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Product Placement in Online Gaming
ceejayoz writes "MSNBC/Reuters has an article about product placement in 'The Sims Online'. EA has made a multimillion dollar deal with Intel and McDonalds to include 'Intel's familiar jingle, its product logo, and computers using its Pentium 4 processor' and 'a McDonald's kiosk and ... the company's branded food' in the game."
And, hey, maybe your Sim can sue McDonalds for making them fat and get rich. That'd sure beat the hassle of that job thing.
...how long it would take for such things to happen.
Something with such mass-market appeal like "The Sims" is perfect fodder for product placement. Shame they couldn't just have product placement and keep the game free instead of a pay-per-month basis.
hookers and grits.
Not bring down the price of the games.
Does this mean my Sim will start getting fat? Will it develop an urge to sue McDonalds later on, or just spill coffee on his crotch?
If this drops the price of the games it could be worth it, I'm still waiting for ea to make good with lowering the price after the small boxes were released.
already a Pepsi machine in the current version.
Not a big surprise... art imitates life... the sims DRM is next.
. . .to simulate real life. The real-life product placement of MacDonald's and Intel justifies its placement in the game.
We Are Familiar With Elephants By Virtue Of Their Size.
In the sims world, how large will the "Intel Inside Pentium 4" logo be on the computers? if it is real life size, it will hardly be visible in the game! Chances are the developers are going to put a giant decal on the side.
Pretty soon, the cars in the game may look like they came from Nascar...
If it's supposed to simulate real life, shouldn't there be a fatburger kiosk and AMD computers?
And if anything, it lends these 'virtual worlds' a little more authenticity... having billboards and advertisement everywhere. Pretty soon the Sims will have Heineken in the cooler, a Sony tv and dvd, and the neighbor will have a brand new Lexus in the driveway... Now, how do we get people to add these 'upgrades'? Oh, simple... charge them $39.95 for the next 'version'.
-- This sig for rent.
If we're lucky, we might find The Sims Online in a Happy Meal :-)!
EA will quickly learn if this business move is bad. Their sales will drop from "The Sims". Frankly, I have never figured out why so many people are afraid of advertising. If you don't like it, don't buy their products. The only question I have is if the Mac OS X version will drop the Intel ads?
Strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government.
One thing I've always wondered about this wonderful set of games is exactly how much wheeling and dealing did they have to do to get as many "real" cars and products into the game.
In any event it is the perfect touch: a race track without product billboards isn't very realistic. Cars that you can say "Hey I know someone with that car" are playable. You can walk into a tire store and look at the same tires offered in the game.
Software companies promote themselves all of the time in their own games but should they now seek ad revenue for games? Hungry companies could see this is a new boon. Players could start to see this as a new bother.
However the GT series does this correctly because it is subtile. The car designs and products are the ads themselves...you don't need to be intrusive with load screens shouting "Parts of this game were funded by Soandso". If players start seeing intrusive ads they'll start to turn away from it.
While I'm sitting here drinking my cold, refreshing Coke, I looked on my KDS LCD flatscreen monitor that I bought from ThinkGeek and realized that they should apply this to TV shows as well. Why interrupt a show with a commercial break when product placement could work just as good? In the movie "The Truman Show", which I watched the other day on my DirectTV satellite system, the "show" that the movie was about had no commercials, just product placements. While that was just a movie, if The Sims proves this can work for other mediums, maybe we'll soon see a future where Tivos can no longer skip over commercials because there AREN'T any to skip over.
---
DRM is like antifreeze, to the MPAA/RIAA it's sweet, to the consumers it's poison.
So, if your Sims eat a ton of Big Macs, do they fatten up, get hardened arteries, and have heart attacks? I hope EA is sticking with the "reality" theme.
I would agree to this kind of advertising under three conditions.
1) The price of the game should be reduced by a percentage of the advertising revenue, since it's our eyeballs doing the work of watching the add.
2) NPC's should get fatter, sue because they don't want to be responsible for anything, including what they shove in their mouths, and then they clog up your court building and you loose 1000 points.
3) You should be able to rob the drive-through, just like in real life.
But Mc Donalds meat is already simulated meat. So when it gets used in a simulation, does it become real meat? What a philisophical pondering...
Outdoor digital photography, mostly in New Engl
"A steady diet of fast food takes its toll on your Sim. Lose one body skill point."
Or give the Sim a heart attack after ten straight days of the stuff. Something. Anything.
You want the truthiness? You can't handle the truthiness!
for weapons manufacturers.
134340: I am not a number. I am a free planet!
Theme Park (anyone remember that?) was sponsered by the Midland Bank (certainly in the UK version on the Amiga). It certainly succeeded in making the game date quickly, Midland is now owned by HSBC.
Mc Donalds has for years kept coffee overly hot bceause it keeps LONGER, that means fewer thrown away half pots of coffee, and thus more profit. This woman was not the first to sue McDonalds, she was just the first to clean up on it. The jury saw a case of a Corporation simply feeling that more money would be saved on coffee than spent in litigation of neglect cases. Yeah the amount was excessive, but the fact that the coffee was served too hot for suspect reasons is why the price attached to it is what it was.
Can I download a pizza from my laptop?
"The lesson to be learned is not to take the comments on slashdot too literally." --Vinnie Falco, BearShare
I think we are all so used to filtering ads from the content we look at every day (read popups, & non slashdot subscription ads) that this shouldn't be a big deal. If this a new way for game companies to get some funding for the latest and greatest, then it really pays off on the user end too. Many great game companies were forced to seriously change their plans caused by budget constraints. Bungie and Squaresoft come mind first.
Yawn.
Yeah, the Intel logo is going to matter a huge amount to me - while I'm playing on my new high-end AMD box!
SIG: HUP
Let us not forget all the "real" stores in Crazy Taxi, like KFC, etc. They're not even just there for decoration either; you have to deliver people to them.
--
"Open source is good." - Steve Jobs
"Open source is evil." - Microsoft
...were the Red Bull ads in Wipeout XL. At the time, I think it was pretty much impossible to get it in the States. It must have worked!
and a fine addition to the game.
