Coming soon: ads in video games
 

Found this over @ CNN/Money site - Sounds like this will no doubt enhance the gaming experience

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Advertising, already ubiquitous in movies and on television, took a step into video games Monday as Massive Inc. launched a network to place and serve ads within games...

http://money.cnn.com/2005/04/11/tech...reut/index.htm

No need for the "coming soon" in the title -- go play Need For Speed Underground 2. I traded that game back in for this very reason.

I don't see the BIG deal. I would like to see some REAL ads on billboards in baseball games or in Hockey games. Adds to the realism a bit.

Wow, this is really getting out of hand. Next thing you know, corporations will be paying Internet users to pimp their products in discussion forums like this one. Not coke, though. Their crisp refreshing taste is enough, no extra advertisement necessary. Mmmmm....aaaaahhh!

That is so true, I know I enjoy a cold refreshing Coca-Cola with my Big Mac from McDonald's. :drool:


:waits patiently for $5 check from Mickey-D's:

Wasn't this announced some time ago?

I remember as far back as the original Wipeout, where they had billboards for Red Bull (which at the time, wasn't even released in America yet). Not to mention all of those old branded games like Dominoe's Noids.

I would get upset if they put them on loading screens or something, especially because that would give them incentive to keep long loading times...

I saw a pic of The Matrix Online featuring a nice big billboard of the movie "Constantine".

Now if Neo sees this ad does he know he's in it?

I myself can't wait for the day someone creates a way for ads to be holographic popups in real life. I mean how cool would it be if your flying down the interstate and see a car you think you may like and then a popup could magically appear with an ad for that exact car? or better yet, how long before they can just plug us in to the advertising highway? all ads, all the time. nothing but ads. you see ads when your eyes are open. you see them when they are closed. maybe one day tv will learn that all I want to see is ads. I don't watch for the shows. I am also anxiously awaiting for my tivos to get upgraded so I can FF the the shows and get more ads while doing so.

No comment on my biggest concern.
They mention 'like TV', but the difference is, network tv is free, subsidized by the advertisements. Will this lower game prices, or simply jack up profits?

I don't care about advertisements in video games. I seen them in some games and they don't bother me at all. I think they add more realism to a particular game.

Just as long the Ad don't pop up like it does in the internet. (imagine: press (B) to exit pop up -ohbfrank- )

I sure hope the game prices will drop as a result of this,if not then this is total BS.

I agree.

I see the realism point, but I don't like realistic games so it's a moot point for me since I like platformers, RPGs, etc. set in non-real world environments.

I'm guessing prices won't drop.

Oh, I don't expect either. Just another way for game companies to line their pockets. Increase game prices next gen and put more advertising in games.

Birdfeed? Chocobos gotta eat too....

I don't mind it in games where it fits, ie. most games taking place in the present, but if I start seeing ads that are way out of context I won't be happy.

I think the backlash would be so high if someone tried this that nobody would dare try it again.

can anyone say GREED! they're going to hell i just hope they get punched in the face when they get there.

More of same -

http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/fun.gam...eut/index.html

Man, lot of uproar over this... Maybe I should read the article...

playing devil's advocate for a second, my local movie theaters now show lots and lots of advertisement before and after each feature, which doesn't even take into account the product placements in the movies themselves. And unlike TV, going to the movies isn't free either. Prices are actually going up! Are people in an uproar over that?

Of course, the day my TIVO gives me ads when I'm fast-forwarding through commercials is the day when enough's enough... :)

Or here's a thought: instead of just being annoyed by unskippable cutscenes, unskippable ads!

i think this is to offset the rising development costs

it's something like $12 million per game these days. 10 years ago everyone thought Chris Roberts was crazy when he spent a fraction of that to make Wing Commander.

Yeah, there's been the occasional thread about it in various movie forums.

Annoys the piss out of me and my friends, and I hear other people griping about it next to me fairly often as well.

I sincerely hope you are joking...

For a disturbing look at that very future, read the young adult science fiction book Feed, by M.T. Anderson. I just finished this, and it was NOT a place I'd want to visit, much less live in...

I was definately joking. I was just making the joke of how far this could be taken.

didn't read the article, but ads in games in nothing new. I remember the first ad i ever saw that i can recall was i Wave Race 64. And that was ok, because in a racing game, or even if you went to a real jet ski sporting event, you would see advertisements along the sidelines. Now if they start cramming ads in before games, or make them intrusive, i'll definitely get upset. I understand it's expensive to make games, but i have to deal with enough ads in tv, movies, internet, i don't want to deal with it just to enjoy my games.