Date Announced for 'Advertising in Games Forum'

[fitbabits]

Thanks to Next Generation (http://www.next-gen.biz) for the news (http://www.next-gen.biz/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2426&Itemid=2).

The Game Initiative, producers of the Austin Games Conference, Casual Games Conference and several other events, has dated The Advertising in Games Forum for April 12, 2006 in NYC.

The event, now in its second year, will explore the opportunities of in-game ads by bringing together ad agencies, game companies, tech companies, top brands and other relevant parties.

Speakers include Greg Costikyan, CEO of casual games company Manifesto Games, Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter, and Shawn McMichael, director of advertising sales with Microsoft Casual Games.

Included at this year's Advertising in Games Forum are sessions that touch on the 2006 transition year, the ROI of advergaming, case studies on advergaming and in-game ads and tips on how to reach your target audience.
Advergaming? Yeesh...

[51|RandoM]

Product placement is big business.

[Klade]

Product placement is one thing, ads in game seem to take on different character.

[GunnyMo]

As long as it doesn't interfere with actual gameplay I've no problems with it. We've already seen developers/publishers advertising their own stuff in games (IE: Burnout: Takedown's EA billboards).

[Morratut]

This sounds like bad news.

Only use adverts in games like GTA etc where your in the real world.

If I feel as though I'm getting force fed a shit load of adverts whilst playing a game I won't play.

[Kelegacy]

If playing a game becomes reminiscent of scouring IGN with a basic account, I'll pass. NCAA MVP Baseball '06 uses Worth and Louisville bats, and incorporates them well. If games become forced, basically commercials with interactive parts, I know my hobby is dead.

[bean19]

I had always thought that these were neat sidelines for video game companies. Usually, they are small insertions that feel correct in the game world and are thus not offensive. For instance, I think Burnout had a deal with Axe body spray to have in-game billboards that promote this product. I knew that the billboard would simply not be there or would have some fake product on it if Axe had not bought in, so I had no problem with this advertisement.

Fight Night Round 3 ruined this though. . . their advertising is not subtle. It doesn't make sense like being on a billboard. If the advertising were limited to what we might expect in a real fight that is sponsored by a company, then I wouldn't have a problem with it. . . but instead each of the game's advertisers has their emblem all over their arena and the announcer continuously tells you how the fight is being brought to you buy that sponsor. . . the worst parts though are when the camera does a Vanna White fly-by of a Dodge vehicle and when beating the Burger King fight unlocks the King as a trainer. . . yeah, the silly plastic headed mascot. . . he is a special trainer that costs nothing and gives you a boost to the Heart stat when you use him.

The game is good enough that I'm still playing it in spite of these things. . . but they are distracting and since I find hard-sell advertisement offensive, I'm adverse to buying these products.

[alienchild]

Not only are there picture adds in Anarchy Onlines many billboards across the game, but there are also video! Now I almost fell of my chair the first time I saw that. It felt like my character was actually on a drive-in. Anyways, as long as it can be an option to turn it off, then I dont mind some adverts in my games.

[phantomhitman]

Here is the problem, the game companies get the money from the ad companies, they dont pay the game artist a penny more for making the ads in game, and they do not lower the price for the game when its sold. The game companies win no matter what.

[fitbabits]

I have two words which should strike fear into those ready to roll over and accept in-game advertising - SWAT 4. Those who've played it probably know what I'm referring to. For those who haven't played SWAT 4 on PC, let me just say that the 'massive streaming in-game advertising' technology that was implemented in the version 1.1 patch totally ruined the game for me.

[Sinistar]

I think the idea that advertising won't exist in games is pretty silly. Especially given the fact that Ads have been in games for at least 10 years now. Advertising will always go where the eyeballs go, and if that is gaming, or the movies, or in print...etc, it will be always be there.

Maybe you need to be reminded that our (the US of A's) greatest strength is not so much our own WMDs but our mass consumerism. And that my friend is nothing to be proud of.

[Ailer]

Oh, Canada!

In all seriousness, it was coming, and we all knew it. It's unfortunate, but a new hobby must be found. I suggest a comittee be formed. Perhaps writen literature is a good direction? Hmmm... wait, magazines are the worst ad whores ever.

[CapnAJ]

The "Futurama" dream invading adverts don't seem so far fetched now.

I hate advertising, it invades too much of society. If I want something, I'll seek it out, not the other way!!

