Advertisments+Games=???

[Niered]

Alright, today Quake Wars Beta came out, and even though I didnt download it, all I hear is the constant bitching across my inter-tubes about the in-game ads and how they ruin the game.

And I cant help but ask myself...

Since when did a corporate logo ruin an entire gaming experience for me? I mean, I drive down the road to work, and I see at least a dozen bill boards showing off everything from hotels, to restaurants, to alcahol. But do I say "AWW SHIT, DAYS RUINED, I JUST GOT OVERWHELMED BY CORPORATE AMERICA, DAMMIT."?

No, I basically ignore them, or actually take interest in whatever they're pitching.

So if I see in, oh lets just say PSU, since this is a PS forum, advertisements for Pizza Hut, does that ruin the game for me? No.

In fact, there is the SMALL possibility that a developer will take those earnings and pass them on to me, the consumer. Thataway, I dont actualy have to pay a monthly fee, or I dont have to pay as much, or they'll be able to continue to make in-game content. This is admittedly less than likely to happen, but there is the possibility of it.

The only time I can see in-game adverts pissing me off is if they were NOTICEABLY forced. I mean, I dont want to be traversing through the castles of Cyrodill and happen across a cup of "Folgers" coffee on the kings table, but as long as theres no stupidity like that, I fail to see the problem.

I mean, realistically theyre just going to cover those billboards with fake advertisements anyways.

[Blitzkommando]

My view on the subject changes depending on how the ads are implemented. Using spyware to figure out which ones I 'look at' the most definitely leaves a bad tasted. Especially when the said spyware sends a signal that is encrypted and hidden. (See: Battlefield 2142)

But, if it is just 'there', like I'm assuming is the case in Quake Wars, I've no problem with it so long as it isn't distracting me from the fray. (as in floating over to me or flashing/moving like an enemy is moving by, or the like) Would it kill me to see a Nike "Swoosh" on a broken-up billboard in Quake Wars? Nah. I'd probably be thinking about how that's exactly how it would look in the event the earth were overrun by aliens and suddenly sunk into a war. If it means to see billboards in games to play the game for free, hell, that's fine.

[Kent]

In a game like PSO or PSU, where there are modern or post-modern cityscapes that players see a good bit, in-game advertisements are okay.

That is, as long as they're realistically-placed in the game-world.

And example would be billboards. In the real world, billboards have advertisements. In the game world, billboards have advertisements. Logically speaking, it shouldn't make any difference to the player, really, if the in-game billboards have real-world ads on them, because the player sees them just as much as they would have seen the fake ads.

Ads like this would be more than enough to make a Diablo-style non-MMO game, such as PSO or PSU, free to play, since the advertisements would generate more income based on how many players are there, and there'd be more than enough money coming in to not only keep the servers up, but also fund new content (new content? PSU? lol) as well as line Sonic Team's pockets.

In-game advertising isn't a bad thing, really... It could ultimately make a lot of server-intensive online games free to play (aside from purchasing the game, that is).

However, if it does actually become intrusive, such as the aforementioned modern products in a medievil time, things could get ugly.

[NPCMook]

"This match brought to you by Nintendo"

[Sord]

On 2007-06-20 23:25, Niered wrote:
I mean, I dont want to be traversing through the castles of Cyrodill and happen across a cup of "Folgers" coffee on the kings table, but as long as theres no stupidity like that, I fail to see the problem.

I dunno, I think I would find that particular instance pretty amusing.

honestly, I don't care about game adds or logos in games, so long as they aren't so overwhelming they take away from the game's atmoshpere or artistic value.

[Brownski]

I don't much like the idea of them myself, but with online gamings increasing profile, developers and advertisers are going to take full advantage of it.

As long as the extra revenue is put towards making better games or curbing increasing prices it can only be a good thing.

Just keep them tasteful, unlike this shit:
http://www.pso-world.com/images/guides/ep4mags/BB-YAHOO_MAG-ACTION-2-FULL.jpg

[Wyndham]

I remember there were ads in the first 1080 game on the N64.

[Sayara]

Totally about to mention that.

you killed 50 enemies!! they surely wont put you on their buddy list!!

[Wyndham]

there were Ads in Sonic Adventure, Sonic Adventure DX, Sonic Adventure 2 demo, Sonic adventure 2, and Sonic Adventure 2 Battle.
for example: "Chao In Space", and "Soap Shoes".

[Weeaboolits]

SA2 demo had PSO ads, didn't it?

[Wyndham]

that it did, good sir.

[UnderscoreX]

Now lets check out the Mountain Dew Code Red Slow Motion Action Replay!!! Back to you ted.
In game Ads have been around Sport games forever without any complaints, so uh get over it I guess. I mean if an ad really makes you want to stop playing a game, then you didn't really want to play it that much in the first place.

[Kent]

On 2007-06-21 18:04, Oran1324 wrote:
there were Ads in Sonic Adventure, Sonic Adventure DX, Sonic Adventure 2 demo, Sonic adventure 2, and Sonic Adventure 2 Battle.
for example: "Chao In Space", and "Soap Shoes".


And half of the example ads were real.

[Weeaboolits]

They should've marketted Chaos Cola, that woulda' been awesome. http://www.pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_lol.gif

[Wyndham]

On 2007-06-21 18:09, Kent wrote:

On 2007-06-21 18:04, Oran1324 wrote:
there were Ads in Sonic Adventure, Sonic Adventure DX, Sonic Adventure 2 demo, Sonic adventure 2, and Sonic Adventure 2 Battle.
for example: "Chao In Space", and "Soap Shoes".


And half of the example ads were real.


I know, and did that on purpose, to add variety to it.

[Niered]

On 2007-06-21 18:11, Ronin_Cooper wrote:
They should've marketted Chaos Cola, that woulda' been awesome. http://www.pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_lol.gif



This would have been amazing.

"INFUSED WITH THE POWER OF 7 ESSENTIAL EMERALDS, CHAOS SODA IS MADE FROM 10% WATER, 90% EXTREEEEEEEME. WATCH AS YOUR FOES AND CAPTORS BECOME NAUGHT BUT SMEAR MARKS ON THE PAVEMENT IN YOUR WAKE! LEVEL ENTIRE CITIES AS YOU GUSH FORTH IN A TORRENTIAL TSUNAMI THAT THREATENS TO ENGULF THE ENTIRITY OF STATION SQUARE.

*May or may not attract 2000 year old echidna ghosts."

[Rubius-sama]

On 2007-06-21 17:30, Brownski wrote:
Just keep them tasteful, unlike this shit:
http://www.pso-world.com/images/guides/ep4mags/BB-YAHOO_MAG-ACTION-2-FULL.jpg



ROFL! I still have my Yahoo! mag cell on PSOBB - the one I got from the Yahoo cup. I didn't even use it since it was just a pile of crap. I did get a kick out of seeing other people use theirs. http://www.pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_wacko.gif

[hollowtip]

It entirely depends on how and where the ads are used. I'm all for advertisements that reduce or eliminate online fees associated with MMOG's, but if the game is based in a midieval atmosphere, I don't want to see trojan condom signs posted at the guild house.

Whomever has the job of implimenting these ads has an important responsibility in placement and frequency. The ads needs to be creatively tied in with the environment and limited to not diminish or detract form the gaming experience.

Also, I think ad placement has the ability to immerse gamers moreso and enhance the gameplay experience. For example, in the NBA, the surrounding court is swamped with advertisements from various companies. Would it be wise for game developers to exclude these ads from a virtual NBA world? Obviously, the answer is no.



<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: hollowtip on 2007-06-23 13:11 ]</font>