Advertising in Video Games

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Omatsei

CAGiversary!
There's been a lot of hub-bub lately about advertising in video games, culminating last week with EA announcing that the names of some of the achievements in NCAA 2008 will be sponsored by different companies. There seems to be several opinions about the issue, and I'm curious how the CAG community feels about it.

The first choice is "Ads don't bother me", which is exactly what it sounds like. You don't care if the achievement is sponsored by a company, or if there are dynamic billboards in a racing game, or if Sam Fisher uses a Panasonic cell phone.

The second choice is "Ads wouldn't bother me, if the game costs less". This is the opinion of Wombat (and I think CheapyD). People in this group think that if a company is going to sell ad space in a video game, the game should cost less to purchase.

The last choice, "No ads. Not now. Not ever." means that you're completely opposed to the vaguest suggestion of an advertisement in a video game, and will possibly boycott any game that has ads in it.

I do not have an option for "Ads don't bother me as long as they don't screw up the gameplay" because that seems kinda obvious to me. If a developer requires you to stop playing for 5 minutes every hour to watch a commercial, then that's a serious problem and I tihnk we'd all be opposed to it.
 
Only unintrusive ads like sponsored content in sports/racing games.

The only ads we'll ever see in violent games will be for small-name companies that will seem out-of-place.
 
In terms of tacked on product placement:

If ads - subtle ads - were used to soften the blow on the retail price, for the consumer (like it should)... then I'm for it, I suppose.

But that ain't gonna happen, so I'm against it.
 
i dont mind ads that seem natural... like billboards, posters, even say a coke product placement. i dont want big banners, like in counter strike, that are just pasted onto the wall and look very un-natural.

as for the achievements, i dont think it will bother me if i unlock some achievement brought to me by nike, as they only flash on the screen for a few seconds.
 
I don't care about it if the ads make sense for the game. If you see ads in a racing game or in a football game, they make the game more realistic. As long as they don't get in your face and are just in the background, I'm fine with it. If I saw an ad in a game like Ratchet and Clank, I'd be pissed.

If the extra money earned is allowing game developers to do more things that they wouldn't have been able to do due to costs, great. If this allows for cheaper games, great. If it just means bigger salaries for game developers, fuck you.
 
Doesn't bother me, but I could see it getting out of hand and becoming an annoyance. As already mentioned if they put ads in games where they don't work or there are just too many of them everywhere it could damage the experience.
 
Even though it's a great game, the Burger King force-feeding in Fight Night Round 3 was border-line out of control.
 
It depends on the amount of advertising. In Crazy Taxi for example, I thought it was cool to have a few real stores in the game and in a racing game it isn't a big deal to drive past a billboard.

But I still remember reading in OPM I think that in NFS Underground 2 the Cingular logo is displayed the entire time you play the game and that is too much IMO.
 
While I would love it if in game advertising equalled cheaper games, does anyone really expect this? Movies have been doing it forever and the price of a movie ticket has gone up more than almost anything else (percentage wise).
 
[quote name='YoshiFan1']It depends on the amount of advertising. In Crazy Taxi for example, I thought it was cool to have a few real stores in the game and in a racing game it isn't a big deal to drive past a billboard.

But I still remember reading in OPM I think that in NFS Underground 2 the Cingular logo is displayed the entire time you play the game and that is too much IMO.[/QUOTE]
It's in NFS:MW too, on your PDA.

I found it very unintrusive.

However, in NFS: Underground you passed by a Burger King on pretty much every corner, it was alot worse in NFSU then NFS:MW.
 
I'm all for advertising and reducing costs for developers. I just can't see how a game that cost +$20 million can turn in a profit when each game is $60 each. If some partnerships can keep a fresh, creative company afloat during their first few releases, then I'm fine with it.
However, I know this isn't the case, and the main companies pioneering advertising are EA and Ubisoft.
 
[quote name='AlbinoNinja']Even so, game prices have gone up far more dramatically than movie prices. Within the last generation, we saw a leap of $10, while tickets rarely go up more than $.50 at a time.[/QUOTE]

No, they haven't. Percentage wise, movie tickets have gone up much more. Within the last video game generation, movie ticket prices have gone from $6.00 to $10.00. Almost a 100% increase. Video game prices have gone from $50 to $60, a 20% increase (math don't fail me now).


EDIT - Guess you realized too.
 
I don't mind it. Most sports game broadcasts are loaded with ads, so if the NCAA Football 08 replays are "sponsored by Old Spice", then it doesn't bother me, it actually makes the presentation feel more like a TV broadcast.

Plus, it would be kinda cool if there were real movie posters and whatnot in The Darkness.
 
I'm not bothered by ads in games at all. Yes, the BK King in Fight Night Round 3 was a little weird, but it didn't detract from the gameplay for me, so it didn't bother me.

