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Hellgate Beta's In-Game Ads Raise Eyebrows

ari wins writes "IGN.com has up a post discussing the new EA/Flagship game Hellgate: London, and the in-game advertisements it includes to facilitate targeted marketing. Though ads in games aren't exactly new, some Beta testers are objecting to their apparently off-putting presence. Users have also noted that accepting the game's EULA means you submit to the collection of 'technical and related information that identifies your computer, including without limitation your Internet Protocol address, operating system, application software and peripheral hardware'."

11 of 424 comments (clear)

  1. Re:This CAN be stopped by bmo · · Score: 3, Funny

    And the only reason I'm singing you this song now is cause you may know somebody in a similar situation, or you may be in a similar situation, and if your in a situation like that there's only one thing you can do and that's walk into the game shop/software dealer wherever you are, just walk in say "Dude, You can get anything you want at Alice's restaurant." return the game, and walk out. You know, if one person, just one person does it they may think he's just weird. And if two people, two people do it, in harmony, they may think they're both faggots and they'll refund the money really fast just to get 'em out the door. And three people do it, three, can you imagine, three people walking in singin' a bar of Alice's Restaurant, returnin' a game and walking out. They may think it's an organization. And can you, can you imagine fifty people a day,I said fifty people a day walking in, returnin' a game, singin a bar of Alice's Restaurant and walking out. And friends they may thinks it's a movement.

    And that's what it is , the Alice's Restaurant Anti-Bad-Software Movement, and all you got to do to join is sing it the next time it come's around on the guitar.

    --
    BMO

  2. Re:Does it run on Linux? by ubrgeek · · Score: 3, Funny

    Usually a nice cheese ;)

    --
    Bark less. Wag more.
  3. Your IP address is being broadcast RIGHT NOW! by mattgreen · · Score: 4, Funny

    Dear God, not again!

    Luckily I had a helpful error box pop up and only had to pay $19.95 (plus VA 4.5% sales tax) to stop this heinous security oversight that is present in EVERY operating system on the Internet!

  4. Advertising by niceone · · Score: 2, Funny

    I find advertising pretty off-putting in the real world too. Just another reason to stay in the basement...

  5. Re:Cursor tracking by derfy · · Score: 2, Funny

    What odds can you give me on a tornado?

  6. Re:Ads in a game you pay for=Stealing by aseth · · Score: 3, Funny

    Just like how there are no ads on cable TV, right?

  7. Re:This CAN be stopped by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny
    Well, ads could be interesting. You're down to one Health point or somesuch, and the game interrupts with "Tired of killing and being killed? Then it's a good time for a nice refreshing Coke (tm)!"

    Ooops. We just distracted you and your head got torn off by the monster? We bad, we bad.

    Fritz Leiber once wrote an SF story about mobile soft-drink salesrobots. In it, a city gets nuked and the robots survive, tooling up to dying burned people in the streets and and cadging them to buy a can of soda.

  8. Re:Unobtrusive by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    Your ad was even more obtrusive than the in-game variety.

  9. Re:This CAN be stopped by Oktober+Sunset · · Score: 3, Funny

    Wait for it...

    Wait for it...

    Wallmart So Evil Exploit Workers Minimum Wage Sweatshop Labour Censor Music Small Business Bankrupt Heart Of America Small Town Anti Union Child Labour Climate Change Worse Than Hitler Kicked A Puppy Ate A Baby Spat In Your Salad Just Plain Evil Fat Cat Corporate Capitalist Pigs.

  10. Re:This CAN be stopped by Andrew+Kismet · · Score: 2, Funny

    Your sig actually flowed on quite nicely from that rant.

  11. Re:Marketing Has Succeeded by naoursla · · Score: 3, Funny

    The real way to attack this is to get rid of advertising in real-life places like subways. Then the game makers won't have the "more realistic" excuse to put ads in-game.