[Citizen Philip]

This is awesome for both PC and 360 owners (probably PS3 owners too). We get to PAY to BETA TEST games and we get to watch advertising while we explore incomplete gaming enviroments! And over the magik of the innarweb we will get new streaming advertisments AND bug fixes! Cool! Does this mean that games with advertising are going to be cheaper? Particuarly games that are played online - where new streaming ads WILL be added?

F.U.

[Reanimated]

You know I was thinking about this the other day, and I came to the conclusion that the DoJ needs to open an investigation into price fixing going on in the games industry.

Look at Fight Night on the 360. How many big advertisers paid EA to get product placement in that game? You've got Burger King, Under Armor, Dodge, etc... I'd like to know how much EA was paid for these advertisements, because if they're making a bunch of money by subjecting me to ads, then I'd certainly like to fucking know what the 60 dollar price tag was for.

In any event, this is becoming a serious issue that we as consumers of this industry really need to wake up and take an interest in.

[captainspankypants]

I remember thinking it was cool in Jet Moto for PS1 that the teams were sponsored by real companies (Butterfinger, Mountain Dew, K2, etc.). Must have been an effective strategy considering I still remember the teams after all these years. It seemed natural though, since the Jet Moto sport closely resembled dirtbike racing, where that kind of thing is rampant. It added to the atmosphere. It would have been much more dry and lifeless without it.

[Royal Fool]

You know I was thinking about this the other day, and I came to the conclusion that the DoJ needs to open an investigation into price fixing going on in the games industry.

Look at Fight Night on the 360. How many big advertisers paid EA to get product placement in that game? You've got Burger King, Under Armor, Dodge, etc... I'd like to know how much EA was paid for these advertisements, because if they're making a bunch of money by subjecting me to ads, then I'd certainly like to fucking know what the 60 dollar price tag was for.

In any event, this is becoming a serious issue that we as consumers of this industry really need to wake up and take an interest in.

"We believe that premium titles command premi-"... ah, screw it. You know how the mantra goes.

[screwtape]

I fucking hate advertisements. I avoid watching television sometimes because it bothers me so much. Maybe I should get a Tivo.

In some cases, I understand why advertisements are present. Pull up a video on CNN's site and you have to watch a 20-30 second ad (which you can mute and put in the background, by the way, so it's minimally intrusive). It covers bandwidth costs and allows me to watch their news snippets for free. I don't mind that - I get something in return.

But when Sam Fisher stops to enjoy a Red Bull, the drink that gives you anti-terrorist wiiiings, I'm going to drop-kick my console out the window.

I don't think these ad placements will benefit the consumer in any way. The companies will say it provides additional funding so they can make more content, fine-tune gameplay, blah blah blah. But I'm pretty sure it will merely buy EA's CEO a new Jaguar, and I'll have to hear Madden talk about Tinactin and Ace Hardware in between plays.

[JRR006]

So, is this the greatest evil resulting from the mainstreaming of videogames? Or is that the 12 year old morons on XBL? ;)

Anyway, I hate advertising... I resent being advertised to. If I want something, I'm perfectly capable of working out what it is, and finding it, on my own. The constant bombardment just pisses me off. As a starving university student, I buy books, food, and games. The last time I saw any advertising relevant to me was probably years ago, as a child, watching Saturday morning cartoons. Are there really people who watch commercials anymore? People who think "I don't want to mute the TV, I'll miss out on a potentially wonderful product"?

Anyway, for me, games with heavy ad content will be just another advertising venue to avoid.

[PacerDawn]

Don't be fooled into thinking this is a good thing. If it makes free games, then fine. But if I have to pay for a game, get that out of my face.

The Movie industry is already headed that direction. I play close to $7 per ticket just for a matinee, and an additional $30+ at the concession stand, and STILL I have to sit through several commercials at the beginning of the movie.

As phantomhitman said, this will not reduce the cost of games at all, it is just additional revenue for the publishers, just like with movies.

This needs to be stopped immediately, because even if the door is opened just a crack (not minding a few ads in games), that is all it takes for the flood to open it the rest of the way.

