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Off Topic Forums => General Chat => Politics, News and Religion => Topic started by: dietrite on October 24, 2004, 12:48:00 PM

Title: Ads Insinuated Into Video Games
Post by: dietrite on October 24, 2004, 12:48:00 PM
"SAN JOSE, California (AP) -- Roar down city streets in the upcoming "Need for Speed Underground 2" racing game and you'll see a Best Buy store amid the skyscrapers along with bright billboards hawking Cingular Wireless, Old Spice, and Burger King.

The fictional landscapes of video games are increasingly being dotted with product placements, pitching everything from athletic shoes to movies. And that's not all -- advertisers will soon be able to update the ads over the Internet whenever they want, long after the games are sold."

more here.
Title: Ads Insinuated Into Video Games
Post by: EverythingButAnAnswer on October 24, 2004, 01:12:00 PM
Don't be a tool.
Title: Ads Insinuated Into Video Games
Post by: Ween311 on October 24, 2004, 01:26:00 PM
I might be missing something, but how does someone posting a news article in the news section of a forum make them a tool?

I don't generally like advertising, but if they can use it to get more revenue and make games cheaper for the consumer then it's cool.  I just hope they keep it kind of low key like they do now.
Title: Ads Insinuated Into Video Games
Post by: brandogg on October 24, 2004, 01:33:00 PM
Advertising is one of the most important businesses in the entire world. This is how products are sold, this is why we have television shows.
Title: Ads Insinuated Into Video Games
Post by: The unProfessional on October 24, 2004, 01:47:00 PM
At times it is overdone.  I'm not sure about NFS underground, but since I won't be playing the game, I'm not worried about the embedded ads.  I admit it's frustrating when ads start to grow in a medium that was previously somewhat ad-free.

I-Robot was the most recent over-Ad frustration I've had.  It seemed like Will Smith was talking about his shoes every 35 seconds.  It actually damaged the flow of the dialog.  As long as Ads don't get in the way, I can deal with it.
Title: Ads Insinuated Into Video Games
Post by: brandogg on October 24, 2004, 02:16:00 PM
Same here. I'm definitely no fan of it, but businesses think it's necessary to advertise as much as possible, no matter how much it pisses people off.
Title: Ads Insinuated Into Video Games
Post by: gronne on October 24, 2004, 04:11:00 PM
It can really destroy art. I haven't played NFS2 or seen I Robot, yet. But I know how annoyed I was when I saw Cast Away and Fed-Ex was Everywhere in the movie. I liked the film, but it would've been a lot better without Fed-ex all over it. And no matter we think of it or not, we are tools, or walking advertisment when we wear Replay sweaters or Levi's Jeans. I only buy clothes nowadays where there's no visible logo, and you can still find nice sweaters without the Replay-logo. I honestly think there'll eventually be a new punk era of some sort where people will ban brands, and create or buy clothes that are not designer-clothes.
Title: Ads Insinuated Into Video Games
Post by: cainedna on October 24, 2004, 11:32:00 PM
I can accept the errant billboard here or there. In THPS1 on the PSX, there was the Mountain Dew billboard here and there. That was fine. Billboards exist in the real world, too. In Burnout 3, there are similar billboards for a number of different games by EA, and a deodorant one as well. Doesn't bother me, really. It doesn't command my attention, it's simply scenery.
Crazy Taxi has people asking for a ride to KFC. I guess that's not a problem.
I was a little put off in Def Jam 2, the phone you use is a Sidekick. Not too put off, I own one myself. I like it. It's sort of ridiculous, though.
I played the Need for Speed Underground 2 demo after reading this, to see how I felt about the advertising used in it.
I think I recognize the Cingular orange icon man in the corner of the screen at all times. That's obnoxious. It doesn't advertise per se, although it does establish the brand, if you aren't familiar with it already.
The BK doesn't bother me either. My anonymous driver man never insisted we stop there for a Whopper (tm,) and frankly, it'd be out of place to see no fast food places in a city like that.
I suppose as long as the brand names aren't out of place in a game, it isn't really an issue. In fact, I've only ever been put off by how one-sided the advertising is. It's not like Coke and Pepsi are fighting for space in the new GTA game.
I would be rather upset by a game using the advertising directly in the gameplay. For instance, you have to eat in the new GTA coming out on Tuesday (I'm quite looking forward to it, if you haven't noticed.) If eating the "standard" fast food was worse for my character, and more expensive than eating say, Taco Bell, I'd put up a stink about it. If I need to buy shoes in a game, and the brand name ones give me a better stat boost than any other in the game, it would cross the line of comfort as far as I'm concerned.
Title: Ads Insinuated Into Video Games
Post by: The unProfessional on October 24, 2004, 11:50:00 PM
I agree with pretty much all of your comments, cainedna.  Movies have overstepped the bounds of comfortable advertising time and time again.

As long as the advertising is somewhat natural, as in, it reflects what we'd see in the real world, it's bearable... as long as it's not overwhelming.  In a city driving game, I'd expect it.  Not only is it realistic, but it generates revenue for the developers/publishers.

What it's proposed in movies like I-robot, where everytime will smith walks into a room someone asks about his shoes, I can get by.  But sometimes it's just ridiculous.