On of the big events The Sims is watching them respond to events, like when there is a fire on their stove.
The fires get a bit boring after a while. A nice event instead will be watching your Sim collapse in the McDonald's kiosk from a cholesterol-induced heart-attack.
Makes a nice tie in too for genuine Intel(R) products: crack open the nearby computer equipment and use the live wires to see if you can shock your Sim's heart into restarting again.
-----
Cast a Cold Eye
On Life, on Death
Horseman, pass by
--W.B. Yeats' gravestone
not much different then that huge add for nvidia that pops up at the start of UT2003 (or does it not pop up if you dont have a nvidia card??)
The sims should also feature hundreds of thousands of acres of South American rainforest being clearcutted via slave labor to produce more farmland to raise more hormone-pumped cows just so you can have your nifty virtual McBurger every day.
But then people might think twice about eating at their favorite crap shack, and we wouldn't want that...
Brown said the game was appealing to Intel and McDonald's because almost all of its players are young people, with nearly 50 percent of them young women
Well, said that's a desireable target demographic... ppl who spend lots of money on fast food, and get lots of money spent on them (by parents). Sounds like your average college-goer.
Make sure everyone's vote counts: Verified Voting
In the middle of fragging your friends in Doom3, a message appears in the console:
This small show of violence was brought to you by the NRA. Without us, your dreams of actually owning your own mini-gun will never be realized.
I love you Charlton Heston, you damn filthy ape!
/^[A-Z0-9._%+-]+@[A-Z0-9.-]+\.[A-Z]{2,4}$/i
Why? If you don't want to look at ads, don't buy the game. No one is forcing your eyeballs to watch ads. You are making a choice to do it. EA should sell "The Sims" at any price the market will bear. If product placement fails, their bottom line will show and they will make a different decision in the future. I am always bothered by people thinking they are "owed" something from a company. You get what you pay for and if you don't like it, don't spend the cash.
Strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government.
It's the Sims....
According to the article:
Eating that food will also improve their standing within the game
Now when was the last time you saw someone eating a Big Mac in real life and thought "That guy is going places" ?
If this really where a real life simulation, then there would be positive and negative effects from McDonalds, there would be competition for Intel, there would be environmentalists protesting outside McDonalds, etc.
I very much doubt we're going to see that.
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I have no problem with product placement, as long as it is used in such a way that it doesn't interfere. For instance, in movies, it's natural to see brand name products in scenes, since we see brand name products in our lives. This could also be true for games such as "The Sims". However, I hope that they don't go in the direction some movies have, blatently shoving products down our thoats. Look at the latest Austin Powers installment. It's like watching a Heinekin commercial in some scenes.
As a side note, it's strange that Mike Meyers is such a big offender of product placement overuse, after bashing on it in Wayne's World.
--
"There's a madness to my method." -mthed
When I was working on PC flight simulators, to use any likeness, logo, or performance data you had to pay the aircraft manufacturer. We argued that they were getting free exposure for their product, but got no dice. At least in this instance EA was able to turn it to their favor and further fund development. Good for them.
My virtual cup of coffee was WAY too hot...
Mostly sports titles have banners all over the place for different products. If I remember right, NHL '95 for SNES had banners around the rink for Dodge, and that was 7 years ago! All the newer sports titles have ads all over the stadiums.
Most recently Tony Hawk 3 had the (then) brand new Jeep Liberty placed on different sk8ing levels. I guess they thought skaters would buy some. :D
It's also possible that this money could be used well. Of course it's not going to lower the price we pay for the games, but it may mean that EA will be slightly more willing to take a risk on a new game. But I suppose if Hollywood is the example, the reverse will be true.
But back to my origional point from before I got on a rant. If they use this money to do something like elimenate the monthly fee, I'd see no problem. They could even make it an option: pay us $10 a month (or whatever) or see branded items. I don't see a problem with this. As long as they ads aren't obtrusive, it's fine with me. What do I mean? If your sim's computer play the intel song and shows a P4 logo when you turn it on, that's fine. If your sim can buy McDonalds when they're hungy, that's fine too. What I DON'T want to see is my house wallpapered with the golden arches, or finding NPC that always steer the conversation towards "Have you heard about Intel's great new powerful processor? And it's only costs... you should buy one now! Infact you can buy one from me!". THAT would clearly drive people away.
It's like my opinion of product placement in movies. If it seems natural or is unobtrusive (Tom Hanks working for FedEx in "Cast Away") then I see no problem with it. But if it gets like that ad in "The Truman Show" or like Wendy's in "Mr. Deeds", that I don't want to see.
Comment forecast: Bits of genius surrounded by a sea of mediocrity.
It seems EA has managed (yet again) to find a way to kill one of the few good games they still had in their hands. It's sort of like Midas' touch only the other way aroud: all the gold they touch turns to dung. Maybe they'll get rich selling it, but it won't be with my money.
Maxis selling out to EA was a bad idea in the first place... I certainly don't (and never will) consider The Sims as a Sim game in the classic Maxis sense. Whatever happened to SimCity 2000? SimEarth? SimFarm? SimAnt? Do you see focus on SimCity 4? Noooo... It's all The Sims, The Sims, The Sims... Or games branded under the Sim name but not made by Maxis (e.g. SimCoaster, the new SimGolf, (and yes, I do mean the new SimGolf. Maxis came out with the ORIGINAL game entitled SimGolf, 4 or more years ago...)) Maxis really sold out on that deal... And I hate it all the more. I fortold such doom long ago on the Maxis boards right after the merger had been announced... The ingenuity behind Maxis ended with their purchase.
any time soon.
I spend 99% of my fun time playing around with OpenBSD.
But ads get in the way! When I'm playing DOOM III the last thing I need is to be bombarded by bright flashing graphics and loud sounds!
This will just devolve into another Tivo-esque legal matter. Companies that pay big money for product placement are going to want those tweak utilities made illegal, because they allow for people to remove their paid-for advertising material.
Not that anyone is really going to care about the products in this game. I can sit there and watch commercials for hours, but not be able to specifically recall a single one of them. They turn into "What product is the one with the commercials with those hot chicks?" Do I remember the product? I've been trained by the advertisement industry to ignore what they throw at me. I've been desensitized.