[Magnanimous Gnome]

I can't stand ads in games at all. I don't care what genre it is - I don't want to see advertising. Those defending this just make it worse. "But it makes it more realistic!!" Huh? If you want realism go outside. I can guarantee you will see advertising everywhere if you don't live in Siberia or Antarctica. If a game maker really wants billboards in their games (WHY?) then put fake ads on them. Those are MUCH less intrusive and don't offend like real ads do. Advertising is so invasive already. If it comes to my hobby I'm going to go postal. Luckily I don't play sports or racing games outside of the occasional Mario's X, which have remained ad free.

[Zaro]

I prefer Mario as an unlockable character than Burger King.
I hope that games with ad's will cost less than the other's.

[Krom]

Don't be fooled into thinking this is a good thing. If it makes free games, then fine. But if I have to pay for a game, get that out of my face.

The Movie industry is already headed that direction. I play close to $7 per ticket just for a matinee, and an additional $30+ at the concession stand, and STILL I have to sit through several commercials at the beginning of the movie.

As phantomhitman said, this will not reduce the cost of games at all, it is just additional revenue for the publishers, just like with movies.

This needs to be stopped immediately, because even if the door is opened just a crack (not minding a few ads in games), that is all it takes for the flood to open it the rest of the way.

I still remember the first time I saw ads at the beginning of a movie. I was soooo pissed. I wonder how long it will be until there are ads in the middle as well?

[Citizen Philip]

I still remember the first time I saw ads at the beginning of a movie. I was soooo pissed. I wonder how long it will be until there are ads in the middle as well?

The exciting conlusion to F.E.A.R. 4, brought to you by Mcdonalds! Please click here to order Mc Donalds, otherwise, wait, watch 2 minutes of digital burgers being deep throated and then final level will load.

[Rifter]

The new SWAT 4 expansion has TONS of movie advertising in it! The Hills have Eyes posters are on nearly every wall in the joint!

[easi]

Why do we keep letting these assholes get away with it? Sitting through 15 minutes of ads to see a movie, pay-tv stations with advert breaks, watch a fullscreen ad before you can use the gamespot/ign/whatever money-grubbing site. E-mail inboxes overflowing with 10 messages about mortgages and penis pills for every useful one.

And now games. The places we go to escape reality and relax, invaded by this annoying crap. I think I'll just start leaving piles of warezed games in the street from now on.

[captainspankypants]

The exciting conlusion to F.E.A.R. 4, brought to you by Mcdonalds! Please click here to order Mc Donalds, otherwise, wait, watch 2 minutes of digital burgers being deep throated and then final level will load.

Shit like this is why I need to remember to finish eating my lunch before I come here. I nearly spit my snack pack all over my keyboard I was laughing so hard.

[drakkarim]

its getting to the point of where along with popups, i'll also have to disable all shockwave/flash crap and pictures anymore.

i miss the old lynx days...

[Dirty Harry]

"By the way, if anyone here is in advertising or marketing, kill yourself. Thank you, thank you. Just a little thought. I'm just trying to plant seeds. Maybe one day they'll take root. I don't know. You try. You do what you can. Kill yourselves. Seriously though, if you are, do. No really, there's no rationalisation for what you do, and you are Satan's little helpers, OK? Kill yourselves, seriously. You're the ruiner of all things good. Seriously, no, this is not a joke. "There's gonna be a joke coming..." There's no fucking joke coming, you are Satan's spawn, filling the world with bile and garbage, you are fucked and you are fucking us, kill yourselves, it's the only way to save your fucking soul. Kill yourself, kill yourself, kill yourself now. Now, back to the show."
-Bill Hicks

""You know what Bill's doing now, he's going for the righteous indignation dollar, that's a big dollar, a lot of people are feeling that indignation, we've done research, huge market. He's doing a good thing." Godammit, I'm not doing that, you scumbags, quit putting a godamn dollar sign on every fucking thing on this planet!"" -Bill Hicks

[51|RandoM]

Product placement is one thing, ads in game seem to take on different character.

Doesn't seem any different then ads in movies.

[51|RandoM]

Here is the problem, the game companies get the money from the ad companies, they dont pay the game artist a penny more for making the ads in game, and they do not lower the price for the game when its sold. The game companies win no matter what.

...and the problem with that is where?

People seem to forget that making games is a business. Then, on top of that, they assume they know every single cost related to developing, publishing, and distributing a game, and every single penny earned by doing so and then try to use those assumptions to decide how the game companies should run their business.

[Demize99]

They pulled this off in NFS:MW rather well, I can buy it in real world near future, etc games. But if (and i don't mean this literally) I walk into Ironforge and Burger King is waiting for me, thats a bit too much to take.

