Do in-game ads bother you?

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danielhonigman

CAG Veteran
If you're a hardcore video gamer -- or even a casual one who plays Madden every once in a while -- there's a good chance you've seen an ad in a game.

We get exposed to advertisements all the time, whether they're on TV, radio, billboards, e-mail, newspapers, magazines...well, you get the point.


Do ads in video games bother you, or do you just ignore them?

(NOTE: This blog post was originally posted on KmartGamer.)
 
Not where they are appropriate, like trackside billboards in racing games, or around stadiums in sports games. Basically wherever you would see a billboard in real life.

But if I played Madden, those ads that pop up with every play selection screen would ENRAGE me. If they are going to do that the game should be free.
 
For the most part, they don't bother me as I just view them as part of the environment. Sports teams have ads all over their stadiums in real life, in games where you roam a city you have billboards, etc. The only time I can recall being bothered by an ad (at least recently) was in Madden 10. They'd pop the ad up front and center around the scoreboard ticker while you were trying to run a play.

On a side note, I've been noticing Geico in Blur and to me, it's actually hilarious considering.
 
I've seen that too. Geico seems to certainly know its audience, no?

What about in-radio ads for GTA? Know the ads are satirical in nature, but that would be a major experiment for them, no?
 
I don't really have a problem with the ads, but like others have said, why don't they offset the cost of the game? There are ads on TV so I don't have to pay for the show I'm watching. No ads, like HBO, I'm paying for the channel. Now I'm paying $60 for a game whether or not it has ads in it.
 
Yea, I think like everything else in life, they can be ok, but when they are overbearing like the above mentioned madden ads, its annoying. I dont even mind if your playing a game and you pick up a branded item as long as they dont go out of the way to pull you from the experience to promote it (YOU JUST PICKED UP WINCHESTER BULLETS, THE ONLY BULLETS SUPPORTED BY THE NRA). I think Alan Wake kinda treaded the fine line, but not so much that I couldnt bear it. I think its ok now, but its probably going to get much worse before it gets better because Madden will still sell, and they will get away with those obtrusive ads.
 
If they are done tastefully and are appropriate to the game you are playing, then I really don't mind them. Games are SUPER expensive to make and it is just a part of the "business" of making games these days.
 
[quote name='Schizophriend']They never bother me usually.
But the in game ads in Bionic Commando were very distracting...[/QUOTE]

The next gen one? That's funny because I just played it and I can't think of one ad in it. What was there?
 
[quote name='Mr Unoriginal']The next gen one? That's funny because I just played it and I can't think of one ad in it. What was there?[/QUOTE]

Didn't play it, but I remember in the Inside Xbox videos on the marketplace they talked about some Pepsi machines or something.

Ya, could care less about ads as long as it makes sense like in cities and sports stadiums. Otherwise it just takes you out of the experience.
 
Pop-up ads do not bother me as long as they are small, take up a tiny portion of the screen, do not interfere with what is happening on the screen, and do not require me to click them or interact with them to get them removed from the screen. If I have to sit through a 15 second ad or so that takes up the whole screen and is not able to be skipped, then I would have a problem.
 
The miracle whip advertisements in Skate 3 were kind of odd, but they did not bother me. In Bad Company, the movie posters were a little bit distracting.
 
[quote name='Ryukahn']Pop-up ads do not bother me as long as they are small, take up a tiny portion of the screen, do not interfere with what is happening on the screen, and do not require me to click them or interact with them to get them removed from the screen. If I have to sit through a 15 second ad or so that takes up the whole screen and is not able to be skipped, then I would have a problem.[/QUOTE]

What about if a game cost $50 or $40 which was offset by the ad?
 
It depends just how distracting they are. There's no excuse for things like this.

dscf5797.jpg


Keep in mind that's only as many as I could fit in the shot, there were plenty more on this street.
 
At least the ads I usually see in games are not distracting. But, it's normally a -wtf moment- when you see a predator in a Battlefield game or some monster on a poster in Rainbow Six Vegas.
 
[quote name='DiscoDuck8k']It depends just how distracting they are. There's no excuse for things like this.

dscf5797.jpg


Keep in mind that's only as many as I could fit in the shot, there were plenty more on this street.[/QUOTE]

It's almost as if the entire town was dedicated to the movie... that's scary.
 
[quote name='Puffa469']Not where they are appropriate, like trackside billboards in racing games, or around stadiums in sports games. Basically wherever you would see a billboard in real life.

But if I played Madden, those ads that pop up with every play selection screen would ENRAGE me. If they are going to do that the game should be free.[/QUOTE]

Agreed. One game I played that got ads right was Band Hero. It had ads in the mall level for guess what? Stores you'd find in a mall!
 
