THIS is the EA that wants to buy the Grand Theft Auto franchise.

if that comes to be... it will be a SAD, SAD day for gamers everywhere (namely gta fans. lol)

joelface

@duckmouth:

You're talking about "realism" in a Mario Kart game. I never thought I'd see the day when I saw anyone rallying for billboards plastered over the Mushroom Kingdom. It's a fantasy world.

@bangbangblah:

Take it or leave it, that's your choice. But don't forget that -- unless prices are lowered due to in-game advertising, which hasn't happened (the opposite, actually) -- you're paying for commercials.

Sloopydrew

@evslin:

2) Massive

Sloopydrew

@Agies:

You know what else offsets production costs? Profit. Grossly obscene amounts of it. If EA can shell out billions to takeover gigantic publishers in hostile takeovers I'd say they're doing pretty damn good for themselves. If advertising is to be in a game, it should be to offset these ridiculous $60 price tags. The more advertising, the cheaper the game. That was the Trojan horse they rode in on when they started this crap.

Sloopydrew

List of people who can go fuck themselves:

1) EA

evslin

EA sure needs game ads in their games. They are the biggest video game company based in the United States and they have a lot of money so can't they just be happy with that? Of course not, they need to buy companies that do their work for them unless they want a buggy game called Army of Two out.

Fireblast

The second In-game ads get to the point you can fund the development SOLELY on them, I will look again. Until then, they are just a way to boost CEO bonuses and nothing else.

Once they can fund the development process I expect to see a lot more free games. Then I will be happy. Until they, they can go **** themselves.

Ghede

@Agies: Exactly. But you see, you're using your brain, which is more than I can say for the internet's video game community when it comes to these things. As long as they make sense, there's nothing wrong with those ads anyway. Sports games, racers, sandbox, and even modern-day/contemporary shooters and such make perfect sense. It's not like the game stops to show you a commercial. When they put ads in Lost Odyssey and Final Fantasy, then you have a real reason to cry.

dgonchild

@daizyujin: I really don't think the Take Two shareholders CARE much about their product... as shareholders generally don't, they care about the money it brings in.

Tarislar

@Azriel77: Yeah, you make a really good point there.

At no point has anyone been confused over the fact that EA makes games for money. Games that don't have as much potential for making money, just don't get made. So if you have an option of making a game that gives more additional revenue from Adds than a game which cannot realistically contain as many adds... oh well. Guess what wins out?

Sucks for us... But then again, this industry got infested with suit wearing corporate meatplows like John Riccietello a long time ago. We're just feeling the effects now.

Tarislar

I am trying to think of the last thing EA did that didn't piss me off...........sorry can't think of any. Seriously, I quit buying their shit after that whole fiasco with the NFL and this just makes it all that much worse. Take 2 shareholders head this warning, if you want your products to turn into ad encrusted shit then by all means sell out.

daizyujin

I forgot, remember this is EA, you know. The EA logo CHALLENGE EVERYTHING that you CANNOT SKIP in any game. Yea, sooner or later you will not be able to skip ANY ADS, probably when they own every studio and there is no other real competition that developers could run too. A dark future is coming, and it is filled with ads.

Azriel77

The problem with ads is that they only work in TWO types of settings, games in modern cities or sports games. Anything else and they stick out like a sore thumb. What I am afraid of is that original games that take place in a fantasy universe or far future will be phased out so that more "realistic" places can be set so that ads could be placed in. Don't think so, lets look at how much power ads have, in the last episode of smallville, the whole show revolved around kryptonite chewing gum, the WHOLE SHOW revolved around an ad placement. Look, if they were GIVING the game to me FREE or at a REDUCED price from games with non ads I would be ok. HOWEVER, the prices of games have NEVER decreased because of ads and since I PAY for the fraking game I should not be subjected to them.

Azriel77

This move is sure to bring up those metacritic avergage scores that EA seemed so worried about a few weeks ago.

puffa469

Reading through the press release, I can almost see the mocking visage of a suit and tie desk jockey grinning at me through my monitor. His smile masks a silent laughter as eyes swim with every cent I am worth to him.