[Kelegacy]

You know I was thinking about this the other day, and I came to the conclusion that the DoJ needs to open an investigation into price fixing going on in the games industry.

Look at Fight Night on the 360. How many big advertisers paid EA to get product placement in that game? You've got Burger King, Under Armor, Dodge, etc... I'd like to know how much EA was paid for these advertisements, because if they're making a bunch of money by subjecting me to ads, then I'd certainly like to fucking know what the 60 dollar price tag was for.

In any event, this is becoming a serious issue that we as consumers of this industry really need to wake up and take an interest in.
I agree with you completely. It's ridiculous.

[easi]

There is no reason for a $60/£50 (rip-off Britain) game to have advertising. Stop trying to justify it with 'omg making games is a business!!!1' crap. EA say we already pay a 'premium' for big titles so they can shove their ads.

[Ultima Thulian]

Well, in this instance, I agree that ads are bad. However, if they don't interfere with the gameplay, then why not? They could help increase a publisher/developer's game budget, which could lead to a better game. If the ads are numerous, random, or get in the way of the game, then fuck 'em.

I also agree that games with numerous ads should have a lower price tag...but it'll never happen. Still, ads aren't entirely bad, even this forum has ads in it. You need money to run shit. It is just when it's overbearing that it becomes annoying.

[f1sh3r]

i've been playing need for speed most wanted, and there is product placement in that. i see burger king signs as i'm driving around. does it bother me? not at all. if anything it adds to the realism of the city. this kinda stuff doesn't bother me, and if it keeps the gaming companies afloat (not that EA needs to be kept afloat) then no biggie.

[fitbabits]

i've been playing need for speed most wanted, and there is product placement in that. i see burger king signs as i'm driving around. does it bother me? not at all. if anything it adds to the realism of the city. this kinda stuff doesn't bother me, and if it keeps the gaming companies afloat (not that EA needs to be kept afloat) then no biggie.
There's a difference between the way ad placement is implemented in the likes of Need For Speed: Most Wanted and the way it's rammed in your face in SWAT 4, which is what the fear here is.

[Ultima Thulian]

There's a difference between the way ad placement is implemented in the likes of Need For Speed: Most Wanted and the way it's rammed in your face in SWAT 4, which is what the fear here is.

I never played SWAT 4, I saw a television review of the game though, and all I saw were trailor parks and garbage. What does SWAT do exactly? I'm curious what has you in a tizzle...*

*sorry, couldn't think of a more intelligent word :p

[fitbabits]

I never played SWAT 4, I saw a television review of the game though, and all I saw were trailor parks and garbage. What does SWAT do exactly? I'm curious what has you in a tizzle...*

*sorry, couldn't think of a more intelligent word :p
For example (http://www.bit-tech.net/news/2005/08/10/swat4_adware/).

[DoubleUranium]

I hope if they do put in game advertising in games it is the downloading/streaming kind. Then I can block those sites in my firewall and hopefully I'll see a lot of untextured polys in my games instead of suckmaster fucking ads.

Seriously, this will be the end of my gaming days.

[Citizen Philip]

DNF = porn ads?

[Magnanimous Gnome]

Ugh, you people apoligizing/rationalizing for the companies are horrible.

"This is a good thing! The developers and publishers need this money!! I enjoy getting anally assaulted by advertising everywhere! I really wish they could just beam the desire for a Big Mac with Fries into my head so that I could be one with the Almighty Dollar Borg!"

[Rifter]

There are ways that ads are good, and ways that ads are bad. Need for Speed MW (I honestly don't remember any...) and Axe in Burnout. Those, in my opinion, were good ads. They ADDED to the ambiance. The game gets a look and feel, advertisers get to advertise, and the game feels good, to those of us that play it.

Then, you have the OTHER extreme... which we will call SWAT 4. I have not played SWAT 4 in a while, but I started playing the expansion on Friday. They do it all wrong. You will go into a room, with 2-3 posters of The Hills have Eyes in it. You will also see them, seeminly randomly, placed around the level. They get in the way. They are are annoying. That is an example of ads done VERY wrong.

I don't have a problem with advertising... in 2 circumstances.
1) It adds to the game experience.
2) They charge me less for the game, since the advertiser is paying part of the price of my copy. I haven't seen this yet... and I doubt it happens.

