In Game Advertising

[DasFox]

In gaming adversitment for adults is one thing, for the weak minded, or gullable it certainly can present a problem, and for children this can really present a major problem.

Vote and tell us what you think?

Also please tell us your age so that people will get an idea of what the different age groups think.

Also please be kind enough to share your thoughts on your vote.

Das ----> 46

ALOHA

P.S. Please keep this bumped.

 

[mundane]

You're really ticked @ EA over this, aren't you?

 

[DasFox]

Originally posted by: diegoalcatraz
You're really ticked @ EA over this, aren't you?

Nope just fine.

ALOHA

 

[DasFox]

double post

 

[KeithP]

For the weak minded, or gullable, everything in life will be a problem. Their problems aren't specific to in-game advertising.

Children's buying power should be about nil. Parents control the purse strings for the most part. So I don't see a problem there, unless of course their parents are weak minded or gullable.

I voted "No" in case you are wondering. Although I would favor requiring notification on the outside of game packaging if targeted in-game advertising is going on in the game.

-KeithP

 

[shortylickens]

I thought we had seen the last of these discussions over a month ago. But I suppose its like P&N. A person comes along that feels the need to talk about it some more and off we go again.

I'll just restate my old opinion.
It should be treated like TV and Radio, if they are going to spoil our exprience with ads, then they need to make it free. You dont pay for broadcast TV and radio because they have commercial advertising to make money for the networks.
One of the reasons HBO is still a premium channel and still charges for its content is they are not making money from ads. (I could be wrong about this. I havent actually sat down and watched HBO in several years.)

If the big game companies (especially EA) are so damn greedy and cant make enough money from their over priced crap then I guess its OK to make money from outside sponsors. But just like I refuse to pay for broadcast TV because of the commercial blocks, I wont be paying for games with ads. I refuse to support their disgusting greed. Like many large corpoarations, they have a handful of hig-level executives that pay themselves ridiculous salaraies and then try to nickel and dime everyone beneath them just to stay afloat.

I wont be party to that behavior. It seems that games, (like movies and music), have been declining in quality steadily over tha past few years while getting more expensive. I dont feel like paying any more. And would rather pay much less.
Having said that, I am one of the few people around here who found Doom3 to be a HUGE ripoff and Oblivion a minor ripoff (even though I did like playing Oblivion).

/Rant.

I just had to get that out of my system once more.

As for the OP's issue I dont think it is more or less exploitive of kids than anything else we have going on right now.

 

[DasFox]

WOW, I'm really shocked to see that hardly anyone participated, or was interested in this.

ALOHA

 

[mugs]

I don't think it is.

25

SHALOM

 

[ChaoZ]

I vote no. If they did, the games should be free.

 

[Baked]

Don't go out, don't watch TV, don't watch movies, don't read magazines, newspapers, or any form of media. Everything has ad placement.

 

[NiKeFiDO]

this just add placement like cans of coke on the coffee table or is this like a flashing add on load screens or..something that interferes with game play?

 

[Kromis]

Wow...this a such a low blow...

 

[DasFox]

Funny I bet everyone here that has voted is from America, with the exception as an American from Guam, shortylickens

Hafa Adai

I'd love to hear some world views on this, afterall this game will be distributed around the world.

ALOHA

P.S. Please keep this bumped and just remember this might be an American company with a game distributed around the world, but what gives America the right to dictate it's values on other societies.

 

[Chaotic42]

No one is forcing the game on anyone else. People in Norway or Russia or Egypt don't have to buy the game. If they do, they should know that there will be ads in it. EA isn't "dictating American values" on anyone. As far as I know, America hasn't has forced any country's population to play Battlefield 2142 or any other ad-containing game.

 

[BladeVenom]

Originally posted by: Chaotic42
If they do, they should know that there will be ads in it. EA isn't "dictating American values" on anyone.

How should they know there will be spyware in it? There is no warning outside the box. The only way to know is to open the box. Most consumers don't come here before buying a game.

You might have a point if EA had the decency or honesty to put the warning on the outside of the box. They didn't and that seems really sleazy to most of us.

How much control over the adds does EA have? Right now, none of the adds may be offensive or innapropriate. But how about later when the game is no longer new and in the spotlight? There's no gaurantee the adds won't change later.

How about if their built in spyware gets hijacked or infected. Soon you might be getting the same kind of adds in game, as you get from unfiltered email spam. It doesn't help that EA games recommended people disable a security update.

 

[DasFox]

BladeVenom sees what's going on like I do. Chaotic42 people don't know what they are getting into because there is nothing on the box, so after the parents let the kids buy it. I know many parents aren't going to look at the inside of the box, or even watch their kids play the game, so kids are being thrown into something without seeing it coming.

ALOHA

 

[CKent]

Not sure if it's exploitation, but I'm certainly not paying money to view advertisements. Unfortunately many people aren't as principled, or are just plain stupid.

 

[n0cmonkey]

I don't see a problem with static ads, like a coke machine in an appropriate setting (like not in the middle of a jungle or something). User dependant ads are ridiculous though.

 

[Chaotic42]

Originally posted by: BladeVenom

Originally posted by: Chaotic42
If they do, they should know that there will be ads in it. EA isn't "dictating American values" on anyone.

How should they know there will be spyware in it? There is no warning outside the box. The only way to know is to open the box. Most consumers don't come here before buying a game.

Fair enough. I suppose it is possible to have not heard anything about this. It should be on the box.

 

[bunnyfubbles]

Depends on how intrusive it is. Games have been doing this for a long time (especially racing type games where you can drive past virtual billboards of advertisements). I think its the games where the advertising feels way out of place that is the biggest upset because it feels out of place and can ruin in-game atmosphere.

 

[DasFox]

well a big 31 votes later, and we're not really getting anywhere, LOL

Not exactly like a major event here.

ALOHA

 

[Drakkon]

i think your missing a big part of why advertising is there in the first place. Getting the funding to start a company or to keep a company going can come from in-game advertising. The company i work for uses equipment names and materials from other companies, give them credit in the software, and bam we get something for free or at least half of the cost we would have normally. Some companies require more to be shown while others will require just a mention in the credits. Its those that want their name out there that will require a company like EA to post it out there, but it means probobly $100K+ in revenue that can go to thier development teams that ultimately make the game what it is and produce it in the time necessary (yes i know theres all sorts of controversy at EA about time/pay but with most game production companies i have worked with this is the case).
So i defiantely dont see it as a bad thing. Especially in educational games, so long as it doesnt distract from the learning, its the only way a lot of companies can fund a project and put together software that looks great and not go bankrupt building it.

 

[HamburgerBoy]

Hell no. I'm not fan of in game advertising, but to call it exploition is ridiculous.

 

[PsharkJF]

Originally posted by: HamburgerBoy
Hell no. I'm not fan of in game advertising, but to call it exploition is ridiculous.

qft, 21.

 

[mugs]

Originally posted by: DasFox
P.S. Please keep this bumped and just remember this might be an American company with a game distributed around the world, but what gives America the right to dictate it's values on other societies.

The American company has the right to dictate what they put in their games as long as it is not against the law in the countries it is sold in.