I've hear some rumblings that "updates" for games will in the future add in game adverts to some titles. What do you think about 360 games having advertisements in them/from live?
Nothing new... didn't Sonic Adventure have Nike advertisments, in the UK at least, i remember a few updates that put adverts around Station Square, and in that first level... Still, additional content for games is a great thing in my view... a few extra levels for FREE to the user, and all you have to do is put up with brand placements... As long as games are not created with less content to begin with and rely on 'episodes' that are sponsored by some random brand, then i welcome it.
Personally I don't have a problem with it, as long as it's done "realistically" (i.e. in game billboards or posters on walls in the game) and not insanely overdone. If they want a sign to say "Coke" on a billboard when I drive by it in PGR3 no problems here. But if I ever get a dialog box "Buy Coke! Use Coupon Code #123456abcdefg! [Press A to Continue]" i'm throwing it out the window.
It's not just going to be updates that have advertising. There's a general move in the industy to put advertising into games (PC and consoles). In fact, there are a couple of specialist companies that specifically handle in-game advertising. I think there was a recent article on gamasutra.com about it. At the end of the day, it's free money (almost) for game publishers. Would you rather have (well placed non-intrusive) in-game ads, or pay more for your games?
I think that depending on the application it could be a good thing. Having to watch ads before playing or having them poorly placed would definitely detract from the game. However, if placed right (Such as Sonikku suggested with PGR3 with billboards) or having the soda machines in a realistic FPS be actual machines instead of Genericola, I think that it could actually add to the sense of realism in the game. Now if only Microsoft would pass some of the profits they make from the ads off to us in the form of cheaper games, I think we all would be happy...
Ha, well I guess that it shall be xbox live which will be the most heavily hit by the old ads. Not actually while playing games though. Suits me fine, as long as they don't interfere with the actual gameplay experience. Doesn't help that the new guy listed in that article did cartoon network, which has awfully long and frequent ad breaks.
Don't you mean advertising like in the main menu of the Live program, not neccassarily in all game, right? I would think its convenient if you could actually buy 360games directly from the console if its secure to do so.
there's been a few PC games already where the ads have been in the game. They put posters on the wall that advertise a show on the sci fi channel for example.