[Busted_Astromech]

As for the Fight Night Round 3 ads, it is really disgusting. Even the achievements you earn are ads--Won the Burger King Invitational, or Won the Dodge Championship. More eyeballs if everyone looking at the person's gamer tag sees the brand, right?

Screw the companies. There is nothing unrealistic about how advertising is presented in Minority Report, except maybe that it'll happen earlier.

Because people are always willing to accept a 'little more,' it's extremely hard to get the kind of opposition to advertising required to stop this creeping invasion. I have no confidence in the US government being able to stop this sort of thing (or having any interest in it) and so we as consumers are on our own.

And we're going to lose. F-ing a.

[Rifter]

Because people are always willing to accept a 'little more,' it's extremely hard to get the kind of opposition to advertising required to stop this creeping invasion. I have no confidence in the US government being able to stop this sort of thing (or having any interest in it) and so we as consumers are on our own.


You realize, in the US Economy, money is king. If enough of us quit buying games with advertising (at least blatant advertising)... or painful copy protection schemes... we could get things going in the direction we want. The problem is that too many fanbois line up for their next favorite game, no matter how much it has been screwed up, by the developers.

I am curious why you want the US Government to step in to fix this. That is not their job, and has never been their job. I would question our represenatives, if they DID step in on this one. Consumers fix this, with our dollars.

[MojoJojo]

I think ads are great. I can't wait for the Trimspa ad that will pop up every time I complete a quest in Elder Scrolls IV.

All kidding aside -- my real problem with being subjected to someone's ad is not that it's there... it's that it's there and I'm not getting an economic benefit from it.

I get that the "free" TV and radio stations need to use advertisement for revenues. However, it's the ones at the movie theater that I'm seeing when I'm still paying $9 for the tickets and $4 for the popcorn and $3.50 for the soda. That's obscene.

So, if my video games start costing $10, ok... advertise your shit in there. But, if I still gotta pay $40-$50, and the quality stays the same or goes down (see movie example), I'm not gaining anything, so to hell with them for their imposition.

[SMES]

The Movie industry is already headed that direction. I play close to $7 per ticket just for a matinee, and an additional $30+ at the concession stand, and STILL I have to sit through several commercials at the beginning of the movie.

Though not a perfect solution, I have found that arriving at the movie theater shortly before the start time of the film and then entering exactly at the start time enables you to skip most of the commercials. Thankfully, theaters near me are attached to malls and, if my choice to enter after all the ads play means that I can't find a seat, I just leave and say "I'm sorry, I couldn't find a seat when I went in after the commercials, I'd like my money back"

I've only done that a couple times, but then again I only go to see about 3 or 4 movies a year so it doesn't matter too much.

Also I don't even buy concessions. The 7-11 sells the same candy, and I've even brought in bags of recently popped popcorn from the 7-11. Ushers around here don't care.

[SMES]

As for the Fight Night Round 3 ads, it is really disgusting. Even the achievements you earn are ads--Won the Burger King Invitational, or Won the Dodge Championship. More eyeballs if everyone looking at the person's gamer tag sees the brand, right?

I really don't understand advertisements to be honest. I am a consumer like everyone else, but my interest in Dodge and Burger King never goes up when I see those ads. Dodges are crappy cars in my opinion, and BK makes crappy food. Why would those companies think that their stupid plastic head mascot and over-stylized surrealistic car ads are going to change my opinion? I like my Honda because I test drove a number of cars and read a ton a reviews about reliability and build quality before I bought it. I like cheeseburgers from just about anywhere other than BK, and that sure as hell ain't going to change.

I understand that there is a ton of evidence that lots of people are either directly or subconciously influenced by ads, but I just never personally feel the effects of it. I eat food that is a balance of nutrition and taste, and fast food isn't ever going to cut it for the most part. I drive cars that have stood the test of time (if I could, I'd ride my bicycle to work but distance makes that impossible at this point in my life). Am I just able to ignore it better than most people? I just don't really know anyone who buys anything at all based on ads. Where are these sheep living?

[lockwoodx]

Commercials in video games make me want to vomit. If I am forced to watch advertisments in order to play my favorite games, then those games better be frickin free, Served to me on a silver platter, and come with a blowjob.

[Busted_Astromech]

I am curious why you want the US Government to step in to fix this. That is not their job, and has never been their job. I would question our represenatives, if they DID step in on this one. Consumers fix this, with our dollars.

