Matri Posted August 16, 2006 Share Posted August 16, 2006 So, what do you think of in-game advertising? Properly done, I think it really does add to the immersion. Of course, how does one decide if it's appropriate? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matri Posted August 16, 2006 Author Share Posted August 16, 2006 And even worse! EDIT: Meh, they've taken it down. Basically, ads in textbooks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazy Gringo Posted August 16, 2006 Share Posted August 16, 2006 It reminds me of the Need For Speed series. Especially Underground 1+2 and Most Wanted. You got huge billboards on the side of the road that you are racing past with 300+ kph.Worst of in-game advertising experience I had was when I played Matrix Online in it's early days where they had signs various saying: 'Put your Ad here!' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NKF Posted August 16, 2006 Share Posted August 16, 2006 I find it quite amusing. Some games that I can remember that had in-game advertising (not the obvious ad-placements, like the sponsors in Stock Car (or any car) racing games or sports games) , would be Syndicate 2 with its ads for Ghost in the Shell on in-game billboards, and the Ratchet and Clank and Jak and Daxter games. Both of the last two games had clever references to the other, and you'd have to be familiar with the other or else it would've looked just like any other in-game advertisement and mean nothing. I thought they were clever - and they made me end up buying the advertised game, much to my delight and have since wasted a few weekends off my life. Oh, then there was Gunship 2000 with its in-game ads for other Microprose games. Not to be confused with Gunship! (watch the exclamation mark). Now, real consumer product placements ... mmm. Depends. If it's a sports game, it's a given. If it's another game entirely, it would have to mesh into the game very well and not stick out like a sore thumb. I mean, how silly would it be for a sword and sorcery game to have a bill-board out in the wilderness advertising Pepsi or Coca Cola? Not that I wouldn't be surprised if it were an amusing (or a farcical) Sword-and-Sorcery game. - NKF Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matri Posted August 16, 2006 Author Share Posted August 16, 2006 Agreed. However, for a game that takes itself seriously and set itself in a fantasy sword-and-sorcery land, seeing ads for Gateway/Dell Computers will seriously ruin the immersion. Similarly, I'd expect product placement in military bases, but billboards have no place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bomb Bloke Posted August 16, 2006 Share Posted August 16, 2006 It's all in the context. Just about any add can be justified in NFS. Futuristic games might allow you to get away with logos and company names (as opposed to product names), but there's not much you can advertise in historical or fantasy titles, with the exception of other games. And even then, using the ® symbol and specifying the platform of the game is way out of bounds. Especially when the add is read out loud. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matri Posted August 16, 2006 Author Share Posted August 16, 2006 Yeah, I mean at the least do it subtly! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NKF Posted August 17, 2006 Share Posted August 17, 2006 Coketh Cola - bring ye ancestors back from the deadde. Inquire within and leave a donation for more information. Ugh, that was terrible. Won't work. - NKF Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazy Gringo Posted August 17, 2006 Share Posted August 17, 2006 A poison called 'Choke A Cola' would not be much better.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kernel Posted August 17, 2006 Share Posted August 17, 2006 If the ad's are in context then I think they can even add to the imersion factor of the game.EG. Ads on billboard in a city or posters on walls. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Space Voyager Posted August 17, 2006 Share Posted August 17, 2006 If in-game adds would make the game much cheaper, go ahead. I'm definitely not paying a huge price for a game to see commercials. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kernel Posted August 17, 2006 Share Posted August 17, 2006 If the ads were incredibly obvious and got in the way of gameplay then it would get anoying. What's more such ads probably wouldn't work the way they were intended. But if the ads were in context with the game and not so obvious, like I said, as billboards or posters dotted around a city, if that's where the game is located, then those ads could add to the immersion factor of the game because that's where we expect to find adverts in real life.The billboards dotted around the city maps of UFO: Aftermath would have been a good place for real adverts if the publisher/developer wanted. As for the games being cheaper because of advertising I think your missing the point. In order to make a profit on games in todays world, developers and publishers have to sell a huge number of copies due to development costs. If in game advertising became popular then the developer/publisher wouldn't have to sell such a large number in order to make a profit and thus it could encourage developers to create the types of games that have a narrower audience, such as the X-Com games. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Space Voyager Posted August 17, 2006 Share Posted August 17, 2006 As for the games being cheaper because of advertising I think your missing the point. In order to make a profit on games in todays world, developers and publishers have to sell a huge number of copies due to development costs.What I'm thinking is that the piracy today is fueled by the huge prices of games. I am sure everybody would rather have an original game with all the support that comes with it but not with the prices nowadays. So IMO it would be best to lower the price of the games and the number of legally sold games will soar. I believe nobody wants to risk lowering the price today because such a prediction may be wrong. If they sell the same number of copies at lower price, they are at a loss. With ingame advertizing they could take a chance because they get additional money from it. If the lowering of the price doesn't bring new buyers, they still won't be at a loss. If in game advertising became popular then the developer/publisher wouldn't have to sell such a large number in order to make a profit and thus it could encourage developers to create the types of games that have a narrower audience, such as the X-Com games.I don't think so. The goal of every buissiness is to maximize the profits, not just have one. Nobody will create an X-COM unless he thinks he can make more money with it than with something else. This only happens when most profitable game types are so overrun with good (and known) games that you can't predict much profit from another game of the same genre. Naturally, such new game can be a surprise and bring more than anybody thought it would because people are fed up with the usual genres. What we can end up with is the same price of the game, same number of sold copies and higher profits due to the additional flow of advertizing money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matri Posted August 17, 2006 Author Share Posted August 17, 2006 Plus advertising revenue will continue so long as the game is still being played. Game sales are a one-time thing, you're not likely to see anymore money from them once they're sold. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bomb Bloke Posted August 18, 2006 Share Posted August 18, 2006 Advertising revenue would be in favour of the companies supplying the ads, wouldn't they? As opposed to the game developers? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matri Posted August 18, 2006 Author Share Posted August 18, 2006 Well, the companies supplying the ads still have to pay the owner of the medium the ads are displayed on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FullAuto Posted August 18, 2006 Share Posted August 18, 2006 I can't see the money going to the developers. More likely, the publisher will reap it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bomb Bloke Posted August 18, 2006 Share Posted August 18, 2006 The advertising companies do have to pay, but I doubt they will continue doing so until the game ceases to be played. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jman4117 Posted August 18, 2006 Share Posted August 18, 2006 It only really works with context. Though in a fantasy/scifi game doing subtle parody can be hilarious... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Space Voyager Posted August 21, 2006 Share Posted August 21, 2006 The advertising companies do have to pay, but I doubt they will continue doing so until the game ceases to be played.Perhaps the revenue could be paid per number of sold copies or something... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matri Posted August 21, 2006 Author Share Posted August 21, 2006 The advertising companies do have to pay, but I doubt they will continue doing so until the game ceases to be played.Perhaps the revenue could be paid per number of sold copies or something...With this kind of advertising, it would most likely be the number of times the ad is loaded. If I were to guess, the payment would most likely be per billboard per level. Per viewing is not a viable option, since it would disrupt the game to have to load per viewing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Space Voyager Posted August 25, 2006 Share Posted August 25, 2006 With this kind of advertising, it would most likely be the number of times the ad is loaded. If I were to guess, the payment would most likely be per billboard per level. Per viewing is not a viable option, since it would disrupt the game to have to load per viewing.How would anybody know how many times the ad is loaded? It depends on how many times a player plays the game through - if at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matri Posted August 25, 2006 Author Share Posted August 25, 2006 With this kind of advertising, it would most likely be the number of times the ad is loaded. If I were to guess, the payment would most likely be per billboard per level. Per viewing is not a viable option, since it would disrupt the game to have to load per viewing.How would anybody know how many times the ad is loaded? It depends on how many times a player plays the game through - if at all.Uh, the same way websites track how many views they have? Y'know, like the number of times a particular ad has been requested and served and all that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NKF Posted August 26, 2006 Share Posted August 26, 2006 That won't work for single-player games, as you'd have to be connected to the net and send information to the ad companies. A lot of players who were expecting a single player game would probably be quite against logging onto the internet just to send ad information. However, it could work for massively multiplayer games and other games played over the internet. Like having billboards, in-game tv-commercials, posters and flyers, etc that load a new ad once per session. - NKF Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matri Posted August 26, 2006 Author Share Posted August 26, 2006 You're forgetting Spore. And let's all remember Half-Life 2's Steam activation scheme. Plus I'm noticing a trend in some games now, they connect to an central server to download high scores and post yours too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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