It is insulting, how much they pride themselves for looking out for their money while ignoring the concerns of their market.

It feels like robbery.

BossMonk

Typical EA gayness....

Anyways, i hate ads in games when its done improperly. Like for example those Nivea ads in ubisoft games (r6 & splinter cell), which were ALL OVER the friggin place.

neojam

As a general rule, in-game advertising just sucks - with the exception of SOME sports titles I find that that kind of shilling kills the sense of engagement a game is supposed to give. I mean really, what the fuck happened in the Tom Clancy game universe that the only cars in the world are dodge?

housewarmer

Good thing I couldn't care less about Madden, NHL and...NASCAR games. While I haven't knowingly purchased an EA game in awhile, the rate at which EA is snatching up cool developers makes me worry that my largely ad-free gaming days may be numbered. I think the last game I recall playing that was full o' ads was Burnout 3. And lemme just tell you all how much that game made me wanna go out and buy AXE body spray. *sigh.*

SirCletus

I'd say it's naive to say games should be cheaper if they have adds in them. Development costs must vary wildly from game to game (compare say a final fantasy game to a street fighter) yet they all retail for the same x9 price point more or less- in NZ dollars it was $99 last generation, these days it's $119.

I guess I'm just saying they're all going to pick the same price regardless of how much the game cost to develop. Prices don't go up or down based on development costs, so I have no problem that they don't go up or down when advertising is added. It's just another factor in the mix, and the mix is so convoluted that it rarely has any baring on the final price- especially when all the new releases cost $119 anyway.

Having said that, I trust in game advertising if it's being pushed by the developers (ie Valve) who have the creative vision, but not if it's being pushed by the publisher (ie EA) who, lets face it, aren't interested in the quality of the final product, but rather how much money it makes them.

DuctTape

@nxp3:
Like Suntory canned potions?

+ Watch video

fuchikoma

Well..it looks like they got everyone fooled already that ads are ok in sports game. Next ads in halo and unreal...Fuck, you see compusa ads on burnout. I bet that was EA's idea. Soon it will be OK because that's the norm. What are they going to do next...bottle water and sell it?

nxp3

I guess Mass Effect should have featured some Trojan condoms.

c-lin' Fanboy

Somewhere a PR director needs to get fired. Everyone knows you're out to make as much money as you can, EA; no use rubbing it in our faces. Instead, how about getting RB to Europe, or OMG creating new IPs (not buying them)?

psychobaka

I really never understood the hate for in-game advertisement in general, unless it's been done horribly wrong. The only issue I do have is the lack of lowered prices, though if the cash is for the greater good than no big (Insomniac can put ads in Resistance 2 or Bungie in Whatever for all I care, if it helps in some way).

Actually, in some ways it makes me happy to see the advertisements, due to the fact that the company had to PAY money for them and thus acknowledge gaming and its importance to the entertainment market.

Overall... meh.

GDW1017

I dislike advertisement, ANY advertisement. The whole business seems like a complete waste of time and money to me.
I know it isn't, as it is obviously offensively profitable. But sometimes I think about all the money involved and just try to imagine all the other stuff that could've been done with it.
And then I remember that idealism is dead and it's corpse has of course been sold to the highest bidder.

StartRunning

Aragon Ballroom in Fight Night. That's all that needs to be said regarding EA and in-game advertising. The fucking creepy King as your trainer? No, that's not shoehorned in at all, completely realistic.

Ex_EA_Slave

Okay, now I don't mind people calling us evil. :)

That being said, I agree that in the right games it's not a problem. I actually like having the ads in Burnout Paradise change, it does do something to keep the landscape fresh. I'm quite chevrolet that it's not really having any impact on my consumer preferences, anyway.

Campion

what? no spore? I'd really like to evolve into some air force one's or a pepsi can.

Wulfgang

I can't help but wonder why. I mean, has there ever been a conclusive study, or marketing research, of any sort, that shows that in-game ads actually work? I know it won't stop them from trying, at least for a while...until maybe they get the message that just because we see something doesn't make us want to buy it.

Gamers may be a lot of things, but one thing we aren't is sheep.

Cogito

@liquid_kore: I hear that. They'll match nicely with his Yaris spaceship.

