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More Advertising in Your Next Xbox Game
ejwong writes "TheGameFeed is reporting on Microsoft's plans to offset Xbox360 game costs with more in game advertising under its subsidiary, Massive. In-game ads are gaining popularity and the wave isn't going to stop. Publishers see this as a huge potential for increased game revenues to help offset the rising development costs for the Xbox 360, PS3 and Wii. The question is how far will they go, and how much are gamers willing to take?." From the article:
"If you plan on picking up an Xbox 360 title this month, then you're probably picking up one with Massive's in-game ads. Titles such as Crackdown, Def Jam: Icon, MLB 2K7, and Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 are all part of the Massive network showing off ads from Dell, Intel, Discovery Channel, Intel, NBC, Verizon and even the Navy among others. "
We pay an obscene amount of money for the content, and then pay again in eyeballs for advertising. Anybody feeling screwed yet?
Seems that every day, another piece of news shows up telling me that I got out of console gaming at exactly the right time.
This generation just gets more underwhelming by the minute.
Games are getting more and more expensive to produce. This seems like a reasonable extra revenue stream, unless taken to extremes. The market will adjust itself so it's not taken to extremes.
Besides the immersion being spoiled (at least for me), just think how out of place the ads are going to feel a few months from now.
When I saw that huge axe ad in burnout i thought what's doing it there? it's just so big and outstanding.
Please stop the advertisements in games!
As long as the ads are done well I don't care if they are in my game. We see all kinds of stuff in games that would normally have an ad on it in real life. I don't know how many games have fake ads for products that don't exist to ad to the realism. It doesn't make a difference to me if the vending machine my character walks by says Soda or Cocoa-Cola. Honestly if done correctly in game advertising could really add to the realism of games. Yes it could be very easily overdone and become invasive but if done correctly it could improve games. How you say? Extra income! If the game developers themselves got cash for incorporating real world products in games they could spend more money developing the games and afford to hire better talent. This could be a very good thing for games then again if done wrong it could be the worst thing ever. Only time will tell.
WTF?
Where are the Days of Pitfall, Tetris, Mario, ect....? Just fun and simple entertainment not over taken by advertisements...
Not A Troll!
How is it illogical? He doesn't want ads in his games, so he's going to vote with his wallet. Makes sense to me, though I doubt I'd go as far. Whether or not adverts interfere with enjoyment is subjective. You can't just tell him that adverts in videogames don't bother him. It doesn't work like that.
And why do you think he's a hypocrite? There is no evidence of this. None. What the hell?
I haven't gone to a movie theater since I installed an HD projector in my living room. The entertainment industry is in a death spiral of their own making.
I mourn the fact that the floodgates have been opened, because I think this will lead to the inevitable decline of the quality of games. For the moment- sure, it doesn't hurt anything, it might even add realism by having actual products in the game, but how long until some game developers are sitting around going "ok, so then we have this level where they walk through a forest and..." "what are you thinking bob? a forest? we can't stick ads in the middle of a forest, how 'bout a 10 minute long cutscene where they are on a subway instead, and ads flash by" "But Jim, the game takes place in 1047AD!" "Hmm, you're right, this whole setting needs to be changed"...etc. Of course, that's the more subtle way that ads will ruin games, the obvious fact is that advertisers don't f*cking realize that people get tired of their f*cking ads, and they keep pusing more and more intrusive ads on us. For people who say "ads will only go as far as players are willing to put up with them" - see the internet. People develop pop-up blockers and flash blockers and ad blockers to avoid ads, and marketers just keep comming up with new ways to spew their crap forth into our minds- single mindeldly bent on infesting every single facet of our lives with ceaseless messages to buy buy buy their soda and pills and toothpaste.
Famous Last Words: "hmm...wikipedia says it's edible"
There are lots of companies making games across the entire spectrum who aren't considering in game ads. That's why I conclude there's something fundamentally wrong with companies with a profound interest in the practice. I have two possibilities in mind for why they'd want this.
1) It's a new source of revenue, and they're so inefficient with their budget that any money they can get will help save them.
2) It's a new source of revenue, and they're so greedy that any money they can get will help their bank accounts.
Maybe I'm too cynical, but I simply don't see in game ads as being a positive influence in the industry, possibly because I don't see the proponents of it as capable of drawing the line before decency is crossed and sticking with it. EA is a major player, and they went well overboard on the microtransactions on Xbox Live. In game ads can have a place (sports, NASCAR, anywhere there are ads in real life that don't already annoy me by their intrusiveness) but I doubt that anyone promoting them will leave it at that.
I still remember when half-time, the defensive play of the day, and other key points in a broadcast were just that. None of this "McBlurgon's Soda shot of the day" or "The Moistinator half-time report". I'm afraid in game adds are going to drive me away from what would otherwise be good games, just like I no longer watch sports for the intrusive nature of the ads.
And while I'm at it, GET THE HELL OFF MY LAWN!
Thunderclone: ONE MAN ENTERS! TWO MEN LEAVE! ONE MAN ENTERS! TWO MEN LEAVE!
If this is the case, I really think the companies should consider a sustainable model of production. The rate at which the production of these art assets gets out of hands appears to be at least geometric in expansion. It looks to me like companies have spent too much time trying to sell consumers on impressive graphics, but have outpaced their ability to properly generate them. This is now hurting them, and they're looking to throw the cost of their mistake onto the consumer.
Thunderclone: ONE MAN ENTERS! TWO MEN LEAVE! ONE MAN ENTERS! TWO MEN LEAVE!
Hardcore or PC gamers are, yes. But your talking about a Console here. Most people want to plug these in, slide in a disc or cart, and play. They don't want to configure their IP, setup a firewall, edit router settings, upgrade to 10,000 RPM drives, configure SLI and memory timings to get the best performance. The line between PC and Console is thinning, but it's still going to be a very hard line to break.
Every time I start to have faith in humanity, I ruin it by driving to work between 7 and 8 am.
You paid $9 for the privilege of watching the movie.
You paid time and advertising viewership for the privilege of getting a good seat. If the good seats aren't worth that much to you, show up later and let the chumps suffer through the commercials from the best seats in the house. If it is worth that much to you, then admit to yourself that you're making a profitable business transaction, congratulate yourself on your good business sense, and complaining that you're being robbed. Why be sad when you could be happy?
Any sufficiently well-organized community is indistinguishable from Government.
Can't I complain about it in the hopes of creating an anti-advertising backlash that drives theater owners into removing the commercials? Think about it, I am providing a valuable service by complaining. In our free market system, businesses don't know what they're doing wrong or right unless someone tells them. Usually, they have to pay someone to tell them. I am giving it away for free. I and many people I know go to movies less frequently because of the annoyance factor. If they got rid of the commercials, perhaps the increased sales volume would more than offset the lost revenue.
Just doing my part as a patriotic consumer.
- None can love freedom heartily, but good men; the rest love not freedom, but license. -- John Milton