Not in games where I'd expect it, like racing and sports games. Games like Rainbow Six Vegas' indestructible sponsored cars and the sponsored batteries in Alan Wake are more of an issue than anything.
 
I'm of mixed feelings about this.

Games in an urban environment with ads in places that I'd expect in the real world don't bother me. Ads in virtual video game stadiums that correspond to ad placements in real life don't bother me.

But ads should be appropriate to their video game setting, or at least tailored to fit the game world they are placed in. For example, McDonald's golden arches and posters for modern day movies would look totally out of place in a fantasy type game such as World of Warcraft, but would look pretty normal in a game like say, Grand Theft Auto.

Also, if you're going to place ads in game, is it too much to ask to be more subtle about it? Just looking at the pic in DiscoDuck's post enrages me. Don't plaster every available in game surface with the same freaking ad everywhere! At least mix up the ads, and for the love of gawd don't slap them on every flat surface of the game world. And if you're going to place ads in the game, I agree with the other posters, that game needs to come down in price on the consumer end.

And pop up ads are just evil. I will never pay money for a game that has persistant, over the top popup ads in it, and I'd certainly never play a game that tortured me in such a way.
 
[quote name='danielhonigman']I've seen that too. Geico seems to certainly know its audience, no?

What about in-radio ads for GTA? Know the ads are satirical in nature, but that would be a major experiment for them, no?[/QUOTE]
But that's the thing. Rockstar has made satirical ads, but they're not ads from real companies. I'm bombarded enough with commercials when I'm NOT playing a game(even the various networks video content has ads seperating the 'segments' of shows:roll:), so I like my in-game ads to be satirical in nature ONLY.

The ads from Vice City and San Andreas were the best, since they even reserved 800 numbers/websites that they had recordings and webpages up for. I doubt the websites are still up, but some of the 800 numbers might still be active.
 
I really don't care, I've never really experienced the over the top ads and to tell the truth I haven't seen the Geico adds in Blur.
You've got to re-coop the money somehow right?
 
I think it's bullshit to stick them in games because "games cost more!" (make a better game that will sell more copies) but in some games, they're very fitting. I'd hate to see a racing game that didn't use authentic livery on the cars because they don't want to put in ads. Same story for something like baseball where the outfields are littered with local ads and whatnot.
 
i dont like them unless its like the ads in gta where theyre funny and fake. i hate seeing ads or real world shit plastered all over a game and like someone else mentioned if the game has a ton of ads in it the game shuld be cheaper or at least the dlc should be free.
 
[quote name='Mr Unoriginal']What about if a game cost $50 or $40 which was offset by the ad?[/QUOTE]

That would make them more tolerable. I like what a lot of iPhone games are doing now is making the game available for free with ads and if you want to pay, you can get rid of the ads. I'm not saying console games should be free if they have ads but a significant discount would be good.
 
I could get started on a tangent, but to sum it up, I'll just say I'm not a fan. I feel like when a game is priced at $60, the developer should be supported by the sales alone. There are those oddball games like Okami and some of the mature titles on Wii that deserved better sales (support) than they got, but the game should sell itself and by allowing ads to offset costs, the lower quality games and developers aren't being naturally weeded out of the overall picture. A pricing difference of games with ads and without would be nice, but it will never happen because quite simply everyone will just start placing ads in games and it will be accepted as a whole.

Slightly off-topic.. I'm wondering when we will see ads in dvds of TV series (think hulu) and eventually dvds themselves that are coded to download from servers that are updated occaisonally.
 
I don't think I've played a game that has an ad in it.

Racing games would be fine - in fact, I kind of find them amusing.

The only one I can remember is Wipe'out" XL for Red Bull before it was mainstream in the U.S. - "Improve reaction time!" :applause::drool:
 
If they fit with the game, I'm fine with them. i.e. billboards in racing games, logos during sports games like on TV, the game is in a real city etc. Basically, in realistic games they're fine as we do have ads everywhere in the real world.

If they start forcing them in games in fantasy settings, then that's a different story.
 
[quote name='Mr Unoriginal']I don't really have a problem with the ads, but like others have said, why don't they offset the cost of the game? There are ads on TV so I don't have to pay for the show I'm watching. No ads, like HBO, I'm paying for the channel. Now I'm paying $60 for a game whether or not it has ads in it.[/QUOTE]
Do they really have the ads so you don't have to pay for the show or to put more money in their pockets?
 
[quote name='FriskyTanuki']Do they really have the ads so you don't have to pay for the show or to put more money in their pockets?[/QUOTE]

As long as I'm not paying, why would I care? If I'm getting a free service and their getting rich, isn't everyone winning? Now, of course if the TV show was 75% ad and 25% entertainment, that's a different story. Just like I think there is a line that ads in games could cross.
 
