Microsoft Buys Massive Inc.

[Ailer]

Apparently the big M has bought Massive Inc, a company that specializes in in-game ads.

From the article (http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=9186):

Tech giant Microsoft has officially confirmed that it is acquiring Massive Inc., the New York-based in-game advertising firm, in a move that the company says "will help deliver dynamic, relevant ads across Microsoft's online services, starting with Xbox Live and MSN Games."
Personally, I would have been much happier if Massive had simply disappeared off the face of the planet...

[RandomViolence]

Not being able to post sucks.

Edit: Ooh, sweet! Watch out, boys! I'm back!

[GigaFuzz]

Nitpicking:
Massive Entertainment are the game developers who made Ground Control and its sequel.

Massive Inc. are the evil ad people. :) You might want to the post.

Whenever a news post about 'Massive' comes up, I always end up thinking of the game company first.

[Klade]

This is an interesting direction for things to take. I think I'm actually happy about this. Well I would prefer for Massive to go away but thats not going to happen, too many opportunities for product placement. What makes me happy though is accountability. Before Massive was simply an advertising company. They don't care if what they do to a game makes it suck (they say they care but I got a bridge for sale as well).

Microsoft on the other hand has to worry about backlash from a stupid ad campaign gone bad bleeding over into their other products. So if Massive has to exist I rather see it in the hands of a company that has to try and worry about image.

[agentgray]

Well, this is bad news for me. Just got the 360 today. Guess it won't be long before I start seeing ads when I boot the box up.

UPDATE: RamdomViolence, I see what you mean some threads I'm replying to are not posting, but they are listing in the Latest Forums Posts bar on the left as the last replier, but when viewing the thread they are not there.

[Sl1pstream]

Maybe they're going to start a free ad-supported version of Live to compete with PS3 online. I just hope you have the choice, as I'd like to keep paying for an ad-free service.

[RandomViolence]

Well, this is bad news for me. Just got the 360 today. Guess it won't be long before I start seeing ads when I boot the box up.

UPDATE: RamdomViolence, I see what you mean some threads I'm replying to are not posting, but they are listing in the Latest Forums Posts bar on the left as the last replier, but when viewing the thread they are not there.

Congrats on the 360, gray!

Yeah, I'm not really sure what's going on with posting right now. I thought bap and Evil said it'd be worked out by tomorrow, though? I could be completely wrong.

[JG_ZERO]

"personally, i would have been much happier if Massive had simply disappeared off the face of the planet...."

sums up my thoughts as well!

[Deathbane27]

If it means there will be an option for free Xbox Live, I'm all for it.

So long as they don't put ads in for people paying the subscription, of course.

[GunnyMo]

This dream was brought to you by Lightspeed Briefs!

It's only a matter of time.

[Deathbane27]

o_0


...anyway... yeah, hope is foolish. This IS Microsoft we're talking about.

[Swat]

As long as they ban the McGriddle, and keep the ads in the blades only, I say bring on the free Xbox Live. I don't mind paying, but I know a lot of people who still can't grasp that idea. This way you'll have a much bigger pool to play in.

[agentgray]

As long as they ban the McGriddle, and keep the ads in the blades only, I say bring on the free Xbox Live. I don't mind paying, but I know a lot of people who still can't grasp that idea. This way you'll have a much bigger pool to play in.
You think they'd offer Xbox Live for free? Riiiiight.

I used to have comcast cable and their unit had streamed ads. I don't remember anything free coming from them.

However, it Live was FREE, more power to them and me! :D

[thecrazyd]

You think they'd offer Xbox Live for free? Riiiiight.

I used to have comcast cable and their unit had streamed ads. I don't remember anything free coming from them.

However, it Live was FREE, more power to them and me! :D
I am guessing that free Live will be announced at E3. Gotta keep up with Sony.

[IagoTheHunted]

if mountain dew ads start showing up on my Xbox Live interface you can consider me cancelled from the service. Fuck that.

[alienchild]

Massive Inc. aint "the evil add people". If the adds in the games are intrusive, its because the developers implemented it wrong. Anarchy Online has adds from Massive Inc. (which you can turn off if ya want), which adds realism to the game. It also makes the basic game free!

Fuck all of you calling Massive Inc. and this type of game-adds for negative, it's making games free, and a combination of adds and game cost (for end users) might be what will save the industry from the ever-rising cost of game production. At least for the smaller dev houses.

[sync]

Massive Inc. aint "the evil add people". If the adds in the games are intrusive, its because the developers implemented it wrong. Anarchy Online has adds from Massive Inc. (which you can turn off if ya want), which adds realism to the game. It also makes the basic game free!

Fuck all of you calling Massive Inc. and this type of game-adds for negative, it's making games free, and a combination of adds and game cost (for end users) might be what will save the industry from the ever-rising cost of game production. At least for the smaller dev houses.QFT

I really don't understand the hate for in-game ads. Some have done them really poorly (Tony Hawk), but in a game like Amped where you ride a Morrow or K2 snowboard? Is that bad? Or in Splinter Cell when you walk by a soda machine that actually says 'Coke'? Or when Sam Fischer has a Nokia cell phone. I didn't get all pissed when all the televisions in Perfect Dark Zero were Samsungs. I didn't even mind that there was a Samsung Logo on the menu.
When done correctly it ads a much needed revenue stream to developers.

Movies have this stuff in them for years and no one even cared because most people don't even notice, because it is real. Put the same logic in games and it is the some type of holy sin against gaming? grow up.

[Borys]

3...2...1... can I post yet?

[The_Reckoning]

The only problem I'd have is if they put into a fantasy setting. I can imagine riding around in WoW and coming across a billboard advertising Pepsi.

But if it's done right it definately fits into futuristic games.

[fitbabits]

3...2...1... can I post yet?
Sadly, yes! :rolleyes:

[shnastybiznastic]

but in a game like Amped where you ride a Morrow or K2 snowboard? Is that bad? Or in Splinter Cell when you walk by a soda machine that actually says 'Coke'? Or when Sam Fischer has a Nokia cell phone. I didn't get all pissed when all the televisions in Perfect Dark Zero were Samsungs. I didn't even mind that there was a Samsung Logo on the menu.
Or in GRAW, where you get to use Dodge trucks as cover. There is a lot of potential for in game advertising to work like product placement in movies, which (in the good ones) is subtle, but there is also the chance that many companies will take the easy way out and do things the Tony Hawk way.

The interesting thing is that movies and shows used to have actual product plugs in them, and the industry slowly shifted to the more subtle system of product placement. Games shifting to placement over plugs could be an neat indicator of the diferences and similarities between the two mediums.