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[PhoenixDark]

It always makes me chuckle when "gamers" complain about in game advertising. Perhaps you guys have never walked around in a city before, or driven a car, or any numerous other real life activity in which you see *GASP* advertisements. With the ushering in of the next gen consoles there was a huge demand for more realistic looking games. People want to drive around Tokyo in their racing games, or kick ass in a realistic rendering of MSG in a basketball game. Advertisements are all over those real life locations. So why is it surprising that the virtual replicas would also feature them? It's a natural response. The subway ads in Skate? Never been in a subway station before, or seen a bus pass by with *GASP* advertisements?

This is nothing more than uppity posturing. I've seen nothing that suggests advertising interests harm the actual development of games, or that other thing we've forgotten about - oh yeah, gameplay. Don't worry, EA isn't afraid Fox lobbyists will pull their ad dollars if the game doesn't become a one button masher to appeal to grandmas

 

[FoxSpirit]

It always makes me chuckle when "gamers" complain about in game advertising. Perhaps you guys have never walked around in a city before, or driven a car, or any numerous other real life activity in which you see *GASP* advertisements. With the ushering in of the next gen consoles there was a huge demand for more realistic looking games. People want to drive around Tokyo in their racing games, or kick ass in a realistic rendering of MSG in a basketball game. Advertisements are all over those real life locations. So why is it surprising that the virtual replicas would also feature them? It's a natural response. The subway ads in Skate? Never been in a subway station before, or seen a bus pass by with *GASP* advertisements?

This is nothing more than uppity posturing. I've seen nothing that suggests advertising interests harm the actual development of games, or that other thing we've forgotten about - oh yeah, gameplay. Don't worry, EA isn't afraid Fox lobbyists will pull their ad dollars if the game doesn't become a one button masher to appeal to grandmas

That is all right and good, IF done realistically? But take a good look at the posted screens, this is completely removed from any reallife ad-campaign and a real eyesore.

 

[CrunchinJelly]

Holy SHIT!

Whenever I play Tiger Woods 08, it stops my background downloads between holes. I thought it was something up with my network or my 360 dying.

NO. It's EA stopping *MY* DOWNLOADS to CHECK FOR FUCKING ADS?

FUCK THAT. Seriously, I am so pissed right now.

That's why you have to agree to EA's Terms before you go online with their games.

 

[Dalauz]

those look like girls shoes

 

[ggnoobIGN]

What?

Sport * 2002 Estimates of Participants Worldwide * Number of Affiliated National Federations

Volleyball * 998 Million * 218

Basketball * 400 Million * 211

Table Tennis * 300 Million * 186

Soccer *1002 Million * 264

Swimming * 1500 Million * 187

Badminton * 200 Million * 147

Tennis * 60 Million * 191

Baseball * 60 Million * 110

Dragon Boat Racing * 50 Million * 51

Team Handball * 18 Million * 147

Hockey * 3 million * 118

Judo * 2.5 Million * 187

Rugby * 2 Million * 97

Cycling * 600,000 * 160

Bocce * Pending * 72

Cricket * Pending * 74

So yes, volleyball is the most played sport by a mile.

But this thread might get way off topic so: EA sucks, etc, etc.

 

[Salmonax]

It always makes me chuckle when "gamers" complain about in game advertising. Perhaps you guys have never walked around in a city before, or driven a car, or any numerous other real life activity in which you see *GASP* advertisements. With the ushering in of the next gen consoles there was a huge demand for more realistic looking games. People want to drive around Tokyo in their racing games, or kick ass in a realistic rendering of MSG in a basketball game. Advertisements are all over those real life locations. So why is it surprising that the virtual replicas would also feature them? It's a natural response. The subway ads in Skate? Never been in a subway station before, or seen a bus pass by with *GASP* advertisements?

The point is that this looks nothing like a real-life scenario, which actually diminishes the product that was purchased.

Also, the Adidas pop-up ads are neither realistic, nor do they enhance gameplay in any way.

 

[Visualante]

More people play volleyball than any other sport. However, I doubt anyone calls that the world's biggest sport.

Wow GAF loves to get hung up on details.
I didn't call it the World's anything- I said America.
I didn't say it was the biggest anything, I said baseball.

It was not my intent to belittle your incredibly boring sport. Get over it.

 

[ggnoobIGN]

Wow GAF loves to get hung up on details.
I didn't call it the World's anything- I said America.
I didn't say it was the biggest anything, I said baseball.

