In game ads

[PKerr]

I know the devs have being putting advertisement in games off and on for a while now but I read an article a few months back that said they were going to start doing it pretty hot and heavy to help with the cost of development.

Of course you and I wont see a reduction in our gaming cost they will just make more money.

Honestly, I don't have a problem with that as long as it's done tastefully.

Take for example the new game Prototype.

In it I have seen a DC comics and a GameStop Billboard.
They weren't on every other building or overused at all. It fit into the big city atmosphere.
So Kudos to the devs.

As long as they are done like that then by all means, have at it.

 

[JonathonWally]

I'm with you, as long as they fit in or whatever I don't care.

I'm surprised that loading screens don't have big ads on them yet.

 

[PKerr]

I'm with you, as long as they fit in or whatever I don't care.

I'm surprised that loading screens don't have big ads on them yet.

Shhh...They might hear you.

If they get that stupid I'll pass on the game.

It's bad enough you have to sit through 10min of commercials when you pay $10.00+ go go see a movie.

 

[Emher]

Some do it really well. I know DICE have pretty much been forced to do it for years and at first they where really obvious, but the ones in Battlefield: Bad Company I only noticed a few weeks ago, and I've had that game for almost a year.

 

[Rincewiend]

Racing games and certain sports games have plenty of ads in them...
But those are placed where you expect them, along the course or playing field...

 

[Geckothan]

I barely tolerate ads at all, and putting them in games would just cross the line. I imagine there are hacks out there that disable them, and if not, I don't imagine it'd be hard to make one. If they're built into the game as textures or something, it's a matter of replacing the textures, if they're pulled from a server it could either be as simple as blocking a few IPs or could require a hack. Either way, I wouldn't tolerate ads in games for any reason.

 

[Robert Maxwell]

Advertising in games is nothing new. Anyone remember the "Pizza Hut" plugs in the old TMNT games on the NES?

I remember Lowtax of SomethingAwful once suggested selling ad space on EverQuest avatars--get logos plastered all over your character's clothing, like a NASCAR driver. Reality may not be far off...

I think advertising can be done organically in certain kinds of games. Any game with a contemporary setting could hypothetically have scenes in, say, a shopping mall, or a town plaza, or office building, etc. and it would be totally appropriate to have ads for various establishments in there.

But if we start having characters in Final Fantasy games texting over their Nokia phones, yeah, we might be going a little too far.

I actually don't think the loading-screen ad thing is that bad of an idea. It's a loading screen. Most people ignore it in the first place!

 

[Aragorn]

It may only be a matter of time before some video game pulls a TBS -- freezing the game in the middle of play to present you a commercial.

 

[ATimson]

Of course you and I wont see a reduction in our gaming cost they will just make more money.

Rather, they'll make up some of their lost profits from inflation. Games, at least in the United States, are basically the same price they were 15 years ago.

 

[Robert Maxwell]

It may only be a matter of time before some video game pulls a TBS -- freezing the game in the middle of play to present you a commercial.

Did they quit doing that? I remember it annoying me like crazy. It can't believe that little stunt didn't kill The Bill Engvall Show.

 

[darthraidr]

i actually like some in-game ads... mostly in sports games... ads in nba2k9 make it feel a lot like a game on tv.

the DC ad in prototype actually felt really off. mainly because it was just a big white billboard with the blue DC logo on it. it didnt look like a real advertisement.

 

[Kelthaz]

I don't mind ads in games if they are appropriate, but 99% of video games are set in Medieval Europe or a fantasy land. I don't want to start collecting Pepsis instead of potions or have a Toad try to sell me a Toyota. In sports games I think ads are fine (if anything they would make the games more realistic), but in anything else absolutely not.

 

[Haggis and tatties]

I have no problems with in game ad on billboards or walls of screen inside games and the likes, but i do have a problem with ads covering the dashboard, or the new thing we have at the moment of including premium DLC in patches, that really grinds my gears that one.

Premium DLC should stay on the market place, the last burnout patch now has the game load up and take you through all that premium DLC your not interested in just to get the game started now,its aggressive in your face advertising.

Its ridiculous getting.

 

[James Bond]

i actually like some in-game ads... mostly in sports games... ads in nba2k9 make it feel a lot like a game on tv.

Agreed. I get a kick out of seeing the ads along the boards in NHL 09, and others.

 

[OdoWanKenobi]

As long as the advertising actually fits in the game, such as on city billboards, then I have no problem at all with it. But if, say, we started seeing ads for Coca-Cola plastered all over a medieval castle, or on the walls of an alien civilization, then yeah, I'm going to have a problem.

 

[Aragorn]

Maybe the ads will become as intrusive, obvious and awkward as the ones they drop on Smallville.

"Here, Link, drink some of this. It'll make you feel better. Gatorade is thirst aid... for that deep down body thirst."

CORTANA: "Chief! The flood have overtaken AT&T headquarters!"
MASTER CHIEF: "Well then, we better go reach out and touch someone."

 

[Emher]

I don't mind ads in games if they are appropriate, but 99% of video games are set in Medieval Europe or a fantasy land. I don't want to start collecting Pepsis instead of potions or have a Toad try to sell me a Toyota. In sports games I think ads are fine (if anything they would make the games more realistic), but in anything else absolutely not.

Yeah that's a thing that bugs me at times. It's okay if it's a city and it's like a brand that makes sense to be there. Actually one of the ads I found in Battlefield: Bad Company is pretty bad in its locaton in that it's a commercial for a Swedish telecom company...and I found it on a map set in the middle-east...

 

[Bob The Skutter]

Personally I think there should be a slight reduction in price if they're going to include a lot of ads in games.
Here in the UK I seem to remember the price of games going up with each of the last 3 generations. £25 on the Dreamcast, £35 of the Xbox and £45 on current.
Sure you can get them cheaper online, but I think there should be a few quid off on games that have advertising in them, and if they start going with big obvious out of place advertising they should knock even more off.

 

[ATimson]

In that case, it sucks to be you. In the US, that was more like $50/$50/$60 for those three consoles... and that first $50 was a price cut from Sega Genesis' (as you used Dreamcast ) prices of $60.

 

[Bob The Skutter]

In that case, it sucks to be you. In the US, that was more like $50/$50/$60 for those three consoles... and that first $50 was a price cut from Sega Genesis' (as you used Dreamcast ) prices of $60.

I remember cartridge consoles being the same price as the Dreamcast games, and some higher than the Dreamcast. But I do remember prices going up by about £5-£10 with each new generation of console.
But I guess that's the problem with being in Europe, we get screwed all ends up when it comes to entertainment, whether it's release dates, or costs.