Basically when I wrote that neither people nor the government would solve the increasing corporate advertising in our lives, I was writing that I believe neither of the two agents capable of stopping it, people (and their corresponding money) and government, would. Two things were going through my mind as I wrote the section you refer to. One, that the level of advertising in Minority Report (which I believe we can safely say is a Bad Thing) is something that a society would want to avoid. Two, the recent reports I've been hearing about the loss of Internet neutrality because the few companies who own the pipes want to pump their stuff in their pipes, my fear at how this would squash one of the most important creations of humanity, and my utter pessimism that this will be averted.

But if the world as envisioned by Minority Report is something society should find deleterious, shouldn't we have an agent capable of stopping that? In the United States there are only two large forces: money, and government. My emotional reaction to a problem is to want it fixed, and the most direct way to assign a problem to be fixed is have the government do it.

I realize that in many instances this causes more problems than solutions. I sometimes commit the fallacy of thinking that because my high school civics teacher told me that our government represents the people's interests it should solve the people's problems. This is not workable in many instances in real life, but I still hang on to it as an ideal.

And to answer you in a most direct fashion: I think if the government did place limits on advertising society would be better off, yes. The alternative is much worse.

[IagoTheHunted]

ADVERGAMING!?! fuck fuck fuck. Just shoot me now.

[Ultima Thulian]

Though not a perfect solution, I have found that arriving at the movie theater shortly before the start time of the film and then entering exactly at the start time enables you to skip most of the commercials. Thankfully, theaters near me are attached to malls and, if my choice to enter after all the ads play means that I can't find a seat, I just leave and say "I'm sorry, I couldn't find a seat when I went in after the commercials, I'd like my money back"

I've only done that a couple times, but then again I only go to see about 3 or 4 movies a year so it doesn't matter too much.

Also I don't even buy concessions. The 7-11 sells the same candy, and I've even brought in bags of recently popped popcorn from the 7-11. Ushers around here don't care.

SMES, you're intelligent. However, the majority of the U.S. (hell the entire fucking world) are stupid. So the ads appeal to the majority.

I agree ads are annoying (unless they're used sparingly), but we might as well get used to them. Billboards in Burnout 3? You're lucky the music you listen to in the game isn't interupted every five minuts for a Levitra commercial.

One caveat though: Why are you guys (not you SMES!) pissed out the ads in Fight Night 3? Hell, have you guys seen a real boxing match lately? Some boxers have the ads literally stamped on their fucking back! It's annoying, but ads are coming: in gaming and everywhere else that haven't shown up promently yet. Might as well get used to them...

[IagoTheHunted]

SMES, you're intelligent. However, the majority of the U.S. (hell the entire fucking world) are stupid. So the ads appeal to the majority.

I agree ads are annoying (unless they're used sparingly), but we might as well get used to them. Billboards in Burnout 3? You're lucky the music you listen to in the game isn't interupted every five minuts for a Levitra commercial.

One caveat though: Why are you guys (not you SMES!) pissed out the ads in Fight Night 3? Hell, have you guys seen a real boxing match lately? Some boxers have the ads literally stamped on their fucking back! It's annoying, but ads are coming: in gaming and everywhere else that haven't shown up promently yet. Might as well get used to them...

Just because ads are packed into sports events doesn't mean that's a GOOD thing, and it's besides the point anyway. I real boxing match is a one time event. A boxing GAME is a product, a piece of property, and one that costs $60 I might add. People are going to be playing the game over and over and over, each time seeing those FUCKING adds just so EA can line their pockets. That's crap, and last time I checked "the burger king" isn't a trainer in real boxing. People should boycott games with this level of bullshit.

[Ultima Thulian]

Just because ads are packed into sports events doesn't mean that's a GOOD thing, and it's besides the point anyway. I real boxing match is a one time event. A boxing GAME is a product, a piece of property, and one that costs $60 I might add. People are going to be playing the game over and over and over, each time seeing those FUCKING adds just so EA can line their pockets. That's crap, and last time I checked "the burger king" isn't a trainer in real boxing. People should boycott games with this level of bullshit.

You misunderstand my point. There are numerous ads everywhere, so why complain? It sucks, I agree, but it's everywhere and it's not going away. Boxing's been like that for years, and ads in gaming are have been hitting their stride as of late too. I'm not saying it's a good thing (nor am I saying it's bad either), I'm just saying it has been here for a long time, it will always be here, so we might as well try to stomach it or stop playing games with ads in them...

