Non-Invasive In-Game Advertising

[dsheinem]

The fact that I didn't notice them for so long proves how ineffective the ads are...

Actually, just because you haven't consciously noticed them doesn't mean they've been ineffective. Not all advertising (or persuasion in general) works through active cognition.

There's a long-running discussion about this in academia...

http://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=sub ... tnG=Search

Everyone has heard about that theory. Don't try to be a smartass. Let's just agree that it didn't work, because I still only buy dry deodorants, and I hate Fast and Furious movies.

I'm not trying to be a smartass. You get defensive so quickly!

Just because you didn't notice the ads or haven't changed your purchasing habits doesn't mean that the advertising is ineffective, which is what you claimed in your first post. I just wanted to suggest a different point of view.

Besides, not all advertising is designed to necessarily get each and every viewer to buy the product advertised - sometimes they are simply trying to build brand recognition, create a favorable response to the ad/company, or get people talking about and posting their ads in other locations (like a forum!).

So the fact that you've come here and created a thread in which you both discussed and posted the actual advertising means that their ads have been successful - you have expanded the viewership for their ad and got people talking about them.

[Chickensuit]

The fact that I didn't notice them for so long proves how ineffective the ads are...

Actually, just because you haven't consciously noticed them doesn't mean they've been ineffective. Not all advertising (or persuasion in general) works through active cognition.

There's a long-running discussion about this in academia...

http://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=sub ... tnG=Search

Everyone has heard about that theory. Don't try to be a smartass. Let's just agree that it didn't work, because I still only buy dry deodorants, and I hate Fast and Furious movies.

I don't know, Moz, in game advertising seemed to work for Obama.

http://gigaom.com/2008/10/13/confirmed- ... -xbox-360/

I remember when a friend told me about this back during the election. I told him, man, the election is all i hear about already, i don't want to think about politics when I'm playing a game.

[Inazuma]

If the game makers choose to put ads in their games, that's their choice. They can also sell the game for whatever price they want. It's our job as consumers to buy what we want, and not buy what we don't want.

However, after saying all that, what really bothers me is buying a game and later on finding out that it has in-game advertising. I feel that it's morally wrong to sell ads to someone. If anything, they should pay us to view their ads. At the very least, a game with ads in it should be FREE of charge. If I buy a game and find out I've been tricked into paying for ads, I will be extremely upset at the company and much less likely to support them in the future.

As for having ads in realistic sports games and billboards in the city, I don't agree with the argument that they should be there to make it feel more realistic. If that's really what someone believes, then you should welcome other forms of realism. For example, if you crash your car into the wall, the race should end right there. Cars get destroyed and people die when that happens so it should happen in the game as well, right?

The reason you can keep playing after crashing your car is simple. It's more fun that way. When creating a video game, you can do anything you want. In real life, if you die, that's it. But I think we can all agree that it's more fun to be able to play again. So when it comes to having billboard ads in-game, why not use the same logic and take them out? The game developers have total freedom in creating their worlds. For anyone who actually wants to see ads in their games, you should also want to take your character to the bathroom, eat food, drink water, and go to sleep. It's not realistic to be able to play sports all day long without taking a break to eat lunch.

What about unskippable ads in DVD's and ads that play before a movie at the movie theater, you ask? Easy. I don't support either. It's too bad there aren't more people like me out there. Unfortunately there are far too many idiots who keep buying into this bullshit without giving it a second thought. Yeah, these companies are assholes for sacrificing quality in the name of money, but they only do it because we let them get away with it.

[miked]

Hell I totally remember Pizza Hut ads in the TMNT games on NES. I think they had a partnership back then though.

[Mozgus]

Hell I totally remember Pizza Hut ads in the TMNT games on NES. I think they had a partnership back then though.

The game came with a free pizza coupon if I remember right.

[miked]

Hell I totally remember Pizza Hut ads in the TMNT games on NES. I think they had a partnership back then though.

The game came with a free pizza coupon if I remember right.

You just gave me a flash back man. I remember my cousin bought TMNT 3:The Manhattan Project from a video rental store many years later when they were clearing out the NES games and it still had the coupon in the box. Great stuff.

Inazma: I finally made myself read your wall of text and I disagree with just about everything you said.

If I play a "realistic" game I want it to be as real as possible with unreal actions like running up walls(sandbox games) or hitting a wall at 100 MPH and keep going. Is that not why we play games? So we can do something unattainable in real life?

Realistic elements in an unrealistic world are perfectly fine in my eyes. And if you don't like the ads then don't buy the product, but it shouldn't make your gaming decisions for you.

[J T]

Hell I totally remember Pizza Hut ads in the TMNT games on NES. I think they had a partnership back then though.

And don't forget Yo!Noid, which was nothing but a giant advert for Dominoes Pizza.
(and really, not that bad of a game at the time)

[Mozgus]

Hell I totally remember Pizza Hut ads in the TMNT games on NES. I think they had a partnership back then though.

And don't forget Yo!Noid, which was nothing but a giant advert for Dominoes Pizza.
(and really, not that bad of a game at the time)

I played that game at my cousin's a lot. Enjoyed it a good bit. Loved Cool Spot Goes to Hollywood much more though.

[Inazuma]

Inazma: I finally made myself read your wall of text and I disagree with just about everything you said.

If I play a "realistic" game I want it to be as real as possible with unreal actions like running up walls(sandbox games) or hitting a wall at 100 MPH and keep going. Is that not why we play games? So we can do something unattainable in real life?

Realistic elements in an unrealistic world are perfectly fine in my eyes. And if you don't like the ads then don't buy the product, but it shouldn't make your gaming decisions for you.

My point was that games would be more enjoyable without the ads. In real life or in a game, I would rather not see huge billboards along the street. It's that simple. If you actually get enjoyment from seeing ads in a game or real life, then keep supporting it. Thanks to people like you, ads will continue to spread and increase in number.

I will do my part by not supporting it. If we get to the point where every new game has ads, I can either stop buying them or seek out pirate versions. There are enough retro games to keep me busy for my entire life either way, so I'll be fine.

[miked]

My point was that games would be more enjoyable without the ads. In real life or in a game, I would rather not see huge billboards along the street. It's that simple. If you actually get enjoyment from seeing ads in a game or real life, then keep supporting it. Thanks to people like you, ads will continue to spread and increase in number.

I will do my part by not supporting it. If we get to the point where every new game has ads, I can either stop buying them or seek out pirate versions. There are enough retro games to keep me busy for my entire life either way, so I'll be fine.

Well thats a nice "hippie" point of view you have going. Do you possibly work? Then it is possible that your company advertises in one way or another. Whether it be by TV ads, radio, newspaper, or maybe they send out private bids to other companies for they're services. Hell maybe they even advertise in video games?

Its no big deal because ads=$. They are in every form of entertainment available so why not games? While you might think of this as a bad change, I more or less accept it. Without ads you wouldn't have money to buy games that wouldn't exist without advertising in the first place.