Google Files Patent to Monitor Gaming For Ads

Tookis writes "In a recent patent filing, Google has proposed a real time profiling of players of online games such as World of Warcraft. Soon players of such games may see in game ads directly designed to appeal to their persona. Last month Google filed a patent in both Europe and the US which outlined plans to psychologically profile people simply by their style of play in popular online games. 'From the patent; "User dialogue (e.g., from role playing games, simulation games, etc) may be used to characterize the user (e.g., literate, profane, blunt or polite, quiet etc). Also, user play may be used to characterize the user (e.g., cautious, risk-taker, aggressive, non-confrontational, stealthy, honest, cooperative, uncooperative, etc)." Taking this a step further, Google also believe if a player likes to explore their new virtual world, that they would be interested in the real world, as such would target the player with travel ads.'"

Comments

Skewed results

[igotmybfg]

How I act when I play online is pretty different my normal behavior, and I suspect that it's the same way for most people. We play these online games because they let us escape from our normal problems & fears, so why would they expect our behavior in a fantasy land to parallel our real lives?

Re:Skewed results

[CastrTroy]

But if they can find that they differ consistently, then they can still get some important information. For instance, if they found that people who spend all their time killing boars in the woods also drink a lot of Mountain Dew, then if you started killing lots of boars in the woods, then they'd show you ads for Mountain Dew. Not to say you like Mountain Dew, but people in your demographic do, and that's good enough for them.

Re:Skewed results

[steveo777]

Can you see the new commercials? A night elf female ranger and a male dwarf warrior hacking away in some EXTREME fashion at boars and shouting, "Do the Dew" or whatever catch-phrase they're using these days.

Re:Skewed results

[dave562]

The reality of the situation is that YOU are the same person on a deeper, subconscious level no matter if you're playing a game, or hanging out in real life. While you are playing online you might manifest different aspects of your personality in different ways. However, marketing can still be targetted to THAT portion of your personality. To think of it another way, if you're in your online world and view that as an escape from "real life", you'd probably be even more succeptible (sp?) to ads that target your "online" persona than you would be to ads that try to engage your RL persona. In other words, if you saw something that reminded you RL, you'd reject it because it was breaking your fantasy experience. But if you saw something to the effect of, "Raiding is taxing. Redbull gives you the wings you need to make it through that next boss fight."... you might consider, "Ya, some caffeine would be good right now. Better go get some Redbull."

Annoying ADS!!!

[LordBafford]

It's already in CS 1.6, and I find it annoying, but I can deal cause at least ti is just games off steam ads, like TFC2 and Portal. If I buy future games and it is plastered with Coke, Ford, and GAP ads or crap like that I will just return it. Ads are just wasted space fr something else. Now I do remember a CS map that had a bunch of phony ads a while back that were funny. that was ok cause it was part of the map. They made fake billboard ads for a town.

Re:In soviet russia...

[sinij]

I don't understand why people still buy 'no evil' from Google. Google is large corporation that is driven by profit generation, and like Microsoft or Monsanto, will perform tasks that do not benefit or improve wellbeing of general population in order to turn profit.

I personally find advertising in games extremely detrimental to my enjoyment of them. Advertising detracts from my leisure gaming activities, breaks immersion and attempts to brainwash me into purchasing things I don't want by playing off my fears and desires while all I want to do is relax and escape these fears and desires of everyday life.

Why advertising must be involved in all of our activities? A lot of people would be pissed if their favorite park gets plastered with billboards, why games should be exception?

A lot of people will respond to this in knee-jerk manner with something along 'it will blend into game environment and it will be non-obtrusive'. To that I respond - advertising designed to grab your attention, it ether does it or you might not bother with it in a first place, since it does not work.

Last but not least, to deliver targeted and personalized advertising Google need to collect personal information bout you. Regardless of how they do it I still see it as breach of privacy and concerned that such information will not only linger but also has a potential to be abused.

Google, keep the frak out of my games! I strongly suggest any gamers serious about future enjoyment of our shared hobby to avoid any titles with advertising.

Just look at modern television - its not uncommon to have 15 minutes of each hour wasted with advertising. That is QUARTER of your leisure time WASTED. Convert this into hours over a period of one year and then multiply it by your hourly salary. Not sure about you, but I can't afford such expensive past time as watching adds.

I don't watch tv or listen to radio

[SmallFurryCreature]

It ain't because I do not like tv. Well I don't, the recent drive to reality tv is one I could do without, but mostly it is because I just don't have time for the ads. Since tv programs are interrupted by them and I just don't have the patience to wait the 5+ minutes before the program resumes I just don't watch anymore.

Radio? The same story. Apart from the fact that I just don't like a lot of modern music, I also just don't want to have 5+ minutes of ads before the news and 5+ minutes after and that is if you don't count the station jingles as ads. Just how much ads do you need to play some music?

I run an ad-filter on my pc to filter ads, google including.

I have a NO-NO sticker on my door wich in the netherlands is the legal way to force ad companies to not post ads in your physical mail box.

GET THE FUCKING PICTURE! I DO NOT WANT YOUR GODDAMNED ADS!

It ain't even the principles of ads that upsets me but that the majority of them are so damned annoying. I suppose an annoying ad you notice you work better, I am probably the only person in the world who absolutly refuses to buy products related to annoying ads (or so ad-companies seem to think), but they annoy me.

And now they want ads in games. Right.

Google has the motto "do no evil". Am I the only one who realizes that the slogan of an ad company is not worth a goddamn thing?