You need to restart your computer. Hold down the Power button for several seconds or press the Restart button.
Come on guys, you can't really blame them. I mean, its not like the Sims franchise makes any money as it is.
"Hey brother Christian with your high and mighty errand / your actions speak so loud I can't hear a word you're saying"
Will my sims get sick and throw up like real people do after eating the McSomething?
If they really wanted to sell more PCs, Intel would pay EA to include Macs as well. They'd cost twice as much as the P4 PCs, and they would generate less happiness points (or whatever the hell they're called...).
Why should I pay for entertainment, then be forced to watch advertisements? Once this makes its way into every game (every movie is getting polluted, and TV shows are soon to be) it's going to be an ugly world. Until then we call all use Mozilla and BannerBlind. That is, if Mozilla is still legal to use post Palladium.
The original Ultima II (1982) had a McDonalds. And not just a signpost, you could buy food there...
;)
Sadly no coffee - - had to earn gold the hard way.
Tom
Will I get to play the straightedger Sims firebombing MacDonalds, the Hindu Sims suing MacDonalds, OR the PETA Sims protesting MacDonalds by making the Burger King Sims eat veggieburgers?
Just because you can mod me down, doesn't mean you're right. Shoes for industry!
Then I hope they introduce new skins into the game like Ronald McDonald, Grimace, Hamburgler, and Birdie.
Then you can invite Ronald over for dinner (but what would you serve?), sick the dog on Grimace, Hamburgler might be caught by the police, and Birdie might fly into a window.
sony was going to do this with infantry. However, the scope of the game was reduced from a massively multiplayer world, to several small objective based games.
When I read the article I saw the starting blurb at the top:
Welcome to McDonald's. Would you like virtual fries with that digital Big Mac? No. 1 video game publisher Electronic Arts Inc. said Monday it has struck multimillion-dollar product placement deals with fast-food giant McDonald's Corp. and chip heavyweight Intel Corp. for its heavily anticipated computer game "The Sims Online."
and read:
Welcome to McDonald's. Would you like virtual fries with that digital Big Mac? No.
That pretty much sums up my thoughts.
and this comes on the heels of their announcement to fully support DRM and Palladium starting secretly with p4 3 ghz cpus.. make the children beg their parents for a computer as they lock them into their own formats.. sieg heil
A new way for your Sim to die: Attempting to overclock his PC without enough know-how, and burning to death in the resulting fire.
If I remember correctly, there was already a downloadable addition to The Sims in the form of a Pepsi machine. Maybe it was their way of sticking their toe into the product placement arena to test it.
The players obviously want this kind of thing. Just take a look at a lot of the user made items that have been made to try and bring the "real" feeling to the game, everything from G4 cube computers and Sony television sets.
If EA can give players more of what they obviously want and pocket a little profit in the process more power to them.
With that being said, I hope it won't be intrusive to the point of being annoying for the player. It's all in the execution..
I use a Mac, think I'll hear a Mac chime on startup? Or will the game just let me avoid exploits and spend 2k more for an Apple system? :)
I like big butts and I cannot lie.
"I started out just like you guys - on trash. Now, I'm washing lettuce. Pretty soon I'll be on fries. In a year or two, I'll make assistant manager....and that's when the big bucks start rolling in!"
So now the Sims Online will be like Austin Powers where everything seems to be a brand name.
"Get your hands off my heiny"
I was playing Wave Race on my Gamecube last night and there is a McDonalds logo on the front of one of the jet skis.
I wonder how long it will be untill you can go into a shop in a MMORPG and give them your credit card number and order a pizza to be delivered to both your in game self and your real life character.
if done correctly, for example I much rather see someone drinking a can of coke then someone drinking a can of what looks exactly like a coke can but is labeled cola (or whatever). I like the idea of Mc Donalds, as long as its not the only hamburger place, same with pizzahut, its harder to control pizzahut thoe as the Sims order pizza on their own and it would suck to see a the pizzahut logo on every pizza box, I don't like the idea of the Intel inside logo unless they plan on making it life size ( 1"x1") so you really cant see it without zooming in really close, it would suck, if it was a big ass logo on the side of the computer, as it would not look real
An interesting question, which was already risen in another post, is what will happen with the extra money EA will make from this.
Depending on just how annoying the advertising (I think 'product placement' is too euphemistic a word for this) is, I would expect them to lower the games' prices or even give them away for free, much the same way that we can watch movies on TV for free if we accept that we'll be exposed to advertising at regular intervals.
Thoughts?
quidquid latine dictum sit altum videtur.
brings the price down.
The local stores still want 40+ dollars for the main sims games.
I spend that much on a game that has been out that long. There are a lot of people who feel the same way. Thinking long term, it would be best to lower there price of the main game to about 20 bucks. If I or my wife enjoy the game, we will by the add-ons.
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
Which operating system will my Sims character install when I have him sit down, connect to the information superhighway and create a Sims Online world of his own? If we start letting in advertisers, I'm sure that our choices will expand rather than contract.
If we can't create real AI, maybe my Sims character can, circa Lisa Simpson and her coke-enhanced tooth. (real artificial intelligence - did I really just write that?)
If you blog it...
I'd hate having product placement in a workspace environment. But I wouldn't meind seeing a few in some GNU games. That way there'd be more games for my favorite OS.
Wonder if the Sims Online might have the same negative energies as Bladerunner. When BR came out, it featured some of the most successful and prominent companies of the time. Now all are gone (with Atari being a tool of Infogrames). I think it would be very interesting if the Sims Online had this kind of karma for the companies it advertises.
I'm for it as long as I can't tell it's an advertisement. Kind of like the way they do it in movies.
It's especially cool if I can use hamburgers from mcdonalds as weapons.
