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The idea of advertising products in-game has been bandied around for a while now, but has thankfully remained pretty low key. Mostly it's been football games that have featured advertisments for products, on the billboards around the pitch. There's also been product placement in some F1 racing games, but that's only to reflect the way the real cars look with their respective sponsors. Yet EA seem to be upping the ante with their new crash-em-up game 'Burnout 3', which features huge great billboards scattered around advertising other products in the EA range. There's nothing wrong with putting a catalogue of games in a game's box, but actually having ads thrown at you in-game is, to put it lightly, is a blooming liberty.
The movie industry seems to have got product placement right - with products being on screen for little more than a second and are usually discreetly done. EA's, on the other hand, are about as subtle as the huge great 'Xenadrine' truck that was on screen for a good minute during a climactic scene in Terminator 3. And this could just be the start of a growing trend - why should EA or other companies stop with their own products - will we end up controlling characters with 'Domestos' or 'Colgate Toothpaste' emblazoned across their backs?
What especially irks is the fact that gamers - apart from certain naughty yo-ho-ho software pirate types - pay to either rent or buy their games and as such shouldn't have to be subjected to such blatant advertisment. Which leads to me ask - what now? Well, I have a solution. Clearly, there's money to be made from advertising products in games, and if more games companies grab onto that, the trend is likely to escalate. So why don't games companies put out demo versions of their games, featuring adverts? Not enough companies put out demos, leaving gamers to get burned when they buy a duff game. Putting adverts in demos would benefit both the companies, who could rake in the money from their sponsors.
These demo versions of games - containing one or two levels from the full product could not only be put on the cover disks of games magazines - and not just the official ones either - but be given away by games stores. And if a demo focused on advertising just one product, the disc could also be bundled with whatever product was being advertised. People playing the demos would be subjected to the advertisments and would also get a taster of the full product, which would contain no adverts. Everyone would be happy. Hey, it could happen..
The movie industry seems to have got product placement right - with products being on screen for little more than a second and are usually discreetly done. EA's, on the other hand, are about as subtle as the huge great 'Xenadrine' truck that was on screen for a good minute during a climactic scene in Terminator 3. And this could just be the start of a growing trend - why should EA or other companies stop with their own products - will we end up controlling characters with 'Domestos' or 'Colgate Toothpaste' emblazoned across their backs?
What especially irks is the fact that gamers - apart from certain naughty yo-ho-ho software pirate types - pay to either rent or buy their games and as such shouldn't have to be subjected to such blatant advertisment. Which leads to me ask - what now? Well, I have a solution. Clearly, there's money to be made from advertising products in games, and if more games companies grab onto that, the trend is likely to escalate. So why don't games companies put out demo versions of their games, featuring adverts? Not enough companies put out demos, leaving gamers to get burned when they buy a duff game. Putting adverts in demos would benefit both the companies, who could rake in the money from their sponsors.
These demo versions of games - containing one or two levels from the full product could not only be put on the cover disks of games magazines - and not just the official ones either - but be given away by games stores. And if a demo focused on advertising just one product, the disc could also be bundled with whatever product was being advertised. People playing the demos would be subjected to the advertisments and would also get a taster of the full product, which would contain no adverts. Everyone would be happy. Hey, it could happen..
That made me laugh when I saw the first of the million PoP posters around the cinema :D
Ubisoft have Prince of Persia ads in Black Arrow and Splinter Cell:PT.
Oh I thought you were talking about that. :p
I know...
No it advertises it on the main game.
Unlikely.
Just stick with the "No Adverts" bit. Forget about the demo thing..
Just stick with the "No Adverts" bit. Forget about the demo thing..
yea burnout 3 advertises like fifa 2005 and stuff haha.
The idea of advertising products in-game has been bandied around for a while now, but has thankfully remained pretty low key. Mostly it's been football games that have featured advertisments for products, on the billboards around the pitch. There's also been product placement in some F1 racing games, but that's only to reflect the way the real cars look with their respective sponsors. Yet EA seem to be upping the ante with their new crash-em-up game 'Burnout 3', which features huge great billboards scattered around advertising other products in the EA range. There's nothing wrong with putting a catalogue of games in a game's box, but actually having ads thrown at you in-game is, to put it lightly, is a blooming liberty.
The movie industry seems to have got product placement right - with products being on screen for little more than a second and are usually discreetly done. EA's, on the other hand, are about as subtle as the huge great 'Xenadrine' truck that was on screen for a good minute during a climactic scene in Terminator 3. And this could just be the start of a growing trend - why should EA or other companies stop with their own products - will we end up controlling characters with 'Domestos' or 'Colgate Toothpaste' emblazoned across their backs?
What especially irks is the fact that gamers - apart from certain naughty yo-ho-ho software pirate types - pay to either rent or buy their games and as such shouldn't have to be subjected to such blatant advertisment. Which leads to me ask - what now? Well, I have a solution. Clearly, there's money to be made from advertising products in games, and if more games companies grab onto that, the trend is likely to escalate. So why don't games companies put out demo versions of their games, featuring adverts? Not enough companies put out demos, leaving gamers to get burned when they buy a duff game. Putting adverts in demos would benefit both the companies, who could rake in the money from their sponsors.
These demo versions of games - containing one or two levels from the full product could not only be put on the cover disks of games magazines - and not just the official ones either - but be given away by games stores. And if a demo focused on advertising just one product, the disc could also be bundled with whatever product was being advertised. People playing the demos would be subjected to the advertisments and would also get a taster of the full product, which would contain no adverts. Everyone would be happy. Hey, it could happen..
The movie industry seems to have got product placement right - with products being on screen for little more than a second and are usually discreetly done. EA's, on the other hand, are about as subtle as the huge great 'Xenadrine' truck that was on screen for a good minute during a climactic scene in Terminator 3. And this could just be the start of a growing trend - why should EA or other companies stop with their own products - will we end up controlling characters with 'Domestos' or 'Colgate Toothpaste' emblazoned across their backs?
What especially irks is the fact that gamers - apart from certain naughty yo-ho-ho software pirate types - pay to either rent or buy their games and as such shouldn't have to be subjected to such blatant advertisment. Which leads to me ask - what now? Well, I have a solution. Clearly, there's money to be made from advertising products in games, and if more games companies grab onto that, the trend is likely to escalate. So why don't games companies put out demo versions of their games, featuring adverts? Not enough companies put out demos, leaving gamers to get burned when they buy a duff game. Putting adverts in demos would benefit both the companies, who could rake in the money from their sponsors.
These demo versions of games - containing one or two levels from the full product could not only be put on the cover disks of games magazines - and not just the official ones either - but be given away by games stores. And if a demo focused on advertising just one product, the disc could also be bundled with whatever product was being advertised. People playing the demos would be subjected to the advertisments and would also get a taster of the full product, which would contain no adverts. Everyone would be happy. Hey, it could happen..