It would be interesting to make a spoofed ad server at home and instead of serving banners/posters that show up in the game environment, just serve pre-made textures that look like the surrounding walls etc. so the ads seem to vanish from the game...

fuchikoma

Ads are a great idea in games, as long as they are tasteful and not out of place. It would be a noble idea to see MMOs (although fantasy settings probably wouldn't work) use ads as a alternitive to a subscription fee.

fawrh

As long as they don't take over the game, I'm ok with it.

SmAuRt_GuY

I think eMarketer forgot to factor one thing in. The would is going to end in 2012.

bakedpigeon

@lordargent: Heh, I'm estimating of course. I thought about just saying over 100 (was thinking of Nascar-looking one) MPH, but 150 sounds impressive.

@Rebelphoenix83: Wow, so you hate better graphics in your newer games then?

This Wii owner laughed uproariously at the suggestion that I might be a graphics Whore. I do appreciate the fact that, directly compared to Revenge on my PS2 using the same display, Paradise looks much, much nicer, I'm sorry that I can't ignore that fact. I didn't buy it because of the graphics though, I bought it because I loved the idea of a "stageless" Burnout Game and I still do...or rather will again, once my poor 360 is fixed.

I'm getting to the point where losing my console for 3-5 weeks at a time every 4-6 months is less and less something I can just shrug off, personally. That was #3, be real curious to see if I get that serial number back or a new unit, which is really what would make the most sense for all parties at this point IMO. I'm sure MS thinks differently though...

DaiMacculate

DaiMacculate: plowing into vehicles bearing Corporate Branding at 150mph or faster...;)

How do you know how fast you're going? None of my have speedometers.

:P

lordargent

Properly implemented, real ads make the game world feel real. Imagine a half-legible Coke billboard in HL2 to drive home how the Combine crushed even the mighty megacorps.

SSJPabs

Great!

WillW

I HOPE THEY ALL DIE OUT. I DON'T NEED SUBLIMINAL MESSAGES IN MY VIDEO GAMES THANK YOU.

PHILOSOPHER541

@DaiMacculate: well I'm not enough of a graphics whore just to buy a game because it has "better graphics."

Rebelphoenix83

But when will that revenue begin to help the consumers see a price reduction in games?

kman2686

I don't think enough people are screaming 'I'm not paying 60 bucks for a game with ads in it!'

Ad supported games should be free and littered with shit for the cheap ass gamers to play.

Neopolitian

@_Ted_: And these games are usually $59.99!

ban_hammer

@Rebelphoenix83: Umm, because one feature that I kind of liked in the previous burnout games is not that big a loss when compared with better graphics, IMO better cars, and virtually no load times. They're still there of course, and it does take a bit to load right at first, but yeah its awesome. I love the single open world, its like GTA if the Driving was actually really well done, instead of so-so. like it has been in the last 3 games. I really prefer it to the myriad "stages" of the previous games that basically amount to a handful of tracks/city scenes done at many different angles. Memorizing where the awesome jumps are in Paradise is really fun. Plus you can do Showtime crashes, they're not as cool as Crash mode but an acceptable substitute. Plus its not like my PS2 died, if I get the urge for Crash mode Burnout 3 or Revenge is just a couple clicks away ;)

So yeah, you're missing out man, I highly recommend the game. I've even heard its "better" on PS3, though I can't see it on my friends PS3; to be fair his TV is not as nice or on the same level HD as mine, I think his might do 720, mine does 1080, and his is an older projection model, versus my nicer DLP.

DaiMacculate

i would love to sea a screenshot of sam fisher walking past a preperation h poster that would be da bomb!!!

lumpy108

I hate in game ad's. Because even though I see so many of them I still have to shell out the 60 bucks for a game. To tell the truth after playing GH3 and seeing all those damn Axe ad's I stopped buying Axe. sure then can add SOME realism as long as their not plastered EVERY where. But they still piss me off to a degree and I know that there isn't going to be less of these ad's (that would just be stupid of a marketing team) but I as the person who has to see these ad's want something in return. Like a drop in the games price, shorter loading times, fewer delays just something!

_Ted_

I know that it makes economic sense to use real faceplates for stuff like soda machines and such in games because it can generate income for the company publishing the game, but I prefer to see the funky names designers come up for stuff....

