why does Valve and all the other companies charge you the same price for a downloads? Why aren't you up in arms about that? Its cheaper to distribute online and they still charge you retail... WAH WAH WAH!

If the ads in anyway hurt the gameplay then I will bitch and moan.

Spilt_Milk @ Oct 18th 2006 2:28AM

I think "Fucktards" is a pretty apt decription of EA.

Spilt_Milk @ Oct 18th 2006 2:32AM

I don't mind the ads and good product placement can actually add to a game aka Test Drive Unlimited and the clothing stores where you can buy brand name outfits.

I DO mind software that looks outside the game and watches were I go in order to serve those ads.

Chiablo @ Oct 18th 2006 2:36AM

"Battlefield 2142 also tracks "impression data" related to in-game advertisements: location of a billboard in the game, brand advertised, duration of advertisement impression, etc. This information is used to help advertisers qualify the reach of a given advertisement."

From an EA advertising board meeting:
Well, Jim, it looks like the Pepsi ads are doing fantastic, people are unloading around 200 rounds per person at them. That means that people are spending roughly 20 seconds taking in that delicious pepsi-flavored advertising.
The Madden 2007 ads are doing even better. Statistically, John Madden in billboard form has had more bullets fired at him than any player in any battlefield game ever. We're thinking of adding him and the Burger King as unlockable character classes in the future expansion: Battlefield(TM) 2142(TM): Fatal1ty(TM) is hungry for some Snickers(TM).

ill trooper @ Oct 18th 2006 2:43AM

I was really looking forward to this game, but this is just unsettling. They will probably get away with this, and speak to the gaming business press about how it really helped subsidize game development, thus encouraging other developers to get on board with Massive and other advertising companies, etc...

They really have you by the nuts - you have no option other than to NOT PLAY and it looks like from the picture, you get the pleasure of finding that out AFTER you open the package, and we all know how likely it is to successfully return an opened software product.

I'm really let down that this will probably just go unpunished, while we the gamers will receive no real benefit (I guess I'm not one of those "70% who feel it adds to immersion" (Idiots, apparently with no comprehension of what they're being asked and why)) and although I wonder who might still be around to advertise in a post-apocalyptic 2142, I don't want to pay for it to find out. Will robots of the future really be using AXXE body spray?

Sorry EA, but you gotta work for SOME of that money... Or pass along the benefits of having advertising in-game to us as consumers by offering the game to us for less.

Embassy @ Oct 18th 2006 2:56AM

for all u people saying the ads dont take away from the game...

why on EARTH would there be 21st century billboard ads in the 22nd century during a world wide icey apocalypse...????

im pretty sure sprite *remix* would've been out of stock by then...

ShockWave @ Oct 18th 2006 2:57AM

Everybody grab the game for free on torrents , a homemade patch will be made to remove this crap!! Hack The Planet!

ill trooper @ Oct 18th 2006 3:04AM

shoop008, WAH WAH WAH you are a sheep and don't care...
Show some pride in your own mindshare and stop acting like it's fine to have EA CHARGE YOU to SHOW YOU ADS, and track what you do so they can cater to paying advertisers, and let them know when you play, how long you play, etc. WHY do they need that? You bought their product. I don't think a person's relationship with EA should go any further than "I bought the game, I enjoy the game." They should be making their money from making and selling games, not elaborate focused market research they can sell to others.

I do get upset about all of those things you mentioned - Heineken trucks in Spiderman, Pepsi machines perpetually in the background of movies, Porsche-placement and multiple mentions of the name 'Cheyanne' on the Sopranos... It's lame and it's not good to have society heading this way, where ads are placed at every single juncture in your lives - it's actually LESS real than 'real life,' because competing brands can't advertise when 'Burger King' or 'Cingular' are offered exclusives to EA's new little 'Carbon' world, or whatever the next game is to pull this. But suckers like you don't mind. When are you gonna start caring about something?

It looks like a fun game, but EA has crossed my personal line with this, and I am going to opt to spend time with other fun games that are out right now. It's going to be a little bit of a disappointment, as the BF series and the NFS:Underground games were both some of my favorites over the last several years, but I gotta pass if this is the new style. No doubt I will be missing out on some fun, but it makes me feel better, anyway.

Although that 'carbon' demo was sorta weak...

