Take-Two Signs In-Game Ad Deal 100
Gamespot reports that publisher Take-Two Interactive has signed a deal with the Double Fusion company for in-game ads. The company has been signed on for somewhere around nine of titles in 2007 and 2008. From the article: "'With respect to dynamic ads, we can only serve dynamic ads as platforms authorize that,' Double Fusion CEO and president Jonathan Epstein told GameSpot. 'And right now, Sony and Nintendo, who have been very busy launching platforms, are still formulating their policies in that regard. So our arrangement is contingent on those platforms authorizing in-game advertising in the first place, and then authorizing Double Fusion as a vendor. We're hopeful that during the time of the deal... we'll see such authorizations and approvals.'"
not authorized on my PC (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:not authorized on my PC (Score:5, Insightful)
Ad revenue has pretty much been proving to be significant for a company. A famous search engine comes to mind. And game production costs ARE rising.
I only object to in-game ads if they are obnoxious and/or annoying. Billboards in a city, or product placement are fine. I'm on the fence about loading screens... I'm afraid they'd abuse that one pretty quickly. (Minimum load-time, etc.)
In the end, it simply matters whether the ad placement was tasteful or not. If not, then I'll be another one 'voting with my wallet.'
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If game prices dropped, maybe I'd consider it. But really, they won't. Ever.
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Of course, there are lots of mitigating factors... they're tiny, low-development projects. Most of the code must have already existed in Blitz's back catalog. And you have to go into the store to get them, so it's not only advertising, they're a lure.
Other games may have advertising budgets that go back into the general fund. I suspect ad revenue from Splinter Cell basically goes into the general fund and out into development costs on new games. Anarchy
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Obviously, the advertisement has to fit the environment. If it doesn't fit, then it will be a major problem. If a real-life item throws you out of the make-believe world, even when it fits, then you've got some serious reality issues.
(Pern depends because the first pern book was scifi, where the others were after they totally lost technology and were fantasy.)
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You make a very good point. In-game advertising translates into real-world violence being caused by gamers. Teens that play games like GTA are far more likely to do the same thing in real life if in-game ads remove the "falseness" of the in-game world.
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That's some mighty high-minded conjecture right there. Care to cite some sources for this little nugget of hyperbole?
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The solution to that issue is not to compensate with in-game adds. The solution is to realise that the costs are rising because having shiny 3D and high definition and extremely realistic physics engine and so on is expensive.
Make a game that is just plain fun instead of making a vaguely interactive but very impressive demo, that's the solution.
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It is not okay AT ALL. Personally, I hate advertisements. A system connecting to an ad server to update that crap is not acceptable (I don't allow foreign code to contact outside systems from my PC), an old game showing completely outdated advertisements is also rubbish.
So game development is getting too expensive? Well maybe your company is simply too large and bureaucratic? What about Introversion (Uplink, Defcon, Darwinia), for example? Or the chaps who created Space Ranger (Excalibur Publishing)? Ver
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Does your 'no ads' campaign apply to movies as well? If not, why not? Movies are dated the same as games. The ads in the movies will be out-dated just as quickly. And even the same reasons apply... It'll
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Re: Look at the Movie Industry (Score:3, Informative)
I expect that if in-game advertising become prevalent, we'll see the same effect. I'll certainly avoid games that
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Worrying (Score:4, Insightful)
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In so far as ingame advertisements add to immersion and a feel of realism I can tolerate them. However, given that the adds mentioned in the article are "dynamic" I have severe doubts that they will be carefully chosen.
Does Take Two publish games of genres that might be defiled by
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But then, on games like Half Life 2, they could probably fit infomercial-length content in the time their loading s
Re:Worrying (Score:5, Informative)
They would probably also want assurances that the art assets, sounds and code for displaying the ad was sufficiently encrypted to make it difficult to remove, AND contractually oblige the developer to automatically replace any such 'cracked' ads detected by any patches.
Yes, they really are that fucking evil.
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And I don't particularly like the excuse that "oh, well, production costs are higher so we need to supplement that somehow". Production costs have onl
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At least there it would not be in your way too much...