It was not my intent to belittle your incredibly boring sport. Get over it.

I was just saying just because it has more people playing it hardly makes it bigger. There's still a bigger interest in baseball in America even if more people skate. Just like there is much greater interest in soccer than volleyball in the world despite the number of participants.

But yeah, Ot. I'm done.

 

[Google]

So yes, volleyball is the most played sport by a mile.

Behind Soccer and Swimming...and in 2002.

 

[PhoenixDark]

The point is that this looks nothing like a real-life scenario, which actually diminishes the product that was purchased.

Also, the Adidas pop-up ads are neither realistic, nor do they enhance gameplay in any way.

It's a videogame, of course things are going to be less realistic than normal. If it doesn't effect the gameplay who cares?

 

[ggnoobIGN]

Behind Soccer and Swimming...and in 2002.

Whoops, my bad. The soccer numbers are off, should be around 250 million. Don't know where swimming would fit and and what they would consider sport swimming.

 

[Google]

Whoops, my bad. The soccer numbers are off, should be around 250 million. Don't know where swimming would fit and and what they would consider sport swimming.

Buddy, this is totally off topic, but why the fuck would you think Volleyball would have more participants than Soccer...

Seriously...

And again, when was Swimming not a sport?

 

[Tiktaalik]

Holy shit.... interest in Skate plummeting.


Glad I didn't pick it up day one now. I'll grab it when it's bargain bin.

 

[Google]

Holy shit.... interest in Skate plummeting.


Glad I didn't pick it up day one now. I'll grab it when it's bargain bin.

Yeah, good for you!

Ignore the best Skateboarding game ever made, because it attempts to plug other games.

Well played.

 

[aku:jiki]

It always makes me chuckle when "gamers" complain about in game advertising. Perhaps you guys have never walked around in a city before, or driven a car, or any numerous other real life activity in which you see *GASP* advertisements. With the ushering in of the next gen consoles there was a huge demand for more realistic looking games. People want to drive around Tokyo in their racing games, or kick ass in a realistic rendering of MSG in a basketball game. Advertisements are all over those real life locations. So why is it surprising that the virtual replicas would also feature them? It's a natural response. The subway ads in Skate? Never been in a subway station before, or seen a bus pass by with *GASP* advertisements?

This is nothing more than uppity posturing. I've seen nothing that suggests advertising interests harm the actual development of games, or that other thing we've forgotten about - oh yeah, gameplay. Don't worry, EA isn't afraid Fox lobbyists will pull their ad dollars if the game doesn't become a one button masher to appeal to grandmas

That's a stupid fucking argument. Are you being serious?

(I had a well-written post here but I deleted it. There's just no way you're being serious.)

 

[Tiktaalik]

It would probably be more appropriate to post a picture of the band that was known for starting the shell toe shoe craze, RUN DMC.

 

[Tiktaalik]

Yeah, good for you!

Ignore the best Skateboarding game ever made, because it attempts to plug other games.

Well played.

I'm still going to buy it. I just said I'd get it bargain bin. If they're going to make money by pumping in mad amounts of ads I'm not going to pay full price for that.

Skate is awesome. I loved the demo, but this is a slap in the face to consumers and fans.

 

[Google]

I'm still going to buy it. I just said I'd get it bargain bin. If they're going to make money by pumping in mad amounts of ads I'm not going to pay full price for that.

Skate is awesome. I loved the demo, but this is a slap in the face to consumers and fans.

I'm a consumer and a fan, and I feel no slap in the face.

 

[Visualante]

I'm a consumer and a fan, and I feel no slap in the face.

I think there might be a whole three people who boycott Burnout Paradise and Pro Street over this.

 

[Salmonax]

It's a videogame, of course things are going to be less realistic than normal. If it doesn't effect the gameplay who cares?

So, the ads are okay because the game is supposed to be realistic, and the ads not being realistic is okay because it's just a game?

Awesome.

 

[PhoenixDark]

So, the ads are okay because the game is supposed to be realistic, and the ads not being realistic is okay because it's just a game?

Awesome.

Eh my point was that because it's a game, it's not surprising that certain things are more unrealistic (ie over the top).

 

[McBradders]

It always makes me chuckle when "gamers" complain about in game advertising. Perhaps you guys have never walked around in a city before, or driven a car, or any numerous other real life activity in which you see *GASP* advertisements. With the ushering in of the next gen consoles there was a huge demand for more realistic looking games. People want to drive around Tokyo in their racing games, or kick ass in a realistic rendering of MSG in a basketball game. Advertisements are all over those real life locations. So why is it surprising that the virtual replicas would also feature them? It's a natural response. The subway ads in Skate? Never been in a subway station before, or seen a bus pass by with *GASP* advertisements?