Xvash2 @ Oct 18th 2006 3:18AM

"...next-gen development..."
-Mentat

That's the problem. There's nothing next-gen about this game. Its a modification of BF2. Except with crappier vehicles. (The cars look like they were stolen from the Bungie Studios parking lot. ((Coughwarthogcough))There's nothing new in this game. Next thing you know we'll have

"Battlefield 2552: We Just Fucked Up Halo!"

dick @ Oct 18th 2006 3:41AM

They're just dumb. They should be crowding demos with this stuff. Oh well, I pirate all my games anyways so who gives a fuck...

elmer92413 @ Oct 18th 2006 3:42AM

You know if we really want to see an end to this...
Just get dozens of full servers...
And have each and every player stare at the ads...
Then everyone goes to sleep...
So when EA goes to look at their "stats" they will be messed up...
This model of advertising will quickly fall out of favor...
As they will realize that as easy it is to collect their "stats"...
Those "stats" are just as easily manipulated...
Heck a "patched" version of the game could just as easily send false data back to EA...
...
..
.

Uber Soldat @ Oct 18th 2006 3:42AM

If anything the price for any game that features advertising should be cheaper because of the revenue that EA etc would make from it. Like so many other posters have said above we shouldn't have to pay for this crap, vote with your wallets and don't purchase the game. If enough people don't buy the games that feature ingame advertising then maybe the thick excutives may wake up.

copres @ Oct 18th 2006 3:43AM

so to not have them install spyware, you shouldnt play
battlefield 2142 online? wasnt battlefields' main attraction the online play?

Dark-Pen @ Oct 18th 2006 3:59AM

hrmm.... though personally i'm not planning on playing this game, the fact that they are indeed doing this is unsettling, and context wise, its even more unsettling. "Realistically," bulletin boards would be bombeded and shot up on a battlefield, and even more realistically, they could've just had a few companies pay them to put in ads that were all torn up, to give a sense of an apoclyptic future, instead of refreshing ads that change every few months or something based on who's paying and what region the game's being played in.

This would ultimately be a solution that no one would be bothered with, i think.

I mean, seriously, who the fuck in their right mind would actually pay someone (or recieve payment for) to put up ads in a war zone? That's pretty damn suicidal. I'd think that people would be more concerened about fighting for their country for domination and survival than putting up ads for soldiers to see as they walk down death row. That's not exactly "realistic" for the setting of Battlefield 2142.

Then again, who gives a fuck about what i'm saying, these are humongous corporations we're talking about, where business is about making money and investments, not creating a wholesome experience.

Pseudo99 @ Oct 18th 2006 5:47AM

@ Chiablo

Funny. Pretty much what I was thinking.

I was thinking about buying Battlefield. Really not in the mood to now.

cycopl @ Oct 18th 2006 6:22AM

Is everybody forgetting about the login server? The player ranking/tracking? The buddy list that works better than Steam? I doubt maintaining the servers that run all of this stuff is cheap. As long as the ads aren't intrusive to the gameplay, I don't really care.

It merely looks at your ip address (which is accessible to every single website or game you visit/play), and advertises based on your location. That's it. If that offends you, take a stand. Don't buy the game. I'm sure your lack of business won't matter at all.

Quake Wars is gonna be better than BF2142 anyway.

Gazbin @ Oct 18th 2006 6:58AM

I will not buy the game but will pay someone full RRP who hacks this shit out and burns me a clean game.

For those that see adverts - just slag the companies you see advertised. It's war isnt it? Get with the spirit of the game and announce open season on any brand thats visable.

SG evaNERV @ Oct 18th 2006 7:25AM

To be honest, I dislike this whole idea....and it won't last. Why?
Advertisers are paying EA to advertise. How many of the more serious gamers (and Battlefield is not for the casual gamer...) will really run out and buy something advertised? It's just wasted money advertisers are dumping at EA and it won't last. Think about pop-ups and online advertising? It crashed hard a few years back and has never rebounded. I refuse to buy ANYTHING that is advertised on a website or popup...and usually go out of my way to avoid the product all together.
Ad companies will find this out soon enough.
The major difference between this and Madden is in sports...their are advertisements all over the field and everyone is used to that. (Heck, who watches the Superbowl for the game? LOL). In Iraq, I don't see people running around re-doing billboards or putting up advertisements in store windows. I think they are having a more difficult time staying alive. Unless they could completely put the ads in the background so they don't attract my attention at all unless I really wanted to search for them (keep them dirty/grimy like the war torn cities of BF2142), then keep them out.

Mr BoomStick XL @ Oct 18th 2006 7:39AM

#2, simple but to true!! EA is not only a slap it's customers in the face kind of a company but this REALLY goes to a level that only they can reach. I guess thier not happy with ALL of the BS XBLA SH*T they are selling. Now they want to make even more money by letting some other company track your every move!!! And to top this nEW story off, they want to buy Ubisoft because the world is'nt enough!!!

Dave Smith @ Oct 18th 2006 7:43AM

Hmmm... EA... mistreats their employees, releases full priced ad-infested games, offers ridiculous EULA's, uses their wealth to lock out competitors via agreements with NFL, etc., ... I vote with my wallet and haven't bought an EA game in years. BTW, should an EA person with a soul read this, let me clue you in: Sometimes it's better to *not* pursue every potential revenue stream possible. Keep the ads out of the games please.