Trowble (XBL/PSN)

@Robotube: No, it's to make more money. Simple as that.

duckmouth

@AstrayPenguin: One could argue that, but then one would have to be a PR spin-doctor for EA to do so.

ErskinPig

Sure wish they'd start putting these advertising dollars into making the games cheaper. With as much product placement as was in GH3, they really should have sold the whole bundle (guitar + game) for a regular game's price. It's getting ridiculous.

ProfessorMJ

Well a lot of the games today dont have in game advertising and still manage to sell at the standard price. EA comes along and gets this extra money to "offshoot production costs" yet still with softening the financial blow on themselves still charge us the standard fee. I dont see how that wouldnt affect retail costs, even a little

Rez23

Erm...I thought the whole point of advertising was to offset the final costs to the end user?

Robotube

I don't mind ads on, lets say a billboard in Burnout Paradise, or even in most modern day shooters and, of course, sports games. The ads in Guitar Hero III didn't even actually bother me. But when the gameplay stops to announce the product sponsors, it urks me. I'm waiting for the day that the load screens are extended by EA so they can run commercials on them...

demonspawn2578

@Rez23:

One could argue that game development is getting more expensive and the extra money is being funnled into the product, but that would require people to consider how much harder it is to make maps where you go from a flat 3D world with textures to a fully bump mapped world full of little pieces of junk like most modern games have.

Go play Halo or HL2 and ask yourself how all those little cans and breeze blocks got ingame.

AstrayPenguin

Crecente: How crazy is that?
Audience: (unenthusiastically) How crazy was it?
Crecente: It's so crazy that even Tom Cruise thinks they need therapy!
[band leader laughs, audience moans]
[applause sign lights up, simultaneously sends 500 volts through audience's chairs]
[audience laughs and claps]
Hey, at least its better than Len- er, Activision.

Erwin

I have no problems with ads in sports games, and games like Unreal Tournament, assuming it's done properly. But I do demand that if a game is going to have advertisements, especially sports games, then the prices need to be lowered.

SycoKiller

@FearlessUser: lol, yep. This is the practical reality unfortunately, and why I must oppose in-game ads. We just can't trust these companies (especially the likes of EA) to use ads in a responsible way that benefits gamers.

ErskinPig

I kind of like in-game ads. It gives the game a more real feeling. I know that's sad sounding, but seriously, I'll take real companies on billboards in my stadiums over generic ones anyday.

Now, the "red zone moment brought to you by red zone" type of crap is another story.

bangbangblah

@Agies: I agree 100%. I remember playing Mario Kart 64, seeing the fake advertisements ('Shell' with a koopa shell, and some kind of pun on Bridgestone) and wishing they were real. Adds to authenticity for me. That's not to say that it can't be taken too far, but by and large I not only don't mind it, I like it.

duckmouth

Glad to hear that your profit margins are ever increasing EA, in spite of the fact that your entire strategy of game development is to release the exact same thing over and over and over again and buy other companies in an attempt to look creative. Now, lower the ****ing costs of your sports games, and we'll be happy with your in-game advertisements. Until then though, STFU about that ****.

NoFunShogun

Sounds like a tivo device for games needs to be invented.

wisconsinista

@SAGA:
As long as you can still smash it. :)

fuchikoma

@Rez23: Advertising money basically offsets some of the production costs. It doesn't directly translate into proffit.

Agies

Sweet. That means games will get cheaper.... right...?

Sorry. I don't know WHAT I was thinking.

FearlessUser

In sports games, it makes a lot of sense and shouild be fairly innocuous. In other games though, it will need to be handled very carefully.

In principle, I think in-game advertising should subsidise a game, not 100% finance it. This model can keep the price for consumers low, but their concerns are still given priority over those of the advertisers.

As I said, in principle. Unfortunately, it'll probably be totally mishandled due to typical corruptive corporate greed.

ErskinPig

Ads make sense in sports games, and if anything it takes away from sports games a little bit when all you see on the ad boards/etc. in games are "EA Sports" billboards, and stuff like that. I honestly don't know what's taken so long for ads to take off in sports games.

