In Game Advertising?!

[Instigator AG]

If you happened to get your hands on a copy of Burnout Paradise you might have noticed some in game advertising like: BURGER KING, Diesel, Gillette, CompUSA.com, Sling Media, Vizio, JL Audio and others to incorporate static ads, including billboards, retail stores, radio stations and vehicles into the game.

Now I am all for the advertising (as long as it does not go overboard like the McDonalds logo on the chest of Master Chief) as it adds a bit of realism to the game because we see these logos all the time in our everyday life. However lets pass the saving on to us, the consumer. If the game developers are getting millions of dollars for advertising then perhaps the game can cost us 29.99 instead of 49.99?

Maybe its just me but that logic seems to make sense.

[Xero (1)ne]

I couldn't agree with you more on this, but unfortunately in some games it's not likely that you're going to see a billboard (Crysis). And even if the enviroment is suitable for ads, you might be moving too fast to see them therefore reducing hte effect of the ad, which might make Mcdonald's to pay a little less.

And even if Micky D's paid lots and lots and lots of monies, the games are requiring more and more developers since they are becoming so complex.

Regardless of these thoughts though, we gamers should get a benefit for this. Even a $10 or $15 drop would make me happy.

[dumdum]

OH wow. Theres Mr.McDonald's scary face in the games now? or only the Sign

[Instigator AG]

LOL, I think good ole Ronald McDonald would be a good add in character for a new Mortal Kombat or Soulcalibur!:lol:

[Nocutius]

Luckily for me most of those adds are irrelevant to me cause only the biggest US companies operate where i live, so i don't even recognize them sometimes, or better said they don't bother me so much.

[Frag Maniac]

I don't think such ads in games have the same effect as those out on the road in real life. For one thing you're immersed in playing the game, not traveling along a road where you can easily pull over at a Mickey D's when your gut growls. Thus the tiny bit of real estate for ad space in a game is not going to be anywhere near as valuable as a huge billboard on the side of a road, which costs a lot of money to put up and maintain. You even have to insure billboards against wind storms and such.

When you factor in how insignificant game ads are to those in the real world, I doubt it means developing the game at a significantly lower price or even lower enough to reduce the price of the game at all. At best it's probably a little more cash flow to spend on proper beta testing and patching, which I'd much rather have than paying $5 less (a more realistic amount) for something released buggy and have to wait a long time for it to be patched right, if it's patched right at all.

I don't know about you guys but I don't mind at all a little imagination and creativity in mock ads like those in Painkiller's Battle Out of Hell Dead City level where they used a "Guns R Us" name for a store front. It was quite humorous and even a bold statement.

[ViPeY]

Yea, for me the in game ads of the type you describe (bill boards by the side of the road etc) simply add to the level of realism of the game and do nothing to actually make me go out and buy the product. I don't mind this sort of advertising as I am used to it in real life. If adverts appear in unusual places though or the game pauses to show you an advert then there is no way I would be paying full price for it.

[flashive]

I strongly dislike advertising in game.

Especially EA games which are so annoying because it takes 15 seconds before you've seen all the mandatory videos which you can't skip. When I pay money for a game I'd like it to annoy me as little as possible. Ads are annoying and therefore should only appear in pirated games.


Nothing wrong with funny fake ads though.

[Frag Maniac]

I don't think the thread was aimed at anyrthing like the intro ads before the game starts flashdrive, and most everybody uses them not just EA and the bigger publishers. Besides that you can almost always circumvent them by renaming, relocating, or removing the intro logo and video files, and that includes EA games like Crysis.

[ShadowNyfe]

I'm fine with checking out ingame advertisements if it means lowering the cost of games and such. I don't see why people freak out all the time as if in-game visual real estate is something holy or what not. I don't mind seeing advertisements in-game as long as a previous poster said, where it's not overly intrusive.

[Schwarz]

I am personally agaisn`t those intro ads but I think what was meant in this thread was the ads on say shop signs in game and such.
I personnaly think its a great idea, to me it adds realism + it may drive the cost of software down for us consumers.
I mean in online gaming the ads could easily be changed monthly or weekly so this is an interesting avenue for advertisers.
Of course it has to stay realistic... I wouldn`t want to see a big golden M in the forehead of the terrorists in CSS.
But I don`t mind seeing a soda machine with the Coca Cola logo on it.
I think its a great idea and even though it may not have the same effect then on the road, maybe seeing a Papa John`s Pizza ad on a virtual billboard would make me want to order a large one !
(BTW we dont have Papa Johns in Canada but I think it the best pizza I have ever eaten in my entire life... man I would kill for one right now...ugh)

[Sadasius]

Personally I don't mind paying for the games without the ads. If the trend continues you will see ads get very much more intrusive if the market shifts that way. I play games to escape reality not to be constantly reminded of it. I play games to relieve the daily stress. I have a job, business and 6 kids for christ sake. Last thing I want to see is an ad of the golden arch's of McDonald's to remind me how I spent over $100 just to take the family there to eat. Thats how marketing sneaks its way into things. Next thing you know once you complete a level you will have a survey pop up or promotional ads tailored to what your interested in. Sure it may seem cute now but it will not be later in the future if people are too complacent about their marketing ads in games. I like the funny ads that make fun of those companies however. I don't mind them as they give me a laugh to overcome the burden of knowing how much money you spent at these places. It still acts as a stress reliever.

[Nocutius]

I play games to escape reality not to be constantly reminded of it.
Exactly, and not for just that reason, adds can totally kill immersion and they remind you you're just playing a game. Adds are the sole reason i almost stopped watching movies on TV, TV shows are different and i can put up with some adds there. Well it depends on the game, BF series could easily have adds but story driven games are completely different.

[timberwolf120]

If ads mean lower or no subscription fees, then I'm personall all for them. That is just because I really get into things and in-game ads most likely won't mess the game up for me. Unless it is something outrageous like a Hummer H2 in the middle of a CoD4 map.

[Schwarz]

Well why wouldnt there be a Hummer H2 on a COD4 map.
Wouldnèt you think those rich oil rig owners in these part of the country would have money to have a Hummer !!

[srpeters18]

Kuwaiti's for instance drive very nice cars. You'll see high end cars there more commonly than in the US.

[Xantor]

I remember seeing an Ad for Nvidia in Hellgate :lol:

[Ranzear]

I think in-game ads, where appropriate, are much more tolerable than other practices that have come up. Tribes: Vengeance was graphically crippled (okay, it wasn't that big a difference, but still...) if you weren't running an ATI video card becase it was 'Made for Radeon'. Even still the NVidia cards had full capability and better performance if you used 3dAnalyze to tweak the game to thinking a Radeon was installed. Selling out on what hardware will run the program is worse than taking a little dev money in for a quick plug. If Crysis was stunted if you had an ATI card installed (NVidia logos all over the title) you'd definitely hear something about it.

[Sadasius]

I remember seeing an Ad for Nvidia in Hellgate :lol:

Just in the beginning. I don't know if it is actually in the game or not. If so I didn't see it.

[Walmartshopper420]

yeah no doubt, I would rather had adds and have it cost less too.