The man who trades freedom for security does not deserve nor will he ever receive either. - Benjamin Franklin
I personally hate McDonald's more than anything in the world. The reason being is not so much the food but what McDonald's itself represents: Practically limitless profit through the sale of inferior food that remains in demand per a lack of culture and an unremovable set of low standards, ultimately an icon of both corporate America and an inept society. I am shocked people here have responded they think this is an acceptable idea; some even go so far as to state they believe it's a good one. Did anyone consider that mabye EA will have less incentive to make the game outstanding since they are already receiving such a great deal of money from the advertisers? Moreover, extremely overt product advertising in a game that will initially market for near $40-$50 should bother people -- one forks over $40-$50 and while they may receive a game with decent gameplay they are receiving one that employs a method of mind control. I purpose a boycott of this game and any other that abuses the whole concept of product placement.
Imagine a world with no disruptive advertising...
Browsing the web without popups. All it takes is a proxy filter to replace generic terms like "drink" with advertising terms that we already relate to, like "Coke". Then you could subvert the advertising by blogging about how your aunty choked on her "drink", and the product placement's parent company would start getting bad PR.
Then again, I think I am coming down now...
http://pcblues.com - Digits and Wood
I personally think product placement could be good. What I worry about is that the same thing will happen to games that has happened to movies. Movies have product placement that drives the action at the expense of the plot. We have multiple advertisement before the movie in the theater and the video.
So what happens with online games. Will play be stopped until we go for McDonalds to lunch? Will the game be written to run best on Intel machines? Will ads pop up every five minutes? When we change clothes, will we have a choice between Gap and J. Crew?
Of course, most people would say these things will never happen, but who would have thought we would pay $8 for a movie and then have to sit through 2-3 minutes of commercials.
"She's a scientist and a lesbian. She's not going to let it slide." Orphan Black
Anyone who had an NES, or had a friend who had an NES, has at least heard of "Yo! Noid", from Capcom. The game didn't feature any product placement; it was an advertisement all by itself. I don't think I've seen anything like that before or since in an electronic game.
In Soviet Russia, Jesus asks: "What Would You Do?"
On the one hand, advertising like this is kinda bothersome, but on the other hand, the whole point of the sims is a truly immersive human world, and unfortunatly in this, the "real" world we have Pepsicos and McDonalds advertising plastered all over the place, The sims has been on the leading edge of game developing, people go on vacation, so theres sims vacation, real people go out on dates, socialize, so EA made hot date. I believe it makes for a more realistic gaming experience, it establishes more of a connection with the reality. Besides, who would'nt want to see an OSDN, or /. or some other geek-related ad somewhere in a game?
I hate sigs.
Doesnt UT2003 have a nvidia logo in the beginning? and says "the way the game was meant to be played"?
keanmarine.com
Last year Sobe had a 'vendo' in Munch's oddysee...gave you back your health. (What about truth in advertising?)
I'm 90% certain the Atari 2600 E.T. game had Reeses Pieces in it. (E.T. was supposed to be caught with M&M's, but Speilberg couldn't get the rights. Boy was THAT a bonehead move!)
"Draco dormiens nunquam titillandus."
Or not.
But the Sims? Good. I don't mind seeing McDonald's food in the Sims. I wouldn't mind seeing it in sports games, either. Even an FPS might be plausible. "Hey, I found out a primo camping spot. Just head up to the Burger King billboard.."
You know what I'd hate, though? Stopping at the Inn of the Meat Clown as I take the Ring to Ilmadris.
Let's hope advertisers and money making, er, game companies, never go that far.
(Oh, and who's going to take my bet that prices of games will climb, even with additional revenue like this?)
How exactly does wearing a shirt whose front consists entirely of a gigantic "Tommy Hilfiger" logo ever get to the point where it is considered "cool"? Whoever managed to pull that off is a genius.
10 PRINT CHR$(205.5+RND(1)); : GOTO 10
...unless it comes with pop-under ads as well.
Forget ads in online gaming, I've had the idea for years that the government should flip the gold standard (and the modern nothingness standard) the bird and sell off the back of dollar bills as adspace. The Ad-Standard. Heard it here first folks. Just like with all my other ideas, you steal it from me and I'll hit you over the head with a New Oversized Big Bertha Golf Club... the New Standard in Golfing
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"Those who quote others are more likely to one day be quoted" -Tom Planter
for product placement in the in-game advertising of the metaversion of the Sims that the Sims play on their computers.
My head hurts now.
He who refuses to do arithmetic is doomed to talk nonsense.
So, in a game that's [potentially] going to be the very worst for abusive play, do you really want your brand getting associated with it? Imagine the joy of having "A Mac Attack" becoming the most hated concept on the net. Or maybe the next "A rape in cyberspace" story beginning, "It was under the pixelated golden arches of a virtual McDonalds..."
Money can't buy that kind of advertising. Probably for a very good reason.
How long before they strike a deal worth millions and, as the Sims are about to "get it on," that old familiar "Trojan Maaaaaaan" jingle is heard. To make matters worse (just because they simply _can_) Trojan Man himself makes an appearance, horse and all. In his tone of voice, we hear the Sim's patented mumble, obviously giving them advice on why to use his rubbers. Finally, he hands the couple a Magnum Size and rides off into the sunset.
Will Microsoft fight back and offer more money to, instead of the Intel jingle, have their Microsoft Sound play when a Sim sits at a computer? Could the Linux Community lobby in favor of Tux on the screen? Wouldn't it be just the shit if a Sim sits down, boots up Linux, starts WINE and plays The Sims?
I'd say I have too much free time on my hands, wouldn't you all?
Blog Prophyts - Right On, Man
Great, now I'm going to be playing a computer game with characters who have faster computers than I do.
Hmm, maybe that's why people aren't buying high-end chips. They can just have their Sims buy them instead...
I've been watching Big Brother 3. The product placement is very bold and obvious. (Liquor, doughnuts, etc.) It is clearly in-your-face. However, I really don't think this is the final step. This is obviously going to go further in the future.
How? Well, imagine Greenpeace sponsoring some episode of some Star Trek series. But instead of having Greenpeace play some sort of force protecting a planet, they pay for a plot that shows the evil of commercialism and the Great Truth in environmentalism. That is, manipulation of the underlying message to support the organization's goal, rather than pushing the organization itself.
So, a company/organization can pay $XX for their name to be integrated into some part of the show, or they can pay $XXX to have creative control and send the message that they want as well. (Probably more important for political groups than anything.)