And yes - that kind of contractual lock in really wouldn't surprise me, much as that fact is rather saddening.... lets just hope that "annoying your customers" is weighed up on the opposite side of the balance sheet appropriately
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I can see Sony allowing this. Not because they're 'evil' but because they've got HDD's in every one of their systems sold. Therefore they probably will not be as worrie
Adblock (Score:1)
Leave it. (Score:2)
For games that use Steam authentication, one needs an "account" to play a single-player game, a shared-screen multiplayer game on a home theater PC, or a multiplayer game on an isolated LAN. A lot of people boycott Steam games because of this and are likely to boycott games from other publishers for the same reason. So between take it or leave it, a lot of players will choose to leave it and try another publ
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Meh, the hosts file is referenced by the network stack / operating system / whatever. No game has any business saying what can and cannot be put in that file, or any modification to it whatsoever.
There is obviously ways to code it such that some required information (actual game data or some such) comes in on that end, but then if the ad server begins to break down so does everything else.
Greedy? (Score:1)
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Rather having a game dig around where it most certainly doesn't belong, how about they devise a way for me to flag the ads that get my attention so that when I exit the game,
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The key thing about my idea is that it would allow advertisers to hook players. Certain high-traffic websites have advertisers that post deals only to those websites. The ad is
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You are naive. Nothing will change and not a dollar of advertisement money will go to a good use. Just look at sorry state of TV if you need proof that adds do not mean better programming. Its all about appealing lowest common denominator.
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So I have to buy the game and then sit through shitty popups with bee's that wont stop buzzing while I wait for it to load just so they can get even more money?
I think you can stop at the first part of the question. No, you don't have to buy this game or any other. It's supply and demand. If consumers demand games which don't have ads, then that's where the money will be and companies will supply ad-free games. After all, if very few people buy games that have ad delivery systems, they're going to lose money and it'll be more profitable to leave the ads out.
But if the in-game ads allow for companies to produce much more compelling content (even if it's just s
As far as I know (Score:1)
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Because they don't want to see McDonalds' ads on billboards in WoW...
Personally I'd be fine with ads in a game like GTA set in the modern day, provided I get the game for free as a result; but most games are totally unsuited for rampant advertising.
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Ha-ha-ha... you're either naive or optimistic about the games industry.
You're right though, WoW won't have McDonalds' ads for the forseeable future, but that's because they're rolling in so much money that they don't need the ad revenues; other games that are borderline profitable or unprofitable will look at things differently.
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Nah, I think he knows that the games industry still requires people to buy their game, ads or no ads (if no one buys the game, no ad agency would spend money putting ads in their game). Putting ads in a game that "don't belong" would break the immersion of a game and would be an obviously poor design choice. Though, I wouldn't doubt seeing an Nvidia logo and game related slogan "frag more with Nvidia" on a loading screen, I'd also pu
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As Frank Zappa once said (Score:1)
I'm The Slime by Frank Zappa
I am gross and perverted
I'm obsessed 'n deranged
I have existed for years
But very little had changed
I am the tool of the Government
And industry too
For I am destined to rule
And regulate you
I may be vile and pernicious
But you can't look away
I make you think I'm delicious
With the stuff that I say
I am the best you can get
Have you guessed me yet?
I am the slime oozin' out
From your TV set
You will obey me whi
Not a big deal.. maybe. (Score:1)
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Now in some game genres, like sports games, it makes sense for there to be ads in the stadiums and arenas, etc. However, if Halo 3 had ads for Nike, Dodge, or Pepsi in it, it would seem really odd. Not to say that games like Halo can't have advertising in them, but the ads should be done in a way to look like they fit; for example, a
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Actually it is odd playing a sports game without them. When I booted up the Wii Sports game, and played baseball, it was surreal, a sports stadium without ads. Its something you just don't see anymore, a stadium without ads completely fails on realism.
Not that I am a big fan of ads in stadiums, mind. Here in Phoenix, Chase Field is the best example of a whore that I have ever seen. Even the da
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Boycott Time (Score:2)
When the reviews came in for the new Battle Field game, and they made note of the non-optional in-game ad delivery system (which, at the time at least, was not printed on the box) it was the last straw, and I immediately took every EA game I owned and turned them into my local trade-in for store credit. I also vowed to never again purchase any game from EA. Ever. Even despite my overwhelming desire to play spore. If I am g
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Wait, we're talking about video games?? Never mind. You need to get over yourself.
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For movies, trailers are one thing, but 30 minutes of Coke sponsored ads that delay the written starting time of a feature are quite another, and drove me away from the theater. (In addition to price general theater price gouging.) I wait for the DVD.