Like, wouldn't it be more appealing to walk up to a machine selling "Diet Dr. Shizz" or something? I dunno... I just feel like we lost an extra dimension of fun with in-game ads.

The only games I never really minded it in were the Gran Turismo games, where you get billboards and stuff for car-related products, but I am biased towards cars.

PlayerX

Things like billboards and real soda machines I can take, if they fit the context of the game.

Strangelove

All this talk reminds me back when I played The Matrix Online. Now there is a game with a whole lot of in game advertising. Some of it was actually funny (Microsoft using some fairly fitting text for their adds), while others were plain stupid/annoying. I mean, they had video billboard adds for Wendys, and those things were freakin loud.

Anyway, good to heard advertising hasn't gotten too out of hand. Maybe they will manage to slip it in subtly enough so that by 2013 we won't mind that we are having adds sent into our brains.

KommissarK

well wait.
one Halo 3 game = ~$50
one pass to Spiderman 3 = ~$10
one Harry Potter Book = ~$30

so really how is that even? I mean it would take 5x the amount of people who saw Spiderman to equal one purchase of Halo 3 so those comparisons don't really work :(

Even if they did put lots of advertising in games Im pretty sure I'd just tune it out like I do in movies!

Nikral

I am usually to busy playing the game to care what adds they throw in there. But if they actually interfere with the game, or draw my attention away from the game, you better bet I will be "Bitching & Boycotting"

Narynan

Advertising cares about the number of people, not the amount of sales. Halo 3 sold more in sales, but over three times as many people went to go see Spiderman 3 on opening day. Using gross sales figures like that is misleading and bad journalism.

zdude255

MUST BUY DIET SPRITE ZERO

obeymydog

I never got why people hate in-game ads. I mean I often times never, ever notice them. So I never knew what the big deal was.

goldwings

@TheCleaningGuy: Yep. Now I always read it as 2112. It's that ingrained.
2012 is going to be a tough year for me.

Erwin

@TheCleaningGuy: but you remembered both. it's like buying stocks, except that it's really your brain, and you get zero compensation!

meandering_drivel

@Erwin:Rush Fan? 2112 was a great album.
(Sorry about the triple post)

TheCleaningGuy

well in spiderman3 and Harry Potters defense they dont cost 60$.

Detre

@TheCleaningGuy: Oh forgot about GH III.
Those damn Axe ads are EVERYWHERE.
Haven't purchased that either.

TheCleaningGuy

its funny that i actually only see ads when others point them out im usually to busy playing to pay attention to some shitty product,im looking at you axe.

Truepatriot

To my knowlege, I own no games with in-game marketing except for Xenosaga episode 1 (an email telling you to buy "Ninja Assault") and Yakuza (Boss Coffee Ads).
I haven't purchased either product.

TheCleaningGuy

Ads are okay if they aren't ridiculous, Activision being the perfect example of this. No, I don't want to play an official Axe guitar or bass. No, I don't want to save Vegas if it's nothing but Axe billboards. No, I don't want to buy Axe dammit!
I would also like to see developers use this money to make their games better. Or, if a publisher can make plenty of money off ads in the latest blockbuster, why don't they use it to give smaller games a chance?
[Also, note to self: stop reading 2012 as 2112]

Erwin

I suppose having 'Mountain Dew' branded all over master chief is better than having to purchase ammunition by the bullet for 300 microsoft points a pop...

but with my luck, it's likely both are going to occur.

meandering_drivel

@DaiMacculate: How could you buy Burnout without crash mode?

Rebelphoenix83

in the middle of a battle against terrorists, you shoot a small bottle and end up seeing an Axe ad? only in Vegas

ban_hammer

Excellent News. Some games work well with subtle ads, but I'm glad to see that the insane growth of brand names in our faces we all once feared has not really materialized. Its here and there, but for the most part its been limited to games that simulate the "Real World", so in that sense they're a bit more excusable, as they arguably add realism. I personally love it in Burnout: Paradise, not that I'm more or less likely to purchase from Diesel or Gilette because I could give a damn about that, but there is something really satisfying about plowing into vehicles bearing Corporate Branding at 150mph or faster...;)

DaiMacculate

I think this is a very sad turn of events. Some ads might work in games, but this is not tv or real life for that matter.

Rebelphoenix83

maybe because Spiderman 3 sucked?

Sandbox_Emperor