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EA Pulls Ads from 'UFC 4' Replays After Widespread Complaints (engadget.com) 37

Posted by msmash from the how-about-that dept.
EA's UFC 4 is off to a rough start. From a report: The developer told Eurogamer it had removed commercials from the MMA game's replays and overlays after many fans complained about the experience. These weren't small, unintrusive promos -- one commonly-cited example was a full-screen video ad for Amazon's second season of The Boys. UFC 3 players have reported similar ads. The company said it turned the ads on in early September, but that it was "abundantly clear" from the backlash that ads in replays and overlays were "not welcome." These commercials "will not be reappearing in the future," EA said. It added that ads weren't new to the UFC series, but were typically reserved for main menu titles or Octagon logo placements. Critics complained not just that they were seeing ads in a paid game, but that the timing was dishonest. The ads appeared roughly two weeks after UFC 4's launch, or well after initial reviews. If you were an early adopter, you wouldn't have realized you were in store for a marketing blitz.
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EA Pulls Ads from 'UFC 4' Replays After Widespread Complaints More

EA Pulls Ads from 'UFC 4' Replays After Widespread Complaints

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  • Like they didn't know what they were doing (Score:5, Informative)

    by iampiti ( 1059688 ) on Monday September 07, 2020 @02:24PM (#60482596)
    "it was "abundantly clear" that ads in replays and overlays were "not welcome"".
    Lol, like EA didn't know people would feel that way. They're just testing the waters to see how far they can go. Ads on paid software are unacceptable to me.
    At the very least that it cointains ads should be very clear before you purchase the game.
    • Yeah, you can't have your cake and eat it too. It's one thing to give a game away for free, on the understanding that adverts will pay for the cost of development. It's even OK to offer a discounted, ad-supported version of an expensive game, so long as the buyer knows in advance that that's what they're getting and have the opportunity to pick the more expensive ad-free version. But when you're charging full price for a game and STILL trying to foist adverts on people, you really are just taking the piss.

      • But when you're charging full price for a game and STILL trying to foist adverts on people, you really are just taking the piss.

        We're talking about EA here. They charge full price, foist ads AND take the piss. And do it again for the next game.

    • To be fair, let's keep in mind that the game tried to simulate something that has advertisements in real-life. And it's common practice in such cases: Colin Mc Rae Rally had advertisements in cars and stages since forever, and it did make the game feel more "real". And some years later, the first FIA-sanctioned WRC rally game for the Playstation 2 had to have advertisements in order to have accurate models of the cars and stages. So in such cases it's a fine line between more realism and shameless advertisi

      • While I agree with your point, EA went way beyond using ads for realism. If they had put ads in places where they would have been in a live sport event, there wouldn't have been an outrage. But these ads were overlaid on the screen, not part of the 3D scene, and were taking up space and time that should have been spent on showing game play instead.

        • They were trying to simulate the full-screen ads some broadcasters put on the livestream so you 'd get the feeling you are controlling a live broadcasted sports event with your controller. Again, it's a fine line and it backfired on them.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

      Every few years someone tries this and the results are always the same. There was some football game on the Playstation that had video ads, and they took forever to load too. It didn't sell very well.

  • Just like for cable/satellite TV, I'm not paying to have ads shoved in my face.

  • Ads are required (Score:5, Funny)

    by Ecuador ( 740021 ) on Monday September 07, 2020 @03:26PM (#60482728) Homepage

    Ads are required even for paid games. I mean how else is the developer going to pay developers to actually finish the game they just released?

    • Ads are required even for paid games. I mean how else is the developer going to pay developers to actually finish the game they just released?

      Eventually everyone will just expect ads everywhere.
      I'm the one guy that won't be surprised when you go to start your car and that fancy 12" screen you payed extra for plays an ad that you can't skip that also won't let you drive until it's done.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Pascoea ( 968200 )

        Eventually everyone will just expect ads everywhere.