[quote name='Mr Unoriginal']The next gen one? That's funny because I just played it and I can't think of one ad in it. What was there?[/QUOTE]

There are about 5 Pepsi vending machines on every level... it's hilarious how much the people of that city love Pepsi. And while most other vending machines were destroyed, the Pepsi ones were always pristine (one was toppled on its side, but luckily the Pepsi logo was still clear as day).
 
[quote name='Mr Unoriginal']As long as I'm not paying, why would I care? If I'm getting a free service and their getting rich, isn't everyone winning? Now, of course if the TV show was 75% ad and 25% entertainment, that's a different story. Just like I think there is a line that ads in games could cross.[/QUOTE]
It just seems like a false assumption that they're doing it for your benefit. None of these companies have ads for anything but to help them make more money.
 
[quote name='FriskyTanuki']It just seems like a false assumption that they're doing it for your benefit. None of these companies have ads for anything but to help them make more money.[/QUOTE]

That's just getting into semantics. I think he more just means he doesn't mind ads in content he gets for free, but doesn't want them in things he pays for.
 
[quote name='FriskyTanuki']It just seems like a false assumption that they're doing it for your benefit. None of these companies have ads for anything but to help them make more money.[/QUOTE]

dmaul pretty much summed it up. I don't really care who's benefit they are doing it for. If I am paying $60 for a game full of obtrusive ads and $60 for a game with no ads, I will be upset at the ad filled game. Now if that same ad filled game was $30, I think I would be much more willing to overlook the annoyance of the ads. I'm talking purely from a selfish point of view and what I personally perceive as the best bang for my buck.
 
The ads have never bothered me - if they are part of the game and blend in without interupting game play, then its all good. I work with branded mobile games and it amazes me how quickly in game advertising is growing in the gaming world
 
In games where it makes sense I dont mind them. Like in a sports games with real teams, players and stadiums it makes sense to have ad's because they are there in real life and the game is meant to simulate real life.

In allother games though they annoy the hell out of me because mostly it detracts from the game being fictional or whatever. Like in bionic command your playing a fictional character in a fictional world where you fly around with a hookshot arm and fight airborne cybernetic things and so on but seeing pepsi machines allover the place annoys because it detracts from the experince because they stick out like a sore thumb.

Besides if there is going to be advertising in the game shouldnt I be paying alot less for the game?

And I hate advertising, I can not go one day without some form of advertising being shoved in my face. I get it in my email, I see bumper stickers, hear commercials on the radio, see commercials on tv, alot of dvds have commercials at the start of them, billboards, signs along the roads, people wearing tshirts that are basically advertisements, I cant go to the movies without seeing ads, I get junk ads in the mail, I see advertisements everywhere in my life, I dont need to see it in my games also.
 
I never really notice them, and when I do see them it doesn't bother me. I have seen the Geico ads in Blur, but it isn't gonna make me go out and get Geico insurance.
 
I played this game called Sneak King once and I couldn’t help but think that they snuck in a couple Burger King advertisements.
 
Do they bother me? Only if I paid for the game. Whether that be initial cost (retail or download) or monthly/yearly fees.

In-game ads in Freeware. Well, that is okay. I have not seen it recently, was if was used a lot several years ago, with the re-release of older games, especially in franchises where a sequel was just announced.

Since I have not seen the In-game ads placed in re-released Freeware lately, I can only assume it was an experiment that the Publishers have abandoned since there was no traceable direct profits to cover their Ferrari payments.
 
They don't bother me in the slightest. They just make the game that much more realistic. They're a necessary evil in more ways than one, but it's not like we have to sit through a 30-second commercial to get to the game. They're just there, and like real life, you're not forced to look at them or go out and by the thing they're advertising. You can even shoot them if it makes you feel better.

That said, though, I was playing Vegas 2 the other day and there was a billboard for Inception which kind of blew my mind a little since that game's over two years old. But, again, if you're going for realism, it mimics real life so why not?
 
In-game ads don't bother me too much now, but I really don't want it to become commonplace (like on the Internet or TV). I really hate seeing advertising everywhere, and I'd rather pay a little more and not get my content chopped up and plastered with annoying ads. Also, it's just an initial step, once it becomes commonplace, the publishers and advertisers will take another step, then another, etc. Finally, you'll have spyware on your console and have to have pop-up blockers, etc.

No thanks, keep your ads and I'll pay a little more.
 
They don't bother me at all either. Even if Final Fantasy was had a couple of McDonalds billboards or logos somewhere,it shouldn't bother anyone but if the McDonalds logo just keeps popping out and you have to keep pressing O to get rid of it,that becomes a problem. It'd be nice to get ads that fit the environment too.
 
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