TigerClaw @ Oct 18th 2006 7:56AM

I'm sure at some point, Somebody will hack the game and create a patch that will remove the ads in-game.

Kevin @ Oct 18th 2006 8:00AM

That 70% EA is talking about refers to Sports games. I read somewhere (possibly here) that gamers wouldn't mind advertising in games as long as they add to the realism, so in a sports game it would make perfect sense to have ads everywhere you look, because that's what playing a sport is like. In Need For Speed Carbon, it makes some sense, since you're driving through areas that are supposed to suggest they are real, and cities have advertisments. But BF 2142? The game's set in one of those "sci-fi humans are a dying species and fighting to survive thing." I would reject ads completely in that type of game, unless they got extremely creative with the presentation of ads, as in... a nearly destroyed billboard on the side of a building. And that product should fit the time period.

paul @ Oct 18th 2006 8:04AM

you know who else makes money from advertising....Google. And they manage to give away the products that made them so popular. How does EA justify the high price of the game with all of that active advertising going on?

crazychikn @ Oct 18th 2006 8:20AM

the way i see it, this is just another method ea is usinbg to screw its customers. i dont mind the advertising as such, even if it isnt true spyware, as it does add to realism in some examples and it is inevitable that computer games will have advertising as they become more popular with the masses.

what i really dont like about ea though, is their terrible player support, their useless patches, their releases of games that are ridden with bugs and require you to wait 4 months for a piecemeal patch that only just covers the glaring problems and leaves all the problems of balance, lack of mod tools, and no pudates with new maps or models (or as a pay for nly expansion pack)

i wouldnt mind the advertising if ea wasnt such a bad company and used the money to perfect its games for te community, however ea isnt interested in that, it wants us to be bored of each battlefield game within 2 years so we all buy up the next installment of the series, im never buying an ea game again since their terrible support of bf2

Spilt_Milk @ Oct 18th 2006 8:28AM

There are too many alternatives coming out to be suckered into slavery by EA.

Hello Gears of War and Team Fortress 2!

Pixelantes Anonymous @ Oct 18th 2006 8:34AM

Avatar sized comment about all this: http://img149.imageshack.us/img149/5779/eagr5.jpg

HoodOrnament @ Oct 18th 2006 8:38AM

Well, I WAS thinking of making this my first EA purchase in years, as I finally have a computer of playing a massive game like battlefield. Guess im just going to wait for Quake Wars. Ads in a game is a rediculous idea, especially in a game like Battle Field. This has already been said beyond mention. EA is the downfall of videogames.

Zertoss @ Oct 18th 2006 8:58AM

I honestly don't mind ads in games. But I do mind any form of tracking me. It's like having someone following you around when you're taking the subway, for example, and write down every ad you look at. Sure he doesn't know who you are, but it's really annoying to have that guy following me around!

I love the BF series, BF1942 and BF2 were two of my favorite PC shooters, and I was really looking forward to BF2142, but now I think I'll pass (like I should've done with BF Vietnam).

ty @ Oct 18th 2006 9:07AM

FUCK EA!!!! Nobody should buy there shitty games.

Alex K. @ Oct 18th 2006 9:16AM

I was seriously just entering my credit card to buy this game until I read this.

Screw you, EA. The game is $50 already, way to ruin a great game by DICE. If you're going to put ads in the game, it'd damn well better be free.

Tim @ Oct 18th 2006 9:29AM

Not sure if this would work, but couldn't we find out where the information is being sent on the net and edit the HOSTS file so that "www.battlefieldads.com" becomes 127.0.0.1?

I think then you would have 0 advertisements. Screw EA.

matt @ Oct 18th 2006 9:46AM

I was definatly going to pick this game up, but now i wish to add my name to the long list of ppl that will stay away, i dont care what EA say about what data they collect. As poster number 2 said, a tad crudely imho but effectivly gets the message i want across.....fuck ea.

Rob @ Oct 18th 2006 9:48AM

@46 - may work, won't if they're actually clueful.

a) They could use IP
b) There's an option in the name lookup APIs to ignore the HOSTS file.

foof @ Oct 18th 2006 9:51AM

BF2142 is clumsy, laggy and the gameplay is worse than 1942. Novalogic could have done it better, and that's really saying something.

Now EA wants to use my internet connection to download ads while my screen is chugging along at 3fps. A patch won't work due to punkbuster, and blackholing the adserver will probably stop the game from loading.

It was a good run with all the other BF's. They are the only games I actually bought. Now it's time to look elsewhere.