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| Is this a good idea, or big business sticking their advertising where it doesn’t belong? |
| If it brings down the price, Great idea! |
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50% |
[ 6 ] |
| Keep your big nose out of my games! |
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50% |
[ 6 ] |
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| Total Votes : 12 |
Roach
SBR Belfry Bat
Joined: 20 Jan 2002
Posts: 3233
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| Would your character like fries with that? |
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The Sims Online, this holiday season's online sequel to the most popular PC game of all time, will include heavy presence from Intel, McDonalds, and potentially many more companies...Electronic Arts, maker of The Sims, has not released the details of the deals with Intel and McDonald's, but it is known to have reached multi-million dollar proportions. Intel will feature its logo, Pentium 4 processors, and trademark jingle in the game; McDonald's will have a special place in the game--increasing a character's happiness quotient when having eaten a McDonald's product, and franchise ownership being a possible occupation for the characters.
I was rather surprised to hear this, especially that it was in the multi-million dollar range, but I suppose it makes sense. It sounds like a good idea to me if it means that it brings down the price for the consumer. Perhaps if they sell enough advertising the game could even be free of a monthly fee.
BTW I know the game is an MMOG, but this post is about the business part, so I think the off-topic forum is the right place for it. |
Sat Sep 21, 2002 9:11 am |
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Gish
Almighty Gish
Joined: 27 Apr 2002
Posts: 249
Location: Spartanburg, South Carolina |
I think is a very bad idea. while in this case, it may seem harmless, it will only get worse. I would prefer it not get started in the first place 
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"It is not that power corrupts but that it is magnetic to the corruptible." |
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Sat Sep 21, 2002 9:33 am |
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Myrthos
Spoiler of All Fun
Joined: 07 Jul 2001
Posts: 1926
Location: Holland |
Making games costs millions of dollars. As we already see now, a lot of publishers are in big trouble and as such, game developers can't get enough funding for their games and many games are canned. Especially those games that are different from the crop as they impose the most risk.
So from that point of view throwing in some ads might pay for the development of many more games. I don't think the ads themselves are bad. What could be bad is how they are integrated into the game. A coca-cola ad in Neverwinter Nights would be not-fitting as it has a fantasy setting. But there could be coca-cola ads in shooters and games like Fallout.
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Sat Sep 21, 2002 9:49 am |
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XeroX
The MasterCopy
Joined: 13 Dec 2001
Posts: 7125
Location: The Netherlands |
Ea placed advertising in their Fifa games before. Their bilboard beside the field have adds on them just in real life.
It is not desturbing. If the game in this time or future they can put ads in.
Just do it as in normal life: a bar with asign outside, drink can machine. ect.
The game Darkened Skye was complety based on Skittles
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Sat Sep 21, 2002 10:00 am |
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Gish
Almighty Gish
Joined: 27 Apr 2002
Posts: 249
Location: Spartanburg, South Carolina |
ok good points, but let's just hope the game companies aren't in such desperate need of money that they only make games that are appropriate for advertising. I think advertising in games should be the exception, not the rule.
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"It is not that power corrupts but that it is magnetic to the corruptible." |
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Sat Sep 21, 2002 10:07 am |
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mDrop
High Emperor
Joined: 06 May 2002
Posts: 479
Location: Under the desk |
It's not that bad, but I'm just afraid of the worst-case scenario, which has happened on many other cultural areas where big companies have begun advertising.
Image this: the advertisement money becomes a big source of income to the developers. Then, when the advertisers know they have the developer trapped, they demand changes to the game to suit their business-needs or the money is cut off. Or you have to agree to a advertising deal to play in the first place.
You might say that it will never happen, but similar scenarios have happened before and they will happen in the future. Ofcourse the changes might not be big or even noticed by the players, but what if they ruin the game or spoil the original idea? I'm not talking about Sims Online, but on the general idea of advertisers.
It's a risky thing to do, but I understand that they will get a lot of money from this and it will help them develop the game. But I seriously doubt that players are going to see any pricedrops or other benefits.
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Sat Sep 21, 2002 1:10 pm |
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vaticide
Put food in here
Joined: 21 Feb 2002
Posts: 1122
Location: One step behind a toddler bent on destruction. |
Players would benefit from ads I think. The current model for gaming is choking itself out. Look at MMOGs for example. There are so many coming out soon it is mind-boggling. At $15 a month the population that plays them can likely only afford one game at a time, maybe two. If the game managed to get subsidised by an advertising company the monthly rate could drop, or even dissapear. This would mean that the gaming companies won't have to compete for players to exclusively play their game, players could afford to play more than one game at a time.
As for other games, development is getting more and more expensive, unless you want your game to take forever to make. Then at the end of the development cycle your game still has to cost near the industry standard of around $50. If you want to make a good game, you now have to sell millions of copies to even break even. If some more money was put into the companies from advertisers than at the same $50 gaming companies could see profit sooner, spend more money on development and not try to make games appeal to every type of gamer just to sell a million copies.
I think the game industry needs to find a new business model to continue to thrive, and unfortunately, selling out to ad companies might be one way we continue to get to play lots of good games.