TV? I snapped about 4-5 years ago, I no longer have cable and the TV is only used for games and DVDs. Most of the DVDs I own have the ability to skip the trailers and go right into it, a non-issue there.
Magazines? Eh, I've never had a n
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Realism (Score:1)
System Sho
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1) A 15 second loading screen with static graphics and a progress bar.
2) A video of a monkey smelling its finger after scratching its ass and falling off a branch. Followed by the Vonage logo and the sub-title: "Vonage, a better choice."
It's a tough call.
-Rick
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Back in 1997-or-so I remember playing Theme Hospital (great game, incidentally) and noticed the brand-named drinks machines you could buy to place in your hospital.
The only small small problem was that these "drinks machines" had Kit-Kat [wikipedia.org] logos all over them..
Regulation required! (Score:2)
The idea of having a realistic environment by having real-world products is all well and good, but under the current system this won't happen. In the case of TV, no station can sign a contract to advertise Coke and to refuse all ads for Pepsi, or to advertise Pepsi while excluding Coke -- it's the law.
However, advertising in games doesn't fall under the same legislation, and I guarantee that companies such as the above will not sign contracts that allow their competitors' products to be advertised in the
Is this surprising? (Score:1)
I've accepted that this is where games are going. Now that there is a larger and more accepted base of consumers viewing a product, the natural next step is to sell them things while they are entertained. The issue is maintaining the integrity of the original product. It's
AWP whores will've to 'punch the monkey' 2 pwn you (Score:1)
This being said - in advertising you are the product, as a result its no loner about making games that are entertaining, its about getting most adds shown to maximum amount of gamers. Most advertising is designed to be intrusive, distracting and is a waste of your time.
When advertising is and is not acceptable. (Score:2)
What I d
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Never understood the problem (Score:2, Insightful)
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I would actually agree to something like this, but I fully expect them to withhold content to expand profits. Not that they're doing that now... If they want to force ads on the public, they better give something of value in return.
ads in games (Score:3, Insightful)
The thing that really bothers me is that this is not done to any benefit of the consumer. For example, I go to a movie and before it starts I am watching commercials. Are my prices lowered? Heck no, it is more expensive than ever to go to a movie. Now, I refuse to go to movies. I'll catch it in the $.99 rental bin when it falls of the new release shelf.
If adds become intrusive in a game, I will not buy the game. Period. Unfortunately, companies are too stupid to understand why their consumers are leaving. Instead of thinking "hey, now with the added ad revenue, I can give them a cheaper game/movie ticket and that will increase sales and profit", they are thinking "I am not making enough profit, I better jack up the prices and find a way to insert more ads". If you treat your consumers well, they will become loyal. If you treat them like crap, they will dump you. I don't understand why companies don't catch on to this.
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Um, no, we do not all agree that ads in games are fine.
In a car racing game, it is comon to see adds along the side of the road in certain sections of a track. This is fine.
Um, no. I thoroughly enjoyed playing some of the older racing games (ie, Need for Speed: Porsche Unleashed, Hot Persuit 2, etc), because they involved driving around in nice looking cars and outside in interesting tracks/environments that ha
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Speak for yourself, not for me, OK?
Look, in case you don't realize, you can drive between San Francisco and San Jose in California on I-280, and find a half-dozen real-world references like Pacifica, Mountain View, Alpine Rd, Portorola, and others which are scenic drives you can take-- twisty, windy roads up the side of small mountain ridges-- which EA games based the tracks in much of the Need
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Depends on where you are. Apparently, there are four states which have laws against billboards-- Maine & Vermont, are two, I believe.
I understand you hate ads and will probably spontaneously combust if you see them in a game.
I don't hate all ads, but I
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Agreed. Figure-8 racing tracks should have a level crossing instead.
Nascar games (Score:1, Redundant)
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Complaining won't do jack squat. (Score:2)
One of my friends who's a diehard addict to BF2 downloaded the demo and said it took him three full rounds to even notice the ads, and that they didn't bother him once he did. I've heard the same from my other friends who are fans of the series, which leads me to think that this really isn't as big of a deal as people on Slashdot and Digg make it out to be. Of course, there's sales figures as well; I don't think EA's n
Cool! Free games! (Score:2)