I honestly don't understand the argument that some opponents of ads have that the games should be cheaper if ads are included. Is there any other media ever that has done that? Are movie tickets cheaper if you watch a couple commercials at the beginning? Are books cheaper if the last page is an ad for other books by the same author? Are magazines cheaper since every other page is an ad? Is your cable bill cheaper because you have to watch an ungodly amount of commercials in any given TV show?

The answer, of course, is no. If games didn't include advertising, the next-gen games (after the 360 and PS3) could be $69.99 per game rather than $59.99... but if the price stays at $59.99, you'll complain that the price hasn't decreased proportionately with the increase of ads.
 
I'm going to say adds don't bother me IF...

If you put a real product or company in game where there would be an advertisement (on a billboard on the side of a road, courtside at a basketball court, or anywhere you would normally expect to see advertising) it doesn't bother me at all. In fact, it can even add to the realism of the game.

However, having achievments sponsored by companies just looks stupid.
 
IMO if they're going to sale ad space in the virtual world. They're getting real money so that should knock the prices of games down but it won't happen. Same reason when you watch, or go to any sporting event. They're tons of ads. The "Oscar Meyer hotdog call to the bullpen, timeout, play of the game" etc.

The playing field (sans football) is covered in ads. The tv broadcast is clustered with ads. Yet a hotdog is still $4, and admission is still $20 for cheap seats. Bottom line is they're going to milk it for every penny they can.




[quote name='wubb']Doesn't bother me, but I could see it getting out of hand and becoming an annoyance. As already mentioned if they put ads in games where they don't work or there are just too many of them everywhere it could damage the experience.[/QUOTE]

I agree here. But naming some achievements after a company isn't a big deal. Its no different then seeing an ad on tv, or in real life. I pass a Pepsi sign doesn't mean I'm going to drink Pepsi. I don't even drink pop anymore. I digress my point is that as long as it works in the game I don't care. For example in need for speed they had bestbuy ads everywhere. It worked cause you were in a real city. Now if I'm in deep space and I see an ad for bestbuy I would be pissed.
 
No, I don't like ads, and I never will. People say things like "whoahhh, wel wut if they just have a Coke can on a desk!? it adds teh realizm!!!!" Except, companies never stop there. And what does it do to benefit me? Lowers the cost of the game? No. Helps finance the game? I doubt it, considering how many games don't need ads to finance things. It's intrusive, and it always will be, so yes, I hate it.
 
Real ads in most games go overboard these days and kill all feeling that I'm playing a game and not some interactive commercial. Otherwise I don't mind it so long as it fits.
 
I can't stand ads. I do not really mind things in racing games maybe a bill board or something. But those things lead to worse examples.

For instance, the worst example I know of are the Intel ads in Battlefield 2142. Your in the future fighting a war and there are Intel ads where regular ads would not be, on the side of random stairs and such. Things like that really irk me.
 
[quote name='Chacrana']No, I don't like ads, and I never will. People say things like "whoahhh, wel wut if they just have a Coke can on a desk!? it adds teh realizm!!!!" Except, companies never stop there. And what does it do to benefit me? Lowers the cost of the game? No. Helps finance the game? I doubt it, considering how many games don't need ads to finance things. It's intrusive, and it always will be, so yes, I hate it.[/QUOTE]

+1
 
Just wondering, how does everyone feel about ads on loading screens, or on the pause menu, where they wouldn't actually be in the game world, and could be used in games that don't take place in the real world (e.g. fantasy, sci-fi)
 
[quote name='AlbinoNinja']Just wondering, how does everyone feel about ads on loading screens, or on the pause menu, where they wouldn't actually be in the game world, and could be used in games that don't take place in the real world (e.g. fantasy, sci-fi)[/quote]


I would still get annoyed seeing crap like that. It deters my attention and get me even more out of the game.
 
My point of view is that ads can decide whether a game never comes out because the developer / publisher goes bankrupt, or whether they have more time to fix bugs or add features, or whether the publisher can afford to fund a lesser-known title that might not sell as well.

People are always bitching about originality in video games, but face it: originality doesn't equal sales. If you sell some ad space in Madden 2017, you might be able to afford to publish the weird, original title that nobody's ever heard of.

If "Coke" bothers you and "SuperCola" doesn't, then I have to ask to what lengths you're willing to go to remove all real-world distractions from video games. Buy the biggest TV possible? The largest surround sound system? Close all windows and doors? Lock your pets in other rooms? Take the phone off the hook? Install a toilet in the living room so you never have to leave to take a piss? Aside from Matrix-style plugs, video games will never be completely standalone from real life. And even then, would seeing a Coke sign in the video game equivalent of the Matrix piss you off? If so, maybe you should lower your expectations that video games should be completely and totally standalone universes, in every way apart from our own.
 
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