But do you see where this will go? They've opened the door for products to pay to become part of the plot. How long until they cross the line to pay for a plot which meets their goals?
i actually thought a week or so backwards about this while playing neocron beta, there was commercials all around, why not to replace them with real world commercial to drop the price for end-users?
that would give companies good publicity, money to developers and make the game cheaper for players, all around good solution...
well everything has it's downside, on the company selection developers would need to be clear what they want etc...
Pulsed Media Seedboxes
This was originaly done as far as I can remember back in Subspace(a great game). Originaly made by Virgin Interactive, ad's from almost anyone was show in the gameing screen backgrounds.
Om, nomnomnom...
Gosh... remember back when Deer Hunter was like the best selling game for several years in a roll. not Doom, not Quake, not Warcraft / starcraft budged it from the throne. It was humiliating to be a PC gamer, with that kind of statistics.
My life in the land of the rising sun.
Scene 1 - the player talks to a Freeport guard for information...
Player: Hail!
Guard: Hail, Welcome to Freeport! Be sure to check out the new Burger King next to the Mercenary Guild!
Scene 2 - the player is running low on food and water...
Message: You are low on food and water. You could really go for Col. Sander's original recipe chicken, accompanied with an ice cold Pepsi!
Scene 3 - weapon and armor are replaced with namebrand apparel...
PlayerA Auctions: WTB Gap Jeans. Will pay 50PP.
PlayerB Auctions: WTS Old Navy Performance Fleece!
10PP or Express Jacket wanted!
"You spoony bard!" -Tellah
I'd be more likely to play an online game if it allows me to sully the trademarks of corporations I don't like. Bring on the product placement!
The latest Papyrus release, NASCAR Racing 2002 Season, has an included fictional track entitled Coca-Cola Speedway. Coke ads are everywhere.
Visualize Pepsi and Britney Spears in the next game I buy...
I visualize the biggest fscking railgun I can lay my hands on. The rest is easy...
A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
your character be allowed to read Fast Food Nation?
Creationists are a lot like zombies. Slow, but powerful and numerous. And they all want to eat our brains.
Yeah.. this is a first for McDonalds.. they have never paid for product placement in games.. no siree..
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One thing that advertizers look for in an opportunity is how easy it is to ignore it. For example web site banner advertizing and pop-ups may be seen by lots of 'eyeballs' but they are ignored, if not downright detested, by most of them. But in the middle of a movie, or a game it is harder to ignore. But let's take it a bit further. It is already known that in the sims you and some of your friends can create a business. A pizza parlor is given as one example. Now take that one step further and say that instead of just seeing the McDonald's in the game you have the chance to own and run one. Not much different than the pizza parlor, right (or maybe that will be changed to be a Pizza Hut?). Now not only can't you ignore it but a big part of your game is going to be trying to convince other players to buy your McDonald's food. We are talking about a prominence and an inability to ignore that is way outside what advertizers are used to in product placement, and with an increase, not decrease, in the sense of authenticity of the game.
I wonder how long it will be before there is subliminal advertising in games? Every 100 frames inserting a picture of a big mac with a McDonalds logo will sell lots of burgers. Or Playboy Fron pages, or even Swedish Babes selling swatch watches. We will never notice, but we will have this strange craving to go and buy vegemite (read marmite or promite depending on where you are from in the world)
And for the kiddies games, subliminal advertising of barbie and bob the builder. And given that Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are going to make a comeback with "all new" episodes, maybe a game with subliminal advertising of "mutant turtles" action figures!
The possibilities are endless. Time to go and start working on an engine to insert subliminal advertising into games... shhh don't tell anyone.
I wonder what would happen if I ever accidentally inserted Pr0n into kiddies games..... mmmm scenes reminiscent of Fight club... better be carefult this doesn't fall into the wrong hands ;)
lounge around on the blue couch
Just give us some real life models to play with. With a reload action though. The Navy Seals Quake mod did it right. Once you see how well an AK47 works, you'll want one for all your assault rifle needs! Or the Desert Eagle .50 Caliber. Oh yeah. I know where my next tax refund is going :-)
I'm trying to teach myself to set people on fire with my mind... Is it hot in here?
It might be cool if you have your char in the game go order some food and in real life that food is then ordered up and delivered to your door.
I order pizza online from Pizza Hut. When will they start their product placement in UO (a game I actually play and which does have pizza already.)
I remember the first time I encountered "product placement" in a game. It was Syndicate Wars and one of the animated bill boards would show a trailer for Ghost in the Shell. It worked well for the atmosphere of the game and it got me to watch a damn good anime. So while this does seem disgusting if done right I don't think it is bad at all.
It's amazing how spiritual an elaborated beer commercial can be. -- Philip K. Dick
... a Black Sun tavern anywhere? Hm.
Make sure your Sim characters don't accept any virtual business cards from strangers...
The Maxis (or are they EA now?) spokesperson in the article stated that there would likely be more product placement deals announced before the launch of The Sims Online. They also made the point that the nature of the game allows for easy "upgrading" of clients to handle additional advertiser/sponsor insertions into the simworld after it launches.
I really don't have much of a problem with product placement on this level, as long as there are other options (ie, not every restaurant is a MacDonalds, and not every computer has Intel Inside). It will be equally troublesome, however, if they are signing exclusive contracts with these companies.
Just as in RealLife, I would want my Sim to have the option of eschewing certain brands. S/he shouldn't have to starve I choose not to endorse the MacEntity. Similarly, I would hope that Intel's inclusion doesn't mean that Apple can't buy some simspace as well, or Red Hat for that matter (maybe IBM would foot the bill and go for a co-branded sim-machine). Not only would it completely suck for there to be only one (real) brand of food, computer, car, etc (and make one wonder about the legal ramifications of monopoly positions in a simverse), but it would be either grossly unrealistic or virtually post-apocolyptic.
Damn, this makes me wonder whether any degree of entrepreneurialism is coded into The Sims Online. Can I have my character open a falafel and carrot juice stand, corner the market on vegetarian health food, and go on to sell franchises across the simverse? Hmmm.