        The one that most recently really pissed me off...gas pumps. A newer gas station in my area has tv screens on them that blare ads at you while filling gas. No way to mute, no way to skip. Nope, just sit there while an ad for McDonalds screams at you at 105 dB while trying to fill gas. (And no, I've never went to that station again.)

  • These commercials "will not be reappearing in the future," EA said.

    ... at least not until the furor dies down. As long as you keep on BUYING it, we don't much care what you say -- we only care about what you actually DO.

    Now if you're talking about not paying the monthly subscription service (or at least the pay-to-win fees) after submitting your introductory down-payment, well now: THAT'S a kettle of fish over a barrel of a completely different color. If it's not green, then we worry about it.

    • These commercials "will not be reappearing in the future," EA said.

      ... at least not until the furor dies down. As long as you keep on BUYING it, we don't much care what you say -- we only care about what you actually DO.

      Now if you're talking about not paying the monthly subscription service (or at least the pay-to-win fees) after submitting your introductory down-payment, well now: THAT'S a kettle of fish over a barrel of a completely different color. If it's not green, then we worry about it.

      I assume that in addition to the online fervor, people actually did vote with their wallets. Once word spread of what was happening, sales must have plummeted. Probably played hours from existing buyers also plummeted. I can think of no other reason why EA would actually back off. If the game had kept selling, we'd be hearing some lame excuse and the ads would have kept right on rolling.

  • Gamer whores (Score:3)

    by ArchieBunker ( 132337 ) on Monday September 07, 2020 @06:34PM (#60483126)

    Every new release from EA is nothing but complaints about how shitty the company is. People yelling how they will never give EA another dollar. Well six months later a new pre-order is announced. You can't believe how fast these same people whip out their credit card.

    • This. EA is one of the worst publishers I've ever seen when it comes to blatant profiteering. Aside from this ad issue, there's long been issues where EA will release, for example, NBA 2K19, and then immediately turn off (i.e., effectively disable) the previous version. But people continue to buy this crap and whip the card out for the gravy drain. (Yes, drain.)

    • I looked at their list of titles and discovered that the last time I gave them money was in the early 90s for Road Rash.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Pascoea ( 968200 )
        If there was ever a game that needed a re-make, Road Rash would be it. Whipping someone with a chain on a motorcycle traveling 100mph in full 4K with surround sound? Who wouldn't buy it?

        • I've considered buying an old Sega just for that game. But I'd have to throw out a box of new-old-parts or something, to make room, so it never happens.

  • ..and who did they sleep with to get their job?

    Honestly, how could anyone think people would be OK with commercials in a game they paid ~$60 for?

    Then again, maybe they did it on purpose, following the 'There is no such thing as bad publicity' model. I didn't even know a new UFC game was out, now I do.

    • Sure, but you also know they added ads to it, and that they might put them back in again at some point. Is that really a good tradeoff? The kind of person who doesn't know that they have a UFC game franchise is not the kind of person who is going to pay full price for the latest entry in the series.

  • Reminds me of when Sony added video ads to the loading screens of Wipeout HD. Not only did the ads greatly increase loading times, but the ads were added in a patch after the game's initial release. The backlash was swift, and the ads were soon patched out of the game, with the usual corporate apologies.

    That was many years ago on a PS3 game, so it's not exactly a chronic concern, but I assume various vendors will always be looking for a way to put ads in products even if they are not Free-To-Play.

  • EA hasn't had a conversion on the road to Damascus. They implemented interstitials in a full price game and probably stepped back because of the backlash and an inevitable class action lawsuit for bait and switch. They'll just cook up some other legally safe scheme and pull the same stunt again. And the sad part is that while some people would have the sense to boycott EA, many won't and this practice will spread.

  • Not to worry, doesn't matter what these guys do, idiots will line up to buy their newest steaming pile every time. I hope the ads are all full screen and unstoppable.
    Sleep with dogs, wake up with fleas. A pox on all their houses.

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