But in most everything else, it just sticks out and looks bad. I hope they do these things smartly.

mva5580

Classic EA. <3

Aethyr: Brawl. Add me.

I don't have a problem with advertisements in sports games or games set in the modern era as long as they are done properly. If NCAA Football has the Pontiac Game Changing Performance I think that adds to the game. I loved how Crazy Taxi had real life destinations too. In game advertisements aren't necessarily evil. They just need to be done correctly.

Agies

I dont's see much of a problem with it as long as it looks good....like for instance in a sports game where you would see ads anyway. They might as well be real.

ghostfacelz

Ads I find extremely annoying. In sports games its one thing. But here's one that irked me the most.

I'm playing GRAW 2. I have to take cover behind a car when crossing a bridge. Its dim, so I turn on night vision or whatever, and what sticks out like a sore thumb? The Dodge symbol on the car. It's a Charger.

Ads are suitable in some games. RAcers, sports games. They don't belong, in my opinion, in a majority of shooters.

GM08

Hopefully EA will pick up take 2 so we can have ads for gilette mach 3 in our bioshock prequel!

SAGA

Advertising has never bothered me in games before. Gives the game a sense of realism. But I do wish that all these ads would lower the prices of their games, I mean what is EA doing with all this extra money besides filling out their pockets?

Rez23

EA hit an all time low. Not like I will buy any of those titles again anyway. Keep your ads EA

nxp3

Sure is nice of EA to keep reminding me why I haven't bought one of their games since.... 1999? Wow. Almost ten years.

GregoriusH

take something pure, make it ugly, rinse, repeat

3inst3in

Cant wait to get some Nike Airs for Cmd. Sheppard!

liquid_kore

You can get away with a Pepsi ad in Madden, but you can't get away with one in Mass Effect...

FlyingWombat

Fuck in game ads and fuck EA. I've been boycotting add-heavy games of theirs ever since Fight Night R3.

IagoTheHunted

@ Azriel77: Exactly. In five years time, when games are being pitched the No1 priority will be, to use corporate twat-speak; "What is the potential for lerveraging advertising space holisticly within this IP [space]."

It will become incresingly difficult to get non-contempory games off the ground.

Ah well, I'm off to play Oblivion...see if I can find an "Olde Nike Codpiece Shoppe"...

shab

I find it funny that the one genre people are totally ok with ads is sports games. Why do I find it funny? Because they can reuse the engine for years and years with minor tweaks. Licensing costs aside, sports games can have the lowest development costs of any genre, and yet due to the people who buy Madden every year, can actually sell the most copies.

@Azriel77: I never thought of that. I tend to like fantasy/sci-fi games (although the genre needs to stop being so reliant on Tolkien/D&D when it comes to setting). It would suck if the ability to market ads was being considered as early as the game pitch. At least ads aren't profitable enough yet for that to be a major concern.

Tiber

I work in advertising and have to deal with this all the time. In my opinion I am not a 100% for it.

I was interveiwed about it once for an article. I was telling the writer that as long as it's relevant to the game and not in the way of the gaming experieince than it will be fine. As his counterpoint he stated that both when tv and online advertising were introduced, a lot of people complained but we all just eventually accepted it.

He makes a point and that just means it is all up to us gamers. If we don't like it we cant buy the game or make sure that EA knows its not going to work. In advertising, if it does not make the company any money, they just abandon the idea and move on.

pacothelovetaco

If the ads are subsidizing the cost of the game, when will they pass the savings on to consumers? They only way I won't hate increased ads is if it makes the game cheaper.

cracker_vizzo

I've been crowing this subject for years. I have no problem with EA making more profit, as long as I can notice an improvement.

kdubbin513

Well it's nice to see no one understands the basic premise of capitalism. Instead you simply complain about anything that's good for a big company and expect that they owe you some kind of discount because they're making more money. If they didn't continue to make money they wouldn't be able to continue to produce quality games. Yes, quality is in the eye of the beholder and maybe you hate EA, but it's successful business models like EA that inspire other companies to strive for that type of success. Leading to more go games from more companies. Advertising has been invading your life since birth and it will continue to do so. Stop hating, you'll live a lot less of a stress free life.

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