Advertising in games: Do you care?

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With popularity comes a new medium to pimp out other people's products.. this year, though, it's pretty bad. Burnout 3 had a few ads for some other games (Battlefield: Modern Combat and Tiger Woods 05 come to mind) and Old Spice. Need For Speed Underground 2 has Burger King and Best Buy.. I don't know any others because it bothered me so bad that I couldn't continue to play. Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory has Nokia, Axe, and at one point, they pimp out Prince of Persia: Warrior Within. THUG 2 has various sports companies, butterfinger, etc.

Does this subliminal advertising bother you? It's starting to become more and more noticable to me lately and increasingly annoying.. though it doesn't bother me much in Burnout 3 and Chaos Theory..
 
As long as companies dont bitch about about how the costs of games should be increased I have no problem with it. Of course if they actually started adding commercial clips to the games then I'd be less understanding
 
Eh, as long as it stays within an acceptable margin. I don't want to see anything like "Max Payne is a man with a dark past, and even darker secrets. He also enjoys Triscuit brand snack crackers, when ever he gets that snack-craving that NEEDS to be satisfied."
 
[quote name='evilmax17']Eh, as long as it stays within an acceptable margin. I don't want to see anything like "Max Payne is a man with a dark past, and even darker secrets. He also enjoys Triscuit brand snack crackers, when ever he gets that snack-craving that NEEDS to be satisfied."[/QUOTE]

:rofl:
 
[quote name='evilmax17']Eh, as long as it stays within an acceptable margin. I don't want to see anything like "Max Payne is a man with a dark past, and even darker secrets. He also enjoys Triscuit brand snack crackers, when ever he gets that snack-craving that NEEDS to be satisfied."[/QUOTE]

:lol:

it doesn't bother me at all...yet...i actually think it's kind of cool to drive by a McDonalds or something in a game, rather than something I wouldn't normally drive by (because it doesn't exist)....to me, it makes the game that much more realistic

that said, if they start advertising 20 different "brought to you by"s before you can start the game....i'll then start hating life
 
Unless I see a price drop, the advertising can get annoying. Of course I don't own any driving or sports games so I don't think I ever really see any advertising. As long as it fits in with the game, i.e. billboards and the like, I don't think it would bother me too much.
 
I don't particularly care so long as it doesn't disrupt the context. Something with a contemporary city setting obviously lends itself pretty well to ad placement. It can make more sense in such a game to have real brands instead of fake ones, unless there is an opportunity for satire.
 
Things like the Coca-Cola ads in that one golf game are bad.

The ads in Anarchy Online fit in well with the universe, so they are fine.
 
i dno...i like it GTA style..where they have odd-innuendo-ish brand names in the store..makes it funny..but in less "mature" games..i wudnt mind seein some stores im familiar with..dusnt add ne realism..but its just there, hard 2 explain
 
In the context of a big realistic city, GTA style, advertising actually fits in nice, but without a comperable price reduction, you are actually being ripped off. (paying to be advertised to)
Additionally, if the advertising is like a McDonalds in a cartoon world (ie. Jak or Sly) then it would be crippiling to the vision and style of the game. (In addition to still being ripped off.)
 
If it comes to popping in a game.. and going through some ads first before you can start to play... that would get very annoying. And if its in game advertising.. i could live with it as long as it doesn't ruin the actual game.
 
I find advertising in games to be annoying. However, as long as the avertising doesnt detract from the atmosphere of the game, then I dont have much of a problem with it.

The Max Payne example cited above was hillarious, but may very well be the future of the industry.
 
I might be alone in this, but I think all the Avis Rent-a-Car ads in God of War were pretty distracting.

(honestly though, the fact that the free halo 2 maps are "because of Mountain Dew" is a little scary. I dont want to have to send in proofs of purchase to get free downloadable content in the future.)
 
That scene in chaos theory were the two guards are talking and the one talks about PoP:WW is hilarious because of the fact that it is produced by the same group. But most times it is annoying to see ads in games.
 
actually they never say 'Warrior Within', they just say 'I can't wait for the next PoP game'. And the e-mails you check in the game are dated 2007, so I'm guessing there talking about Pop 3, or maybe even PoP 4.
 
