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Hellgate Beta's In-Game Ads Raise Eyebrows

Posted by Zonk on from the use-the-coke-luke dept.

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'."

6 of 424 comments (clear)

  1. This information on the box? by Romicron · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Does it say anywhere on the box, "WARNING: This game includes in-game advertising and requires live monitoring of computer information?" Or are there massive amounts of consumers that are going to be shocked to discover that their game requires adware? There's a big difference between "Hey, we warned you" and "Turn around and grab your ankles".

    Second question: Anyone know how much this kind of live uploading of advertisements would affect online performance?

  2. wtf by wizardforce · · Score: 5, Interesting

    If a game costs 50$ why the hell should there be ads in it? Who actually puts up with this enough to even make the idea look like something we would tolerate?

    --
    Sigs are too short to say anything truly profound so read the above post instead.
    1. Re:wtf by Rasit · · Score: 5, Interesting

      If a game costs 50$ why the hell should there be ads in it? Who actually puts up with this enough to even make the idea look like something we would tolerate?
      Even better, if you dont pay a monthly fee you can only play a gimped character (smaller inventory etc.)

      So now we have to pay full price to buy it, pay each month AND get invasive ads?
    2. Re:wtf by BarneyL · · Score: 5, Interesting

      The same people who pay for their cable/satelite TV subscription and watch adverts during the commercial breaks? Or buy a magazines with adverts in? The model is not entirely new even if I don't believe for a moment that the adverts in games are there "to reduce the sale price" as is claimed by the publishers.

  3. Overreactions. by DrEldarion · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I've been playing the beta for a week now, and even though I knew about the ads before I started playing, I still haven't noticed them at all while playing when I wasn't specifically looking for them. IIRC, they're limited to "stations" where are basically the towns from Diablo 2. Since these are basically subway stations, you expect to see ads there, and they aren't obtrusive at all, so they feel like part of the environment rather than being a jarring experience.

    Hellgate is not the game to make an outrage over, because the ads in it are so tastefully done that they feel right.

  4. Re:This CAN be stopped by WhatAmIDoingHere · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Most states have laws that say stores have to accept returns for a certain time period after the sale of the product. State laws > Store Policy.

    Best Buy tried to stop me from returning a game by saying it was a violation of copyright law, so I acquired a copy of the most recent revision and brought it in with me. The manager realized that fucking with a customer who knows that the law is on their side is a BAD idea (at least in the state of Massachusetts) and my game was returned for a full refund.

    --
    Not a Twitter sockpuppet... but I wish I was.