...Pop Dog brand coke, they'd have made a killing.
One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors - Plato
He VERY blatantly ripped that from Attack of The Killer Tomatoes II. Rent it today and you'll see it.
It's quite similar to Super Mario, but it's actually a pretty fun game. I got hooked on it an played to the end, although I don't usually admit that. :o) Had some clever stuff like levels where you could reverse gravity and walk on stuff upside down.
Here's an article from Greggman, who worked on the game.
-Paul
personally, i would rather see pepsi/coke instead of a generic COLA in a tv show. i think having a kfc in crazy taxi made the game more realistic.
:O
when done in moderation, i think recognizable brands add value to a game.
i also think that i would REALLY prefer in-show ads (placement - not overt advertisement) to commercials. not that i watch much broadcast tv - just blind date and smallville
...is one of the worst offenders I've seen recently.
Every banana in the game (and there are thousands) has a huge Dole logo plastered on it. Hamfisted and distracting as ad tactics go, it actually made the game less enjoyable for me.
This will be the only place McDonalds doesn't manage to fsck up their orders.
Games with real advertising where it is in the real world are what i want.
Playing sports games with boring fictional ads on the side lines and in various other places in the game that everyone knows are where REAL ads should be be found in the game or sport is just annoying.
If it's in the game, it should be IN THE GAME, right ?
"There is always some madness in love. But there is also always some reason in madness."- Friedrich Nietzsche
So, if you play something like Half Life or The Thing, your MacDonalds hamburger can sprout legs, start oozing blood, and attack you. I always thought they were made from alien meat anyway.
Back when I worked fora game company in 1996, we were considering using a 3D engine and having branded objects in our games. We'd then go to sponsors to have them bid on items. I'm sure that anyone who read "Neuromancer" would have had similar thoughts of advertising in Cyberspace. So is this a patentable use of the business model? Who did it first? Is EA first?
Thunderhawk, the chopper game from the 80's, had a Pepsi-badge as landing-zone.
Were there any games prior to that which featured product placement/hidden marketing?
sure, ads in "useful" software we can't stand ... but maybe ads in games isn't such a bad thing. don't take my word for it ... arcadian del sol commented on this a month or so ago (specifically concerning the Sims Online):
http://www.arcadiandelsol.com/article.php?sid=129
_f
you might be running WinXP and that could make the game run like shit. try Win2K and turn off all the extraneous services if you really want to play games properly. unless you happen to like universal plug'n'play and IPSEC controller services running on your home gaming system. and that stupid administrative alert service too, so your loser step-brother can net-send you f*cking retarded messages while you play.. thereby reducing your framerate because the popups don't stop coming, and you don't have a clue what to do cuz you're a moron who can't even get a f*cking video game going properly on a Windoze machine with a GeForce4 and 2GHz machine.
just like the humble blood clot... turboporsche@telus.net
This small show of violence was brought to you by the NRA. Without us, your dreams of actually owning your own mini-gun will never be realized.
Ok, ok its only a joke, but if any product has an ad from NRA I'm not going to buy it.
And the modder to the parent is a verified asshole. This was a quote from a rather well known source. SHAME!
db
Cig:
ôô
Never played, but I wonder...
Can a Sims character open a restaurant?
Will it be allowed to compete with McDonalds?
Can he refuse to buy an Intel Computer and get an AMD or a Mac?
Would there be harsh punishments for firebombing a virtual McDonalds?
What happens when your little Sims town gets infected with the Starbucks Virus?
If they're going to open these franchises inside your game, I think that all fair trade and anti-monopoly laws should apply. You should be allowed to start a competing franchise and let others do the same.
Just a thought...
Cheers,
Jim
-- My Weblog.
...but will you be able to install the operating system of your choice on them, just like in the real world? Or not, as the case may be.
The only problem I can identify with this business model is perversion of cause and effect. For example, if my Sim eats MacDonalds regularly, he _should_ become unhealthy. If this is not the case, then it is conceivable that among regular players, the cumulative effect of these type of 'causal anomalies' could cause the player to be less critical of their own diet. Many people identify very strongly with their Sims, and this will tend to increase the effect.
A similar problem is if the game rewards, preferentially, owning an Intel PC over a non-Intel PC.
It is also not impossible to imagine a situation whereby to keep your Sim happy, a MacDonalds is required. Or to advance the Sim's career, an Intel PC is required.
In the cases above, these placements are no longer passive. This is problematic since the game is attempting to model 'modern life', however the distortions introduced are causing the game to resemble a marketeer's nirvana.
Insufficient studies have been conducted about the effect of 'reality' games on the mind - those studies that have been done done have tended to focus on 'fantasy' games (e.g. the much publicised Doom and Quake studies).
If implemented as above, this could create a whole new method of implanting brands into people - if you spend your online time continually associating 'MacDonalds' with 'happiness', and carrying out the accociation actively, not passively, there is likely to be a significant crossover into reality.
You can gather all your Sims around the local McDonalds, and have your very own anti-globalisation protest.
I wonder how much the artist behind The Simulator got paid...
I think it's a great way for a company to gain the extra revenue from a game that it can use towards making a bigger better game. This however, does need to come with a bit of moderation.
:P
I simply hate closing pop-up ads while I'm surfing the web. It would drive me nuts to have to do so in a game as well.
.:| fydo |:.
McFact No. 1: For years, McDonald's had known they had a problem with the way they make their coffee - that their coffee was served much hotter (at least 20 degrees more so) than at other restaurants.
McFact No. 2: McDonald's knew its coffee sometimes caused serious injuries - more than 700 incidents of scalding coffee burns in the past decade have been settled by the Corporation - and yet they never so much as consulted a burn expert regarding the issue.
McFact No. 3: The woman involved in this infamous case suffered very serious injuries - third degree burns on her groin, thighs and buttocks that required skin grafts and a seven-day hospital stay.
McFact No. 4: The woman, an 81-year old former department store clerk who had never before filed suit against anyone, said she wouldn't have brought the lawsuit against McDonald's had the Corporation not dismissed her request for compensation for medical bills.