I thought it was cool in Crazy Taxi to drive to an actual Burger King and Tower Records. I don't mind it in Tony Hawk because it's more realistic.. As long as there aren't actual commercials in between levels or when I start a game.
 
it doesn't bother me at all...yet...i actually think it's kind of cool to drive by a McDonalds or something in a game, rather than something I wouldn't normally drive by (because it doesn't exist)....to me, it makes the game that much more realistic

that said, if they start advertising 20 different "brought to you by"s before you can start the game....i'll then start hating life[/QUOTE]


agreed...
 
Nah doesn't bother me a bit in most games, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2 arcade edition stands out the most though for super obvious advertisments.
 
I think it's OK. For the most part, it makes video game worlds seem more like the real world. It many cases also provides the developement of a game some extra income.

BTW: Even though it is clearly getting worse as the industry grows, we have had advertising in games for a long time. Rember Cool Spot or some of the Japanese games with Pepsi Man?
 
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Ads don't bother me. If they help offset the high cost of production for the developers, then fine. But don't come bitching to me about development costs now and raising prices, developers, because you can shove it up your ass.
 
No games bother me with ads, so far.

But, I could seriously see games having commercials like on TV, someday. And that would suck hard.
 
If product placement is handled right, it can actually fit into a game quite nicely, a la Darkened Skye or Super Monkey Ball. However when products are just shoved in your face for now apparent reason, it becomes a bit obnoxious. As long as developers use good judgment, most people will probably be happy with the outcome.
 
I wasn't really bothered with EA trying to pimp their own products in Burnout 3, but seeing that stupid Axe billboard was rediculous and I'd rather not see advertising in games, although I know it's inevitable at this point.
 
I guess it just depends for me. I think it's kinda cool as well to drive by a real place, but in NFSU2, the lighting for the Best Buy and Burger King signs rival the light of the north star. I don't mind small advertising (it didn't bother me in Burnout 3 because you only saw it for a few seconds and they didn't go out of their way to make it noticable), but some games are just bad with it.

I agree though with whoever said advertising fits in the GTA world. I dunno.. I think it's going to get worse before it gets any better.
 
[quote name='MaxBiaggi2']If product placement is handled right, it can actually fit into a game quite nicely, a la Darkened Skye or Super Monkey Ball. However when products are just shoved in your face for now apparent reason, it becomes a bit obnoxious. As long as developers use good judgment, most people will probably be happy with the outcome.[/QUOTE]

wow, i was just gonna post that I wouldnt mind as long as we don't see another darkened skye


But anyway, I like ads in games as long as it fits the game: anything in the modern world is completely welcome, to a point; the super monkey ball-dole banana sponsorship was just awesome; and, if very skilled, someone can even fit an ad or two in a past/futuristic world

I do have one idea: during a game, there is a fair share of "dead air" (IM A RHYMING MACHINE!!!), why not put an ad there: if a game needs 5 seconds to load everything, someone can put an ad there, and if anyone really hates the idea, then they can simply ignore it, its not like its penetrating the game world
 
[quote name='The Successful Dropout']:lol:

it doesn't bother me at all...yet...i actually think it's kind of cool to drive by a McDonalds or something in a game, rather than something I wouldn't normally drive by (because it doesn't exist)....to me, it makes the game that much more realistic

that said, if they start advertising 20 different "brought to you by"s before you can start the game....i'll then start hating life[/QUOTE]

I agree on both counts. Make it somewhat tasteful and integrated with the game.

And it's great to drive by McDonalds rather than some lame rip off like McDaniels.
 
As long as they don't have commercials where I have to wait to start a game, then I don't give a damn about it. It would be better if the ads can help lower the cost of games.
 
I really don't want ingame advertising, but I suppose I could deal with it if a few things were taken into account.

