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Interactive In-Game Billboards Coming
GameDaily is carrying the news that in-game advert company Massive, Inc. is planning to launch interactive in-game billboards. They cite free-but-for-ads MMOG Anarchy Online specifically, but one imagines this technology will be seen in other titles they're licensed for. From the article: "Last week, Funcom and Massive announced a new sort of billboard ad in Anarchy Online. Called 'interactive advertisement technology' this new feature will allow players to do more than just passively look at an ad. Instead, players can interact with the ad and see a more detailed model of the Toyota Yaris, for example."
As if we WEREN'T exposed to enough advertising as it is. I'm eagerly awaiting DreamVision(tm) ads for Lightspeed Briefs.
I never spellcheck and I freely admit it. Save your karma for more worthwhile "lol erorrs" replies
Interactive in game spamming, trolling and carma whoring are also comming soon...
If it's dead, you killed it.
Interactiviy = good ads? Where did they get this from? When's the last time you punched that monkey? Or zapped the target? With those kind of ads, it just means they'll be more pervasive and invasive. There's a reason I have adblock. It's so I don't have to watch your crappy ads. Bah.
Cynical Idealist
Time to go and undig my free AO account to see that new wonder of technology: in-game ads.
Actually, this is not a bad model at all: at least in a futuristic setting like AO, it fits in nicely. But I'd love to see them try showing ads in a game with a medieval theme... now that'd be a real treat.
"I don't mind God, it's his fan club I can't stand!" E8
will the chicks they put in theese ads be better detailed "models" too?
He whom you called four-eyes yesterday, you call Sir tomorrow.
1) As long as the ads don't destroy my immersion (Ads for a new Toyota would destroy any immersion in a fantasy genra game like WOW or Dark Age of Camelot, for example) However, I'm not sure what kind of ads would really fit certain genres. I doubt there are enough local RenFests or uber real life Runed Sword of Magma Destruction sword replicas to sustain an ad campaign for DAoC..
and
2) In a perfect world such ads should be used to supplement the cost of the game to the end user like a TRUE trade off. I stopped going to movie theaters when I was assaulted with TV ads *AND* the cost of movie tickets, popcorn, etc all went up.
I read that NCSoft (City of Heroes) was supposed to be releasing 4 'free' MMORPGs where you only had to pay for the higher end content. I wouldn't be against seeing ads in those games simply because they are used to offset the cost to the customer and not the game company trying to squeeze both ends.
"Ever seen an ad in a subway station and wished that you could interface with it in some way?"
Yes, I wish I could make it go away.
I hope they don't make them so you can't damage them, I think one of the highlights of ingame advertising is if they allowed you to defile it. Take the McDonald's logo and turn it into a giant pair of eyes of a guy peering over a wall for example. It'd be something intresting and would make me look at it to see what people did to trash it.
If companies make something untouchable we'll ignore it, if we can play around with it and have some fun then we'll do so and draw people's attenction to it. Yet I know they won't do this because companies will whine if the full advert isn't shown 24 hours a day 7 days a week.
Maybe one day someone will release a Jet Set Radio MMORPG and they'll let us spray whatever we like and generally have fun just kicking around to cool music. That's the sort of game advertising would work for, but again as I said above companies don't care what works, they use the shotgun effect instead.
I like muppets.
I'll have to RTFA later, but from the summary I get the impression that these 'interactive billboards' are not that much different from (parts of) certain websites, such as the aircraft gallery over on the Ace Combat Zero offical website. Worth reiterating at this point are established issues regarding static ingame ads and product placements - that is, they must not be annoyingly intrusive and must fit the gameworld. I can think of very few games where these interactive billboards make any sense... on the other tendril, some multiplayer games (the upcoming Saints' Row, for instance) have virtual lobbies where one could in theory place such a thing with a minimum of impact on the game experience.
