Non-Invasive In-Game Advertising

[Inazuma]

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.

I understand why they are there. Of course companies want to make money. They don't mind sacrificing quality if it means making more money. I'm just saying that I would prefer to not have the ads. However once again, it's because of people like you that the companies can keep doing it.

I don't have a problem with ads if they are blockable (internet) or supporting free entertainment (AM/FM radio, over the air TV). But if any form of advertising just shows up to annoy me (junk mail, spam, telemarketers, billboards), I get upset and am less likely to buy that product. And of course the worst ad of all is one that I paid to watch (DVD, movie theater).

It's a good thing I'm not in charge of a company. I care too much about making a quality product and doing what's best for everyone involved. My company would go out of business very fast because I'm not a hardcore ruthless asshole who puts profits over everything else.

[dsheinem]

Thanks to people like you, ads will continue to spread and increase in number.

I will do my part by not supporting it.

They don't mind sacrificing quality if it means making more money. I'm just saying that I would prefer to not have the ads. However once again, it's because of people like you that the companies can keep doing it... I care too much about making a quality product and doing what's best for everyone involved...I'm not a hardcore ruthless asshole who puts profits over everything else.

I think you're putting people off with the whole holier than thou/"because of people like you" bullshit. It makes you sound like a giant asshole.

Billboards exist in real life. A racing game set in real life should have billboards. Billboards have ads on them. How exactly does including these ads in the game "sacrifice quality"?

[miked]

How do in game ads sacrifice quality? If I was playing Shenmue and instead of asking everyone where sailors hang out, I was asking if they can direct me to the nearest Best Buy then I would agree, but we have not seen anything like this and I don't think we will. Now if the coke machines were Coca Cola machines then I would have appreciated that.

You also talk like game companies have a dedicated advertisement guy or something. I would think it takes only a few minutes to wrap a new texture around a billboard and its done.

Ads sell products. If ads didn't exist then companies would not sell products and you probably wouldn't have a job, or it would affect you in one way or another.

[Inazuma]

Thanks to people like you, ads will continue to spread and increase in number.

I will do my part by not supporting it.

They don't mind sacrificing quality if it means making more money. I'm just saying that I would prefer to not have the ads. However once again, it's because of people like you that the companies can keep doing it... I care too much about making a quality product and doing what's best for everyone involved...I'm not a hardcore ruthless asshole who puts profits over everything else.

I think you're putting people off with the whole holier than thou/"because of people like you" bullshit. It makes you sound like a giant asshole.

Billboards exist in real life. A racing game set in real life should have billboards. Billboards have ads on them. How exactly does including these ads in the game "sacrifice quality"?

The reason any form of advertising exists is because enough people support it for it to be profitable. If all games that had ads in them sold very poorly, they would stop putting ads in games. If no one bought from telemarketers, that would stop as well. That's how it works. Sorry if it upsets you that much but no matter what either of us says, that's the truth.

The gaming industry was able to survive and grow just fine without ads in their games.

[the7k]

Not all in-game advertising is bad. Apparently there are a few free XBLA titles that are nothing but advertising from brands like Dorito's. In the case of PSN, Sprint's advertising allowed every member to get Rag Doll Kung Fu for free for a week.

My personal favorite form of game-related advertising was back in the PSX days, when places like Pizza Hut and Toys-R-Us would give away promotional PSX demo discs when you bought certain items and whatnot.

[dsheinem]

Thanks to people like you, ads will continue to spread and increase in number.

I will do my part by not supporting it.

They don't mind sacrificing quality if it means making more money. I'm just saying that I would prefer to not have the ads. However once again, it's because of people like you that the companies can keep doing it... I care too much about making a quality product and doing what's best for everyone involved...I'm not a hardcore ruthless asshole who puts profits over everything else.

I think you're putting people off with the whole holier than thou/"because of people like you" bullshit. It makes you sound like a giant asshole.

Billboards exist in real life. A racing game set in real life should have billboards. Billboards have ads on them. How exactly does including these ads in the game "sacrifice quality"?

The reason any form of advertising exists is because enough people support it for it to be profitable. If all games that had ads in them sold very poorly, they would stop putting ads in games. If no one bought from telemarketers, that would stop as well. That's how it works. Sorry if it upsets you that much but no matter what either of us says, that's the truth.

The gaming industry was able to survive and grow just fine without ads in their games.

I am not debating you on this point. No shit telemarketing continues because it works. Obviously if games with ads never sold many units companies would probably stop putting ads in games. Duh!

I was asking you about your statement that the inclusion of any advertisements in a game somehow hurts the QUALITY of a game.

Specifically, I want to know how you can support the claim that a game that is shooting for realism is automatically of lesser quality if it has ads for real-word products in it in those places where ads would normally appear (e.g. a stadium, a billboard, a vending machine, etc.). You can't just keep relying on the "ads are bad" mantra to explain this, as it doesn't speak to this particular point.

[Inazuma]

I am not debating you on this point. No shit telemarketing continues because it works. Obviously if games with ads never sold many units companies would probably stop putting ads in games. Duh!

I was asking you about your statement that the inclusion of any advertisements in a game somehow hurts the QUALITY of a game.

Specifically, I want to know how you can support the claim that a game that is shooting for realism is automatically of lesser quality if it has ads for real-word products in it in those places where ads would normally appear (e.g. a stadium, a billboard, a vending machine, etc.). You can't just keep relying on the "ads are bad" mantra to explain this, as it doesn't speak to this particular point.

It's because I don't think it's right to have ads in a product that I paid for. If I pay for a realistic driving game and find out there are billboard ads in the city, it will lessen the enjoyment of the game for me.

If that's not good enough for you, then this should be. Let's say in-game ads become successful. Why should a game developer consider making a game based in medieval times, or a game that takes place in a cave, or underwater, or in outer space? They wouldn't be able to have ads there so maybe they will scrap those potentially good ideas and instead make a "realistic" game in a modern setting so they can have billboard ads. This could have very well already happened for all we know.

Coming soon. The Sims 25, now with realistic junk mail and telemarketing calls! It's so real! Get your copy today for $60.

[Ack]

Real quick question for Inazuma about ads in theaters, since I just want to clear it up. Do you include trailers for other films in that, or the advertisements for the theater's snack bar offerings, or do you just mean the ads for cars, video games, body wash, etc.?

[Inazuma]

Real quick question for Inazuma about ads in theaters, since I just want to clear it up. Do you include trailers for other films in that, or the advertisements for the theater's snack bar offerings, or do you just mean the ads for cars, video games, body wash, etc.?

I was mainly talking about the "TV" commercials, like for cars, video games and body wash. The movie trailers are a little different. I think most people actually like having them there. Personally, I would rather not have them but they can be entertaining and helpful for deciding on the next movie to watch. They also tend to be similar to the genre of movie that you are about to watch, so they really do a good job appealing to that particular demographic.

Honestly, I am not interested in big Hollywood movies to begin with. I only watch Japanese TV and movies off the internet (100% commercial free, mind you. I will skim through the first episode of a show, or go by word of mouth to decide my next show to watch).

I think it all comes down to what the customer is looking for. If you show an ad for an action movie to a room filled with people there to see an action movie, chances are they will welcome it. Show them an ad for body wash and they will see it as an annoyance.

However, turning off the lights and showing trailers at the start time of a movie isn't cool. It pretty much forces everyone to watch the trailers. If you wait till the trailers are over to enter the theater, you have to deal with trying to find a crappy seat in the dark, which is a big pain.