EA is lining their pockets with money, so isn't every fucking company that can afford it. If every company had EA's funds, there would be ads/licensing crap in almost every game. Guaranteed.

I agree, I don't like it, but I can live with it. The best way to "boycott" it, is to speak with your wallet. If games have too many ads, don't buy it or other products from that company. If enough people do it, then maybe you'll get your wish. It's a slim chance, but hey, nerd fury is not something to trifle with.

Edit: The burger king may not be a trainer, but he does sometimes sponsor the event...

[IagoTheHunted]

You misunderstand my point. There are numerous ads everywhere, so why complain? It sucks, I agree, but it's everywhere and it's not going away. Boxing's been like that for years, and ads in gaming are have been hitting their stride as of late too. I'm not saying it's a good thing (nor am I saying it's bad either), I'm just saying it has been here for a long time, it will always be here, so we might as well try to stomach it or stop playing games with ads in them...

I agree, I don't like it, but I can live with it. The best way to "boycott" it, is to speak with your wallet. If games have too many ads, don't buy it or other products from that company. If enough people do it, then maybe you'll get your wish. It's a slim chance, but hey, nerd fury is not something to trifle with.

"boycott" MEANS to speak with your wallet. I was suggesting that people don't buy games with this crap, especially from EA who seems to be the biggest offender at the moment.

And as a game developer the "it's not going away so why worry" attitude doesn't really stick. The creative people in the industry have a choice which projects they're going to sign themselves on to, and NO creative people want to pervert their art with advertising gimicks. In the end what we'll probably get is what's happened with hollywood... the biggest projects have the most advertising and the least creativity while the most creative projects fall into the "indi" exparamental catagory. But that sucks, I'd dearly like to think that people can discriminate in their buying decisions enough to deter publishers from advertising deals that lessen and cheapen the experience of the game, not mention outright annoy the fuck out of people like me.

[drakkarim]

i'm with ya IagoTheHunted. i have trained myself to pretty much filter out products by the amount of commercials i see in/for it.

i don't watch sports, 'reality shows', wear nike/addidas crap, etc., because the more i see commercials for stuff to buy, the more i know that the cost of that product will be higher and higher just so they can pay for their stupid commercials, or their athletes/etc.

they can all kiss my a*s.

its just too bad that the pc hardware industry is so stupid about the same thing. you can look at the prices of all the graphics cards for example and know that a seriously big chunk of the price that a card costs is because they decide to sponsor some shitty 'tournament' for little kids who can hardly so much as afford their hardware in the first place.

[Ultima Thulian]

"boycott" MEANS to speak with your wallet. I was suggesting that people don't buy games with this crap, especially from EA who seems to be the biggest offender at the moment.

And as a game developer the "it's not going away so why worry" attitude doesn't really stick. The creative people in the industry have a choice which projects they're going to sign themselves on to, and NO creative people want to pervert their art with advertising gimicks. In the end what we'll probably get is what's happened with hollywood... the biggest projects have the most advertising and the least creativity while the most creative projects fall into the "indi" exparamental catagory. But that sucks, I'd dearly like to think that people can discriminate in their buying decisions enough to deter publishers from advertising deals that lessen and cheapen the experience of the game, not mention outright annoy the fuck out of people like me.

I agree whole-heartidly. But it is hard to avoid it, so might as well stomach it. But the whole creativity thing...it's been that way for a long time. It sucks, I know. I'm just simply trying to prepare myself for it.

[Kelegacy]

A capitalist society gone mad. I saw where some guy here in Maine just got a tattoo on his head of some advertisement; the company paid him pretty good to do that, too.

Someday we'll be born with UPCs on our skin and advertisements will be played to us in utero.

[IagoTheHunted]

On a side note to me this crap has always been a reflection of the power of propaganda, and how stupidly willing to flow with it people are. Like if you took a snapshot at communist China in the hayday of it's larger dictatorships, with red flags and pictures of Mow on every single surface, it seem almost unbelievable that people would just go along with that and say it's fine and good. But here we are with power in the hands of buisness interests rather than a dictator (we are a capatalist society after all) and low and behold we have product advertisements on fucking EVERYTHING, we stare at 200+ every single day, and nobody seems to care. I feel like I'm living in the twilight zone.