-vaticide |
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Sat Sep 21, 2002 4:44 pm |
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ButtOfMalmsey
Village Idiot
Joined: 07 May 2002
Posts: 785
Location: Mississippi |
Well, it used to be that you had to pay a licensing fee to the trademark owners to get their stuff to appear in your game; now, you can get dollars for it. I think it's highly appropriate. Games are finally growing as accepted as movies.
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I saw this in a movie about a bus that had to SPEED around a city, keeping its SPEED over fifty, and if its SPEED dropped, it would explode. I think it was called, "The Bus That Couldn't Slow Down."
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Sat Sep 21, 2002 5:17 pm |
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Provis
High Emperor
Joined: 01 Jul 2002
Posts: 872
Location: Middle of the Forest |
I don't see anything wrong with it, I'm already exposed to ads everywhere I go so I've gotten pretty used to it. 
Just so long as it fits.
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Sat Sep 21, 2002 6:36 pm |
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Dhruin
Stranger In A Strange Land
Joined: 20 May 2002
Posts: 1825
Location: Sydney, Australia |
I have mixed feelings about this; it's been done in most mediums, so why not games? I do remember when Back To The Future 2 came out it was one of the first movies to have product placement, but the placement was rather contrived with the camera almost lingering on the Pepsi (?) logo. |
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Sun Sep 22, 2002 1:16 am |
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Erb Duchenne
Slayer
Joined: 08 Jun 2002
Posts: 987
Location: malaysia |
I think it's great, as long as they don't over-do it and make it super unrealistic. After all, a little advertising does bring in some realism.
Just take a walk in the city. How many cities totally have no billboards whatsoever? Formula 1 GP. No advertising on the sides? Footbal (Soccer) without advertising at the side of the field? Of course not. Advertising is all over us in real life. It could make a game more real too.
Like 'Crazy Taxi' ; take me to Kentucky Fired Chicken!; take me to the Levi's Original Store! Makes me crack up! It's great fun. But as I said, as long as they don't over-do it.
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Erb Duchenne |
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Sun Sep 22, 2002 5:57 pm |
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ButtOfMalmsey
Village Idiot
Joined: 07 May 2002
Posts: 785
Location: Mississippi |
quote:
Originally posted by Dhruin
I have mixed feelings about this; it's been done in most mediums, so why not games? I do remember when Back To The Future 2 came out it was one of the first movies to have product placement, but the placement was rather contrived with the camera almost lingering on the Pepsi (?) logo.
Don't forget the grandaddy of product placement: ET, what launched the Reese's pieces phenomenon. Also Back to the Future, which was the cornerstone of the Pepsi Free! revolution.
_________________
"It has been a grand journey- well-worth making once."
-Winston Churchill, 1965, on Life
I saw this in a movie about a bus that had to SPEED around a city, keeping its SPEED over fifty, and if its SPEED dropped, it would explode. I think it was called, "The Bus That Couldn't Slow Down."
-Homer Simpson
=Member of the Non-Flamers Guild=
=Member of The Sixth House=
::Captain of the Black Company:: |
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Sun Sep 22, 2002 7:36 pm |
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Erb Duchenne
Slayer
Joined: 08 Jun 2002
Posts: 987
Location: malaysia |
quote:
Originally posted by Dhruin
I do remember when Back To The Future 2 came out it was one of the first movies to have product placement, but the placement was rather contrived with the camera almost lingering on the Pepsi (?) logo.
It was by no means one of the first, but perhaps one of the first very obvious ones. It didn't just advertise Pepsi though. There was the souped up DeLorean (which went bankrupt), JVC video camcorder, Nike auto lacing boots... too many to mention. Pity part 3 wasn't designed to take advertisement! 
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Erb Duchenne |
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Sun Sep 22, 2002 8:02 pm |
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Dhruin
Stranger In A Strange Land
Joined: 20 May 2002
Posts: 1825
Location: Sydney, Australia |
I realise it wasn't the first but I seem to remember the media making a big deal about it - almost a selling point. 
I suspect in many cases we're somewhat insulated. Since fantasy settings dominate the RPG genre (for the most part, anyway), it's hard to imagine too much product placement. Perhaps a mining conglomerate could sponsor Gothic 2... |
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Mon Sep 23, 2002 6:31 am |
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Erb Duchenne
Slayer
Joined: 08 Jun 2002
Posts: 987
Location: malaysia |
quote:
Originally posted by Dhruin
I realise it wasn't the first but I seem to remember the media making a big deal about it - almost a selling point.
I suspect in many cases we're somewhat insulated. Since fantasy settings dominate the RPG genre (for the most part, anyway), it's hard to imagine too much product placement. Perhaps a mining conglomerate could sponsor Gothic 2...
You know... jeans were invented by miners and made popular by Levi Strauss. Tough, rugged, long lasting. I bet the digger and scrapers in Gothic were wearing the predessesors to jeans 
A LOT of RPGs have been made in medieval, fantasy lands. Great for imagination, bad for product placement. If advertising becomes the norm in games... I bet we're going to start to see a lot of futuristic, or present day type RPGs.
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Erb Duchenne |
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Mon Sep 23, 2002 8:31 pm |
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