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The Good and Bad of In-Game Ads
Dyslexia writes "MLG takes a look at the emerging trend of in-game advertising and explores the ways in which it can prove to be both good and bad for the industry and consumers." From the article: "When done in a way that isn't consistent with the themes or purpose of a game, advertising can go terribly wrong--in extreme cases even crippling the gameplay, at which point it has gone too far. Advertising that draws the player out of the experience of their game rather than immerses them further into it walks a thin line and the benefits start to get outweighed by the detractions. The recent Counter-Strike debacle is an excellent example of in-game advertising going terribly wrong."
In the cases where advertising helps create an added feeling of realism (racing games, as pictured) it's a great addition, and more power to them. However the issue seems to be with game like Counter Strike and other first person shooters where advertising is simply corny or distracting. I don't want to be defusing at basement nuke and see an advertisment for Tampax Heavy's on the wall (Yes I know, not the target audience, won't happen, blah, but I'm being dramatic).
If there was a way to make it not as distracting, but still get the message, I'd go for it. But I don't want to ever see this.
Fractured Element
in game ads could work but only in specific circumstances, if I was playing zelda and navi started saying "how about a nice refreshing coke" or something I'd be pissed off, but in a game like GTA or some real world based game set in cities then it wouldn't be inapropriate to have bill board ads or posters which actually do exist, infact it could make the game better as it would be "more real" than before.
*''I can't believe it's not a hyperlink.''
The really important questions.
Am I paying to look at the advertisements or are the ads serving to defray the cost of my subscription. I know that I would rather see the latter, but it seems unlikely given the way that companies work.
I really enjoyed the branding in Pikmin 2 on the Gamecube. It was kinda cool to see your little Pikmin drag around real Duracell batteries and that yellow lip cream container (but given that I've forgotten the name I guess it wasn't the greatest branding). It also helped to reinforce the idea that the setting was actually Earth, which was only subtly suggested in the first game.
It may seem obvious, but I always wanted game producers to replace the Fake ads used in games like Duke 3D and Tekwar. While many of these ads were very cute, they tended to get extremely repetitive, thus reminding the player he's in a game. Put in a wide variety of real ads, and suddenly things get more interesting.
That being said, I wonder how Subway would respond if I blew up their virtual sign in virtual reality?
Javascript + Nintendo DSi = DSiCade
Perhaps for companies that would like to advertise in games like Counter-Strike they can do things such as:
Create their own maps which incorporate their advertising [Of course it would still have to be a good map or no one will play it]. That way the consumer gets something of 'value', a good map to play, and the company gets to advertise.
And they can even run their own server which runs the maps they created to incorporate their product. Then we also get a stable, low-latency server to play on out of the deal. I guess I wouldn't mind that so much.
Of course, they would never go for it, since they'd have to hire people to create decent maps, and perhaps a full-time admin staff to monitor the servers. And I'm sure the legal department wouldn't be up for it since people can do/say just about anything in the server, etc etc...
Nothing to see here
I'm still debating whether your posts deserves "troll" or "flamebait" status, because as far as I'm concerned it easily qualifies for both.
... (because it helps to keep us employed.) An in-house request for opinions is far and away one of the most biased actions that your management could have done, which is probably exactly why they did it. See if they have the balls to do that on the Internet where anyone can freely voice their opinion about in-game advertising. I guarantee you'll get a very different answer.
In the end, they emailed us and said that 8 out of 11 of the projects we're working with right now are going to have in-game advertising at a maximum level.
Oh, there's a shock. No, we like lots of advertising in games
So, seems like ya might have to get used to it.
That is one of the most arrogant statements I have seen and is the epitome of why people do NOT like advertisers! Why not just come out directly and say, "F*ck you, gamers! We're shoving this in your face whether you f*cking like it or not!"
You apparently underestimate the gaming community and the connectivity/news source that is the Internet. If in-game advertising gets too intrusive, gamers will not buy the game or they will develop hacks that will overwrite the ads, even if that's in violation of EULAs. And thank to the Internet, information like advertising content within a game and how disruptive it can be in a game can be known immediately throughout the world. Our ability to prevent people from buying the game because of intrusive advertisements is greater than your ability to force us to buy a game that has too much or inappropriate advertisements.
So, kindly keep your "here's your KY jelly/bend over and grab your ankles" attitude to yourself.
The Overrated mod is for reversing inappropriate, positive mods, not for voicing disagreement with a post.
Why 'get used to it'? That's just about the exact defeatist attitude I'd expect a promo company to want me to have. It is really simple: game makers go overboard on in-game ads which causes me not to pay for their game. This in turn means less revenue for the game maker (and your promo company). So instead of 'get used to it' how about gazing down and seeing if you have the balls to stand up and say 'lets make sure it works without becoming the hated quagmire of advertising hell that is TV'?
Not against ads per se, just tired of flipping on the tube to watch 10 minutes of commercials followed by an 'in-show' commercial for the next 10 minutes. The thought of that happening to the games I play kinda makes me ill. I already despise companies that won't let me skip the intro logos.
Don't use the Troll mod just because you disagree with me.
Advertising is everywhere, movies tv newspapers, websites, Gaming was the last refuge where I could leave all of that and ejoy my entertainment, seeing as how gamers will not benefit AT ALL from this added advertising (no price break in games, no added content for the games in terms of maps, guns, characters) how can this be a good thing and why are people so accepting of it?
I can see the point of "adding realism" to games such as bill boards, but we already had that with "fake advertising" in games, and the reason it doesn't bug me when it is fake is because it doesn't remind me of the real world I am trying to escape, instead it helps immerse me in the game world (look at billboards in postal 2).
The more we accept this the more watered down our games will become to the point that they will be games built around opportunites to advertise to their "key demographic".. come on people..
Take a look at a lot of racing games... the reason that my personal favorite racing game (Gran Turismo 3) did not have damage in it was almost completely due to the car manufacturers' requests that they only present the cars in pristine, shiny condition. No body damage, no engine failure. Only worn tires... which are made by other companies.
Bury me in mashed potatoes.
"just tired of flipping on the tube to watch 10 minutes of commercials followed by an 'in-show' commercial for the next 10 minutes."
;)
Likewise, I'm tired of it, but the fact remains: people still watch television, and at increasing numbers. What I mean in my original post is that as long as people continue to buy the games (which they will), there will continue to be money made on the advertisements inside of the games. And, besides "patching" the games and other such measures, you, I, nor anyone else (save a huuuuge public outcry) aren't going to be able to do anything about.
I prefer "realist" to "defeatist" myself.
A correction: $5000 should have been $1500. I'm high on crack. Please excuse me.
Even Jesus hates listening to Creed.
Seems to me that the more the gaming industry tries to force in-game advertising on their customers, the more mods and hacks will become the norm. After all, advertisers are successfully killing TV as we speak, having already killed radio and newsprint. People have fled those media for the internet, because they can control their mindspace. All over the world, everyone's breaking free of information control with blogs, video iPods, file-sharing, OSS, etc. I dunno if we'll ever see an OSS model arise with game development (that is, beyond mods and hacks layered on top of a corporate game), but it's not entirely outside the realm of possibility.
But at any rate, the gaming industry will probably wake up too late to the fact that in-game advertising will kill the goose that laid the golden egg.
On a more speculative note, I wonder if advertisers will eventually chase people out of all media and into the real world. Maybe then everyone will blink, look at each other, and realize that there's plenty of storylines, challenges, and problems to solve in the real world to keep everyone busy/entertained for a lifetime.
Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.