McFact No. 5: A McDonald's quality assurance manager testified in the case that the Corporation was aware of the risk of serving dangerously hot coffee and had no plans to either turn down the heat or to post warning about the possibility of severe burns, even though most customers wouldn't think it was possible.
McFact No. 6: After careful deliberation, the jury found McDonald's was liable because the facts were overwhelmingly against the company. When it came to the punitive damages, the jury found that McDonald's had engaged in willful, reckless, malicious, or wanton conduct, and rendered a punitive damage award of 2.7 million dollars. (The equivalent of just two days of coffee sales, McDonalds Corporation generates revenues in excess of 1.3 million dollars daily from the sale of its coffee, selling 1 billion cups each year.)
McFact No. 7: On appeal, a judge lowered the award to $480,000, a fact not widely publicized in the media.
McFact No. 8: A report in Liability Week, September 29, 1997, indicated that Kathleen Gilliam, 73, suffered first degree burns when a cup of coffee spilled onto her lap. Reports also indicate that McDonald's consistently keeps its coffee at 185 degrees, still approximately 20 degrees hotter than at other restaurants. Third degree burns occur at this temperature in just two to seven seconds, requiring skin grafting, debridement and whirlpool treatments that cost tens of thousands of dollars and result in permanent disfigurement, extreme pain and disability to the victims for many months, and in some cases, years.
Am I the only one who is sick of advertising?
:)
The major reason I don't have a TV is the adverts (I like watching movies, and view them on DVD/DivX on my PC). The reason I don't use the radio is adverts. The reason I don't read most magazines (well, next to the junky content) is adverts.
Maybe I'm just overly sensitive, but ads simply PISS ME OFF. Aimed at the lowest common denominator, people seem to take for granted that other people will see them as morons.
Yes, I realize adding that garbage to games is just name branding, but it also irritates me badly. I guarantee that I WILL NOT, under any circumstances, buy a game with adverts in it. It's already very bad with movies, but as I play a lot more games than view movies, I refuse to have my games polluted.
You say sooner or later all games will have ads? Well, I guess I won't buy them, then. There are some very good games out right now, and it'll do me good to read (even) more
Ciao,
Klaus
Free PC version of ChipWits at http://www.breueronline.de/klaus/chipwits/
That game was sponsored by KP Skips crisps. Follow the link above and you can see a screenshot clearly showing the Skips logo. Now - I can't remember if there were any Skips logos actually during gameplay, but that's the first piece of advertising within games that I'm aware of.
1985. Can anyone point to anything older?
Cheers,
Ian
And as those nice Intel machines'll need equally nice software to run on them, we'll find our little Sims people running down to their Simulated PC-World and bringing back a Simulated copy of The Sims to run on their machine... and then the Sims will find their little simulated Sims people running down to....
Well, at the very least it would be nice if the Sims could get "Little Computer People" running on their PCs...
branded food
how is Food different from Branded Food? When did 'branding' change food?
the whole concept sickens me... sent shivers down my spine when I read that...
Personally I find someone with a bit more creativity more attractive.
If I buy clothes made in some filipina sweat-shop, i want them to at least be cheap! I don't understand why you would want to pay more to have them disfigured with a huge logo (but then, I don't understand why e.g. millions of male USians would chop off sensitive parts of their genitals, but they still do).
could include billboard ads in your favorite fps that get their textures from 3rd party servers at the loading of the map. of course this wouldnt work if users could make their own maps, and thus take the billboards out of it.
Micky D's helps you and BK hurts you, all paid for by Micky D. An Intel box with winxp helps and AMD box with linux hurts, all paid for by MS and Intel.
Allowing this could really spark a bidding war for product placement.
I guess $50 a pop for a game isn't making EA enough money. hmmm... Perjhaps I can get a toaster with advertisements as well....
P.S. AAAUUUGHHH!!!!!!
3. Profit!
2. ???
1. On Soviet Slashdot, a Beowulf cluster of alien Natalie Portman overlords welcomes YOU!
As has been commented, if this doesn't bring down the price of the game, then what use is it? I've never seen a game substantially cheaper because of in-game advertising, and it's not really a new concept per se.
The other problem is that games already seems to be going the way of music. A lot of regurgitating the latest hit, and very little experimentation. Just focus on the glitz and to hell with the story (or even gameplay).
Do we really want some suit to turn down the next Planescape: Torment because there's no suitable product placements to be made in it? "Let's do another shooter instead! I think we can cut a deal with Ray-Ban!"
Good game designers might find that they'll have an even harder time pitching non-mainstream games in the future.
Belief is the currency of delusion.
http://fsfeurope.org/
The Reuters article is currently be carried at the NY Times as well in a much longer form than the MSNBC article. Check it out if you want more than the MSNBC short version!
Life is short: void the warranty.
There has to be food.
There has to be computers.
You have to call them something.
They probably didn't get anything from Pepsi, got threatened to get sued, and decided to ask permission.
In the car ride over to McDonalds headquarters to get explicit permission to use its name, some brilliant person said, "Instead of just getting permission to use the ubiquitous standard of fast food in our game, why don't we charge them to put it in the game."
If in fact the Pepsi machine is in there, I wonder how close this scenario is.
graphic depictions of gratuitous sex and horrific violence is one thing, but putting ads in games is just... wrong. :-)
RedBull (the beverage) was hyped relentlessly in the Playstation game Wipeout XL. In fact, when I'd first started playing the game, I'd never even *heard* of RedBull. It wasn't unitl a friend in California sent me some that I even knew the stuff was real.
Now it's all over the place. Co-incedence?
If telephones are outlawed, then only outlaws will have telephones.
... the "NIN" symbols on the boxes of nails in the original Quake. Mr. Carmack put that on the boxes as a joke, to humor Trent Reznor (of NIN) who was both a beta tester and supplied both sound effects and the eerie soundtrack. As we all know, it stuck... too bad it didn't do anything to help his later endeavors.
i'm amazed that i survived - an airbag saved my life.
I would agree to this kind of advertising under three conditions.
They don't care what you'd agree to. That is what makes this so funny. Especially posts like this one. You don't have a say in it, except with your pocket book.
