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The Next Step For The FPS - Advergames?
simoniker writes "The CEO of Vancouver company Threewave, famous for creating Capture The Flag, has been explaining their current project — multiple versions of a free, ad-supported FPS: 'We'd like to provide sponsored content that also supports the brand of the FPS, allowing it to have a whole stream of maps that are available month after month, featuring different product placement each time. Maybe in a Jeep-Chrysler level you'll be able to drive their vehicles. Maybe a Pepsi branded level where you jump through a Pepsi logo to materialise somewhere else.' He also noted: 'For example, one of the projects that we completed recently... features terrorists taking over the Alienware computer factory.'"
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I had no idea that Threewave invented Capture the Flag. I could have sworn I was playing it years before Quake even existed.
It's like sex, except I'm having it!
As I read the article.... the embedded ad is for "Grand theft auto: Vice city"...
I could go for some hot coffee right about now...
Anyhow on another note, Ads can be placed in games, where appropriate. The first time I jump through a 'pepsi' logo to warp, I'd be on google to find a 'patch' for this distraction in suspending my disbelief.
I would have loved to see a Coke or Pepsi machine in Sin episode 1, but no... the had to be benign and put in 'Hammer cola...Get Hammered!' Great but it's a missed opportunity. The best ad placement I can remember to date is Bawls, in Fallout for the Xbox. not intrusive, it had nice billboards, where billboards should be, and to boot the caps were worth something in-game.
If done correctly this could be a big thing... if done as a spinning pepsi logo i need to jump through, well... there are alot of other developers out there.
THE WORLD IS GOING TO END!!!! eventually.
"Advergames" are not really that new. Think back to Tapper, in which you served thirsty patrons mugs of (gasp!) Budweiser beer. (http://www.basementarcade.com/arcade/tapper/index .html)
I thought it was Dell that took over Alienware.
This is old news. Quite a few games have blatant product placements (and some games are virtual ads all by themselves... I know of more than one cereal that has their own labeled game in specially-marked boxes). In one relatively recent example, Anarchy Online has rotating ad billboards all over the place, although if you are a subscriber then you can turn them off... it's a great way to subsidize the "fr00bs", or the free-to-play accounts. America's Army is one big PR ad for the US military. I'm sure the /.ers can come up with many other examples.
If I'm not paying for something, I'm happy to support a game through slightly-obtrusive ads (The price of "free"-dom, hah). If I am paying for something, though, then there had better be a good reason that the ads are there.
It was called Chex Quest. I had already moved to Linux at the time (late 90s?) and was somewhat frustrated at not being able to play it via Wine, so I have no idea if it was any good; I have my doubts. It was more of a running joke between my brother and I than something I seriously wanted to play. But like other posters have mentioned there was a MicroMachines game for the NES, not to mention movie, tv, and comic book hero games such as Bart Simpson, Batman, Spiderman, Evil Dead Zelda 2 hack (scratch that one).
I can see it now.
You're in a Wal-Mart on Dec 24th. On one side it's the blue team protecting a Nintendo Wii in the electronics dept. On the other side, it's the Red team with a 10th Anniversary Tickle Me Elmo in the Toy Isle. In the middle is the Sporting Goods dept full of Remington's, Leathermans, Louisville sluggers and other vaious brand name, potentially leathal objects. First team to get the Wii, the TMX and escape to the checkout counter wins. Bonus points if you Collect all 5 Coca Cola Santa 24 can packs scattered through the store.
Hell i'd play it. Especially for free.
In Soviet Russia, Trojan exploits YOU!
No, you guys aren't cynical enough. They will stuff in ads and raise prices.. and people will pay.
Go to your friendly neighborhood Walmart (or Target, K-Mart, etc) sometime and look around. Especially in the stuff aimed at kids. You almost can't avoid buying co-marketed merchandise. I was commenting on just that last week while in Wallyworld. They still have a few copies of Memory(tm) in the original flavor... but you can see the way the wind blows with the much larger stack of Dora the Explorer and Disney co-branded copies of Memory, selling at $2 more. Yup, people pay more to get the ad for the TV shows. Try to buy a kid a puzzle with a generic picture on it. No can do, all they have is stuff enblazoned with some franchise character or another. Almost half of the toy aisle is stuff co-branded with a TV show or movie. Now go to the clothing dept and find a childrens shirt without a franchise character or an outright product ad on it. If you look you can still find un branded stuff, but that isn't what is selling, just look at the other customers.
The question of advertising in games isn't when is it coming, the only question I have is why hasn't it happened yet? Best guess is because games get played long enough most ads would 'date' the game too much. That and they could get really burned if events hammers em between a game going gold and release. Imagine the PR nightmare if Nike inserts a set of ads with some sports star who gets busted for dope, accused of rape or overdoses yet millions of games are heading to stores too late to recall and repress.
Give em a network connection to update the ads to the current crappy movie being hyped to death or the current ad campaign and watch out.
Democrat delenda est
Not even Quake; it was DOOM with converted graphics. All the weapons ("zorchers") and monsters ("Flemoids") were perfect analogs to Doom. The game was called Chex Quest. I remember a small part of the ad campaign was that it was "non-violent" in that supposedly you didn't actually kill the monsters, you just "zorched" them back to their home dimension, and they didn't kill you, they just made your body armor (composed of dry breakfast cereal) soggy until you could no longer move.
It really wasn't a bad game if you cranked up the difficulty level, and it was amusing to plug the graphics into the standard Doom WADs or vice versa.
I remember the Super Bootspork fondly...