This is nothing more than uppity posturing. I've seen nothing that suggests advertising interests harm the actual development of games, or that other thing we've forgotten about - oh yeah, gameplay. Don't worry, EA isn't afraid Fox lobbyists will pull their ad dollars if the game doesn't become a one button masher to appeal to grandmas

If you want to be an apologist for EA, that's your perogative, but at least have the decency to;

a) read the posts properly and not skim read.

b) look at the evidence presented to you.

Giant yellow signs are quite jarring in the context of skate. Not only that but the alarming frequency in which they appear is also extremely jarring, immersion breaking and downright annoying. They've extremely hard to ignore and put me off playing what is otherwise a wonderful title until they either appear far less frequently or vanish altogether.

As I said before, Crackdown got it spot on. In fact if it hadn't been for a Royal Navy advert I wouldn't have even noticed they were real ads at all.

The Adidas thing is all well and good because it does not affect my gameplay, this Simpsons crap, however, does.

 

[AstroLad]

Let's also distinguish that something doesn't have to affect gameplay to affect a game. Many graphical, audio, and story elements that people consider important to their game experiences have no impact whatsoever on actual gameplay.

 

[PhoenixDark]

If you want to be an apologist for EA, that's your perogative, but at least have the decency to;

a) read the posts properly and not skim read.

b) look at the evidence presented to you.

Giant yellow signs are quite jarring in the context of skate. Not only that but the alarming frequency in which they appear is also extremely jarring, immersion breaking and downright annoying. They've extremely hard to ignore and put me off playing what is otherwise a wonderful title until they either appear far less frequently or vanish altogether.

As I said before, Crackdown got it spot on. In fact if it hadn't been for a Royal Navy advert I wouldn't have even noticed they were real ads at all.

The Adidas thing is all well and good because it does not affect my gameplay, this Simpsons crap, however, does.

I'm an EA apologist for not participating in group think against them?

 

[McBradders]

I'm an EA apologist for not participating in group think against them?

So you think that every billboard in game plastered with "the Simpsons Game" is reasonable? You seem to be coming at the discussion from a "in game advertising is ok", and yes, it is ok. When done correctly. Like Crackdown.

When done like this, however, I'm quite unsure how I can see anyone finding this to be "ok", because it isn't, especially when it features so prominently throughout the entire game world.

 

[Tiktaalik]

So you think that every billboard in game plastered with "the Simpsons Game" is reasonable? You seem to be coming at the discussion from a "in game advertising is ok", and yes, it is ok. When done correctly. Like Crackdown.

When done like this, however, I'm quite unsure how I can see anyone finding this to be "ok", because it isn't, especially when it features so prominently throughout the entire game world.

Right exactly. Nothing too bad about in game advertising, if it's done well and in moderation, but by plastering the same obtrusive ad repeatedly and obnoxiously all over the game world it really breaks the 4th wall.

 

[deadbeef]

So for the OP to get rid of these ads, he just needs to not log in to the EA servers - but it's OK to log in to Xbox Live?

Are these ads streamed or downloaded? Meaning, if he boots the game, but doesn't log in to the EA servers again, will he have the default (fake?) ads, or will he have these forever?

 

[McBradders]

So for the OP to get rid of these ads, he just needs to not log in to the EA servers - but it's OK to log in to Xbox Live?

Are these ads streamed or downloaded? Meaning, if he boots the game, but doesn't log in to the EA servers again, will he have the default (fake?) ads, or will he have these forever?

Not sure, I'm reluctant to boot up skate. to even try to skip the EA Nation thingamajig. And by not signing in you cant upload vids or pics or play online :/

 

[speculawyer]

I am bumping this thread because I feel like EA is raping my eyes.

I just gave them $100 for Skate. Yes, in Euroland games cost that much, sometimes more.

Look on the bright side . . . w/o the ads, maybe you would have had to pay $110.

 

[Visualante]

Matrix
Fedex, HP, Nokia, Phillips, some banks (how many of them did you honestly notice?)

Matrix sequels
Powerade, Samsung, Cadillac, Heineken, Ducatti (how many didn't you notice?)

Same scope of brands, same movies, vastly different approaches to placement.