Not only are you going to watch their ads and like it, you are going to pay them for the opportunity. They are laughing all the way to the bank with your dollars, no matter how much you say you won't agree to it.
Why doesn't anyone on this board seem to realize that we are treated like cattle because we put up with it? RIAA doesn't care how indignant you are, cause you are still buying CD's.
This entire world is losing site of customer service, and why? Because we don't care. Sure we complain about the idiots at Best Buy not knowing their ass from a hole in the ground, but we still shop their because of the prices. No matter how much we complain, if we still spend money, they can hire a person to pretend to listen to the complaints.
We are treated like dumb sheep, because that is how we act as a whole.
Can you get Ecoli poisoning from a McDonalds burger ? Or do you have to wait for them to come out with an expansion back with Jack-in-the-box restaurants ?
Hmmm. You just gave me an idea. Why aren't there ads in books? You know, every 30 pages or so why aren't there ads? I think I'll ask my friend who works for one of the big publishing companies.
Mac OS X and Windows XP working side by side to fight back the night.
For the employees of the game company, for the founders, for the shareholders and for the companies who buy ad placement. What more goodness could you possibly want?
Mac OS X and Windows XP working side by side to fight back the night.
I know how to tell a revolver from an automatic, but that's about it. What's so particularly cool about this gun that you're prepared to shell out what appears to be an outrageous amount of cash for?
Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from a rigged demo
--Andy Finkel (J. Klass?)
This has already been done several years ago.
Adidas paid over $1 million to create a soccer game using their brand (Adidas power soccer). They probably speant another 1 million on advertising the game. Everyone thought it was a flop (not as good as Fifa, actua soccer the mags said) but they forgot that Adidas lost no money on that game (made some actually) and got free advertising in the process. It expanded their brand name, made their brand cool and in vogue to the youth.
W.R
Nexagon: The Pit will actually have product placement as part of the game itself.
Real Time tactical combat, and you get points based on how popular you are with the AI audience. Earn more money if your gladiator destroys an enemy directly in front of one of your sponsor's billboards, raising their ratings.
Check out http://www.strategyfirst.com/en/games/ go to Nexagon/features.
-Styopa
Its supposed to be a realistic life simulator. You know, Buy a house, pay bills, go to work buy the wide screen tv and download the skin textures to make the women run around naked.
Why shouldnt they market to people. Just adds more realism. Me? I havent found any guns or explosives in the sims so I quit playing. Would be fun to go through and gun down all those happy sims but apprently it wasnt thought of.
Btw, Video games didnt make me violent, I was f***ed up before I started playing games.
--- Always remember. 99.36% of all statistics are inaccurate.
hopefully this will be sufficiently realistic and make sure that sims who eat this run a higher than average health risk due to fecal matter (shit) in the burgers because of how mcdonalds has transformed the us meatpacking and livestock industry. they will also become obese and spotty.
and working there will condemn the sim to abject poverty. can you get your sim to throw paint through the entrance or otherwise destroy these crap vendors?
How about for the people playing the game...?
RMN
~~~
...have never read any of Stephen King's books...
RMN
~~~
I wonder if EA will be including the option to have your sim virtually GAG after taking a few bites of a McCow, or the obligitory accompanying gastrointestinal distress?
I think he tried to give it credit to where credit was due, only he spelled the name wrong. It should've been McDowell's, but he probably wanted to get the joke out before anyone else took it, so he didn't bother to check it out or look it up. :)
Anyway, he didn't even know how to use the [sic] notation properly either (which he shouldn't have used at all).
Funny reference, nonetheless.
So how long before my sim comes home and he can turn on his computer and spend the next half hour sifting through spam.
Ave Molech Setting
Yup. That makes sense. Shame on me...;-)(
db
Cig:
ôô
Now, I have seen that some of the SIMs tend to want a specific side of the bed (of all things). What's to stop Maxis/EA from coding in a Product Preference? Suzy Sim prefers a Big Maq over a generic Hot Dog from a Corner Vender Cart. She even suffers form a Maq Attaq from time to time, and is Very Unhappy unless she gets to go Out and have a burger fairly frequently.
Perhaps they can even make it possible for the Sims to be Vegitarian, or even *Hate* certain products? Refuse to use an object because it's been branded with something they don't like?
Might add a certain dimension to the game.
Then again, the Sponsors might just Fight over who gets to be the Most Prefered...
Hmm...
Could get interesting...
...this is a *COUGH*amd*COUGH* shameless and blatent *COUGH*pepsi*COUGH* display of product placement *COUGH*linux*COUGH* and I'm disgusted by it!
The sysadmin for Bank of America HQ and I had a short discussion about open source relating to this topic. He asked "How do you make money with open source games? Gamers will not buy it in any meaningful quantities if they can download it for free, that is the nature of a gamer." I responded with "Product placement within the game" and he was enlightened. Imagine if Pepsi had paid a small fee to be placed strategically in Halflife...
This is not a new idea, but an idea companies dont explore because computer games dont stay popular for very long. Quite a few games are demonstrating differently but no corporation is comfortable betting heavily on any specific upcoming game. Daikatana. Quake3. Warcraft 3. These have essentially not demonstrated the market prevalence or durability that was expected from the super-informed community.
Often wrong but never in doubt.
I am Jack9.
Everyone knows me.
Just my 2 cents.
today is spelling optional day.
McDowell's? Isn't this quote from Coming to America? I thought the name of the fastfood place was McDougal's.
Computers don't make mistakes. What they do, they do on purpose.
Being allowed to fuck up your Personal Computer, while a popular practice in certain real world subcultures, isn't mainstream enough to be an option in The Sims yet.
That might be true for the closed-sourced, buggy security nightmare that is 'The Sims'.
You need 'The Gims', released under the GPL. All 'boxen' in the game run Linux, and using them increases a character's attractiveness to the opposite sex.
NASCAR has never been one to turn away sponsorship or advertising deals. Watch a race sometime, and you'll see ads on the inside of the cars (as seen in car cam!), on the rear bumper (as seen in bumper cam!), and on the roof (as seen on roof cam!)