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."

Comments

Deja Vu?

[Firefly1]

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.

It gets worse...

[d3ac0n]

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.