 

[IronicallyTwisted]

Ads are fine as long as a significant portion of revenue is portioned off to the consumer, either in better content or lower prices.

That Simpsons Ad was just disgusting though, but I don't think all in game advertising should be shunned because of this.

 

[RSLAEV]

Man those pics are lawl worthy indeed.

Of course the next step is to have ads pop up in the corner of your screen every two minutes like they do on basic cable.

 

[PhlivoSong]

Ads are fine as long as a significant portion of revenue is portioned off to the consumer, either in better content or lower prices.

That Simpsons Ad was just disgusting though, but I don't think all in game advertising should be shunned because of this.

I was basically going to make both of the points you made. As far as the Adidas advertising goes, it was done in a way that was fine with me. If that extra money is what it takes for them to take a chance and make a game that has a "different" approach, then I am cool with that.

However, that Simpsons stuff is wayyyyy over the top. The only reason it's over the top is, because of how they did it. If you saw one Simpsons billboard every 6-8 blocks like you would in a real city then that is cool too, but plastering 5 or 6 ads on the screen at one time is completely absurd.

There is tasteful, and distasteful. Somehow they have managed to do both.

 

[John Harker]

That simpson stuff is dynamic ads. That's not product placement.

Soo... what do you guys think of people who do product placement in video games...?

 

[Diablohead]

I am still on my boat that EA were great untill midway into the ps1 era, then it started to go downhill.

I am seriously starting to hate it, they are after money and sales more then anything else they do, seriously.

 

[MrPing1000]

Still could be worse.

Yes thats right, a mmofps set in the far future on a series of planets cut off from earth still managed to get adverts for Deuce Bigalow 2.

It was made worse by this, "SOE's director of business development, Louis Figueroa, framed the deal as one that will lend needed financial support to the more than two-year-old massively multiplayer role-playing game. "Realizing another revenue stream in PlanetSide will ultimately be good for the entire PlanetSide community," Figueroa said. "The additional income will allow us to support the game with continued development and new features that the community has been asking for."

Which unsurprisingly turned out to be bullshit, Planetside has a tiny development team that makes piecemeal changes on a very irregular basis.

 

[ElFly]

I wonder if someone will reverse engineer the protocol, so we can put a proxy between the console and EA servers, to replace the ads with custom textures.

 

[John Harker]

Still could be worse.

Yes thats right, a mmofps set in the far future on a series of planets cut off from earth still managed to get adverts for Deuce Bigalow 2.

It was made worse by this, "SOE's director of business development, Louis Figueroa, framed the deal as one that will lend needed financial support to the more than two-year-old massively multiplayer role-playing game. "Realizing another revenue stream in PlanetSide will ultimately be good for the entire PlanetSide community," Figueroa said. "The additional income will allow us to support the game with continued development and new features that the community has been asking for."

Which unsurprisingly turned out to be bullshit, Planetside has a tiny development team that makes piecemeal changes on a very irregular basis.

Hey, don't call out bullshit on Louis.
He's a really good guy; and responsible for /pizza, mind you.

 

[Sol..]

those look like girls shoes

omg where are you from. when I was in high school (4 years ago) everybody had at least one pair. Sometimes many years old. I do like the italias a little more tho...but man those superstars are comfy. I just might buy a new pair right now


Anyways, I felt skate.'s product placement was a little annoying. I didn't let it ruin the game for me. But it sure did make star intros skip worthy. That limited edition shoe message was some bullshit tho. I was shocked that they just flat out paused the game to tell me about that crap.


P.S. /pizza was the shit.

 

[Haunted]

Those screens are simply ridiculous.

to all you guys who were defending in-game ads in X number of threads before ...

QFT and :lol

Yes thats right, a mmofps set in the far future on a series of planets cut off from earth still managed to get adverts for Deuce Bigalow 2.

Jesus Christ.

 

[laesperanzapaz]

@PD:

I believe people have mentioned that DLs are broken up because of the ads.

That is a problem.

Another stick in teh eye: It's immersion breaking, because real life isn't saturated by not only the ads of the SAME product, but the ads themselves are THE EXACT SAME.

Carpet bombing marketing inside a game destroys your sense of enjoyability. So yes, it affects gameplay.

Make it imitate real life [i.e. tons of variety with teh ads] then you may have an argument.

 

[rollingstart]

:lol
It's like watching G4 and seeing the same three commercials repeat ad nauseum because nobody wants to buy any ads aside from them

:lol that is such a mean thing to say