- White Knight of the Order of Mihoshi Enthusiasts
I was hoping "interactive" meant I could blow up or otherwise destroy advertising billboards in-game. :(
I'll just wait until my victims are in front of the billboard advertising Subway burgers and then blow them into kibbles. A few well placed meaty chunkss and perhaps a little arterial spray near the picture of some dude chomping on a sub should add to the overall effect of the ad, no? If that doesn't get your attention, perhaps pile up a few dismembered heads near the ad for McDonalds chicken nuggets.
Can I destroy these in-game billboards and have this information sent back to the marketing firms?
Epic mount : From Gnomish Mechanics comes the new H3 Steam tank! 20,000 Gold or lease for as little as 399 gold a month! Rated Best Tank three years running by Ratchet-Gadget Daily's prestigious Best Self-Proppeled Anachronic Vehicle!
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That'll be fun playing the classic re-release of Doom on a billboard advertizing it in Quake 5.....
In undeveloped countries, the consumer controls the market. In capitalist America, the market controls you.
The grass is only greener, if you don't take care of your own lawn.
Google is probably working on something that scans your computer and delivers you the advertisements that address your interests based on what kind of software and writing you have on your computer...
Time to move the pr0n onto DVDs I guess...damn...sux to switch DVDs mid swing though... I need a solution here people!
Huh? [devShell.org]
Okay - here's the deal. The developers really don't like it because they want to create games, and advertising just distracts from that. It also limits freedom, since advertisers tend to be pretty demanding and forces the game to be set in the present or near future. The players don't like it, but will probably be reasonably happy with the idea if it makes the game free. The advertisers are fairly neutral about it. They're willing to give it a shot, but if it fails, they're not going to lose sleep over it. Small scale trials are low risk, high reward.
So, the result is that advertising is only worthwhile if you're going to make more money from fairly ambivalent advertisers than you would from game purchases and/or subscription fees. Who keeps pushing the concept? People have been atalking about game advertising for years.
Even if they were fake you could: ...
* shoot them
* kick them
* drive your car into them
I wonder if they are going to measure in-game violence against the in-game ads.
So, will mmorpgs set up a more expensive subscription that will block ads such as some websites do or will everyone be force fed advertisements?
So how long till someone makes a adblock plugin for each mmorpg?
Klingon Software is not released, it escapes, inflicting terrible damage onto the enemy as it does
We have these ads in Planetside. Not only are they disruptive and annoying (They have included ads with SOUND! ARGH!) They are non-destructible. I have seen fights in buildings where an entire wall is COATED in bulletholes and blast marks, but the damn advert and it's frame are squeaky clean!
Fortunately, there is a way to block them, at least for now. You can modify your HOSTS file in Windows and blackhole the advert servers. This kills off the ad generating process that normally starts with the game, and the ad panels in-game will display a pre-fab neutral background.
You can find full blocking directions on my blog , http://wearyman.blogspot.com/
I think that we as gamers need to ensure that we block ads for any pay to play game. Freebie games like AO, ads are OK, it's how the company stays profitable. But for Pay2play games, As we are already paying a subscription fee so the company can make thier profits, there is no reason to subject ourselves to this type of insult.
Block the ads, and then MAKE SURE the game company KNOWS you are blocking the ads either via e-mail or the game forums. If enough of us make the small effort to prevent the ads, the companies will drop them as unprofitable, and we can get back to pure ad-free gaming.
Official Heretic from the "Church of Global Warming". Proven right thanks to whistle blowers. AGW = Flat Earth Theory
If by 'interactive' they mean 'can be blown up', then rock on, I say.
Unpleasantries.
"a tremendous step forward in terms of giving advertisers what they want"
Yes, giving advertisers what THEY want, access to a specific demographic, not what that specific demographic might actually want, that's not very relevant to this dicussion.
"But what does it mean for advertisers? And how will players react? We sat down with Terri Perkins, Product Manager for Funcom, and Nicholas Longano, President of New Media at Massive, to find out."
Hold onto your hat, here comes the marketing SPINNNNN!