1. The setting of the game. I could see something like a McDs in a GTA game, adds on the billboards for products...but dammit, that shit isn't going to fly in a fantasy game say like, World of Warcraft...it would totally ruin the setting. A video game character that lives in Vice City or San Andreas probably would go to McDs...a hairy dwarf paladin would have absolutely no reason to vist a McDs. So please, use common sense in where you place your video game ads.

2. Ingame commercials/commercials in the form of cutscenes I have to sit thru...dammit, that's like putting popups in videogames. It would be annoying no matter what. No, no, no!

3. If this is game where I have a mailbox and I get messages in mail...I don't want to see any ads mailed to my video game character either. I have to deal with spam in my real life inbox...i'd be pissed if suddenly I had to sort through that stuff in a game, thus wasting my valuable gaming time.

4. If I have to put up with ads in gaming, then those adfilled games had better become dirt ass cheap for me to justify the inconvenience.
 
Advertising has been around for awhile. In Jet Moto for PSX, wasn't Mountain Dew splashed everywhere (even on the back of your rider, so you had to look at it the whole time?).

Anyway, even though I agree with many people (that it isn't that bad at the current level), I have this fear that in game commercials are coming, and sooner rather than later. You have to remember, they won't start it on a crap game, it'll be a majorly hyped game that will have them. Let's be honest, if Halo 3 has a commercial on in between levels, I'm going to suffer through it, though I'll hate it.

But, lets be honest, you pay to be advertised to all the time. Basic cable tv, some stations will have 8 minutes of commercials in a row, and your dropping $40 a month for it. Movies, you drop $8-$10 to see a movie, then you get barraged with 5 minutes of commercials before the previews. Heck, DVD's are even starting to have stuff at the beginning you have to get through before you see the movie, and your dropping $20 for that. It's sad to say, but in 10 years, I think commercials in games will be stadard (hopefully, it won't get so bad that you are cut off midlevel every 5 minutes to watch 2 minutes of commercials).
 
[quote name='radjago']Shacknews posted an interview with Massive, Inc about this very subject.

http://www.shacknews.com/extras/interviews/041205_massive.x

I was also pointed to these blog posts by American McGee discussing "advergaming" and developing games based on different companies' images.

Damn, when was the last time EA put out an original game?

Edit: The latest game I could find was Sled Storm, which came out in 2002 and received lukewarm reviews.[/QUOTE]

Does EA thrive on originality! Oh hell yeah!! Just look at these awesome original titles. No sequels / regurgitated garbage here!!

[font=Verdana, Arial] The following list of EA's recent PS2 games is why I think EA is today and from now on the most generic, medicore games publisher that has ever existed.

Burnout 3: Takedown
Cricket 2004
Def Jam Vendetta
Def Jam: Fight for NY
EA Sports Fight Night 2004
FIFA Soccer 2005
FIFA Street
James Bond 007 in... Agent Under Fire
James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing
James Bond 007: NightFire
MVP Baseball 2005
Madden NFL 2005
Medal of Honor Fighter Commander
Medal of Honor: Dogs of War
Medal of Honor: Frontline
Medal of Honor: Rising Sun
NASCAR 2005: Chase for the Cup
NBA Live 2005
NBA Street V3
NBA Street Vol. 2
NCAA Football 2005
NCAA March Madness 2005
NFL Street 2
NHL 2005
Need for Speed Underground 2
Oddworld Stranger's Wrath
Rugby 2005
SSX 3
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2005
Total Club Manager 2005
Ty the Tasmanian Tiger 2: Bush Rescue


Wow! Take THAT creative expression and experimentation.
[/font]
 
The article in yesterday's NY Times pinpointed a particular streaming advertisement that would update online and pipe in ever changing (and personalized) advertisements.
Television and movies certainly have placed advertisements within, around and directly because of ads.
And many fondly remembered cartoons from youth were nothing more than vehicles to get kids to want the toy (transformers, for example)
People still do get in an uproar on the subject, as when spidey bases were introduced to baseball.
But I think most people (and posts) have agreed that as long as it is not invasive, it can defray development costs and flesh out virtual worlds.

I would think developers/programmers might be the most pissed off by their sales/marketing team signing contracts to force them to put stuff in their world they might not otherwise.
 
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