"the response to these ads has been very positive, according to Perkins and Longano"
And any evidence contrary to this bullet point will be beaten down with a flurry of marketing lingo and product material re-inforcing the "truth".
"This is the beginning of a new revolution in in game advertising and it will be fascinating to watch how it evolves and what creative things we can bring to the table."
I stay awake all night thinking how much fricken money we are gonna make off of this biznatch!!
"We're always looking at new inventory elements, new ideas that will help advertisers push their ads further and also for gamers as well," said Longano."
I had to throw that part in about gamers lest my true form, coporate marketing money whore, be known.
"Take for example, a barrel you can smash it and and get gold. It's part of the interactive experience that makes a game."
Now imagine a gamers soul who delights in pursuing activities in his favorite game world, you can smash it with ads and get gold.
"We don't leave anything to risk or chance, we test with groups to see how they react. It's your choice; you determine whether or not you're going to click on it."
Choice is defined as in how you can interact with our ads, not whether they will be there or not.
"This makes it extremely appealing to advertisers and certainly allows the players to benefit by allowing us to offset high development costs to bring them ongoing new content.""
Don't worry!! You'll still be paying for that new Ad filled content just like always, and we won't "shock you" with lower prices.
""This was only revealed in the last several days, but I understand from Massive Incorporated that there is a high level of interest from the same range of top advertisers as we have for the traditional dynamic ads (beverage companies, movies, software companies, food chains, cell phone providers etc)," said Perkins. "Both the dynamic ads and the 'video' ads have been received very well by advertisers and it is a challenge to keep up with the increasing demand. This has been a wonderful win-win situation for all sides, but most importantly for the players.""
EVERYONE has been creaming themselves to get these ads into games, we can't wait till the money starts rolling in!!! oh yah, um, gamers too (note to self, say players or gamers every so often)
"We're always looking to evolve the way ads are used," said Longano.
Like possibly shooting ad slogans instead of bullets, or coke vs pepsi laser battles!!! Battle Hummers!!
" Hopefully the dollars will go back to the developers so they can continue to make good games," he concluded."
Yah hopefully, we'll try and throw the developers some cash here and there since we will be rolling in it, because ads make good games so why shouldn't they be rewarded a little?
I mean why should they have to rely on gameplay and artistic vision to earn money for their games when they can make it all up on clickthroughs.
Heck with all of this extra content they could even charge more per sale!
At what point the interactive ad becomes a virtual web browser???
Juuust lovely. Here I am, flying a space ship through an asteroid stream, approaching the orbital space station of a small planet around a foreign sun, and... see an ad for a Toyota. Talk about falling out of context!
And yes, I hate adverts - primary reason for refusing TVs and radios.
Thus: If I ever hear of a game containing adverts in any form or shape - I will not buy that game. My word on it.
Free PC version of ChipWits at http://www.breueronline.de/klaus/chipwits/
Its like having an advertisment in the middle of a music cd, a cd where it costs you just the same to have it without advertisements.
Pro's:
Sorry, I'm drawing a blank. Some might say that getting the game for free or discounted due to the ads is a positive, but I see that as a tradeoff. If the game can be funded by the lesser income of advertisements as opposed to the greater income of subscriptions, I'd wager the game isn't worth playing. I beta tested AO; it's not worth it if even for free.
If (or when) these do come to a MMO near you, expect to hear these phrases.
"Will someone please click on an ad so the game can continue?"
"He's hiding behind the billboard. Kill him! WTF? Damn, it's indestructible! He's firing... argh... ah... /gurgle"
"Hey, how'd you get that gun?" "I found a 'sploit that gave it to me after I clicked this ad 47,632,899 times. Be careful, though. If you click on it 47,632,900 times, you'll lose all your armor, weapons and money and be transported to the 'ur my bitch' prison cell."
"So I clicked on this ad and all of a sudden my epic charger turns into a Toyota Camry, so I take it into Onyxia's Lair and run over that bitch."