PlayStation 3 games with in-game dynamic ads
Sony says it will now start running ads in PlayStation 3 games. Sony has reached an agreement with marketing firm IGA Worldwide to provide dynamic in-game ads for the PlayStation 3. Shortly after the announcement, IGA Worldwide announced a deal making IGA Worldwide the exclusive ad provider for PS3 games developed and published by industry giant EA. Games most likely to be effected by this deal are EA Sports games as well as racing games like Need for Speed and Burnout. The move by Sony is most likely to counteract Microsoft’s buy out of advertising firm Massive and then creating a similar exclusive deal providing advertising for Xbox 360 games.
In-game advertising is a growing trend, with dynamic ads the new money maker for game publishers. Dynamic ads are places in the game that do not have a designated ad on the game disc, but can be provided with an ad such as an upcoming movie release or other time sensitive ads. This results in much more revenue for game makers, since companies need to keep paying for the advertisements like TV commercials rather than a one-shot ad that will always be on the game disc. Sony seems to be hitting the console advertising market pretty hard recently, with the release today of the first episode of Qore. Sony seems to be trying to squeeze every penny it can out of the PS3.
Source: PC World
It was bound to happen…every since TIVO… No one watches ads. so they’ve found ways of forcing them on us!
it’ll be a shame if Sony goes down Micro$oft’s X-Bollox nickel-and-diming strategy - EA are the worst offenders for these kinds of scams
sony needs cash.they had a very poor start with the ps3 altho things are brightening up now Blu-Ray has won over HD-TV
@1 oh well if they have to force it theres a simple solution:
lets not buy EA games anymore
if they lower game/console prices, i wouldnt care. but i doubt they will
@4
we already don’t buy them!!! at least, me. i download them, then i don’t like them (or if i like them, i finish them) and i don’t need to buy them, to use so much money on games… seriously, 70€ to buy a Playstation game? come on…
I remember a few years ago that the ads were supposed to be a revenue model that would reduce the price of games - now they are just “there” and the prices are either the same or higher.
the so called “ad” in games is just a texture in game so it can be replaced..eventually.
like gta III back in the days… remember?
Haven’t ads been a round for a while in PC gaming? BF2142 had ads, and I heard CS1.6 was supposed to get them too.
Sony will probably use this revenue to bolster their network with HOME arriving in November/December.
Why are so many people paying full price for PS3 games? Stay away from high street stores. In the UK you can get cheap games from Play.com and Amazon.co.uk plus many online retailers. There must be a much larger number of trustworthy online retailers in America/Canada.
OMG, non-intrusive ads in my games, this is heresy!
@9, Peter: yes, CS has in-game ads. They used to be big at de_dust2 for example, and they’re always there in the spectator screen. Annoying, it’s only an ad for the Orange Box, and I have that already…
Does this mean games will be cheaper? Since they’re making more money off of games, they should lower prices for consumers. The more gamers buy the game, the more ad revenue. Bah, I wish.
so games will be free with ads? i am not going to pay for advertising and i hope that no one else will either. i guess the only ad free space is now in my head.
boycott all games with advertising.
keep hope alive
________________________________________________________
@9 are you on drugs? Amazon & Play games for ps3 are the exact same price as High street retailers, tesco’s is even cheaper on lots of games plus you buy em from high street you take home there and then not wait for it to be delivered.
As for the ingame ads, more money for development is my guess instead of cheaper games (platinum range launches soon)
Now need Adblock for games, sigh!
OMG what will be the next thing? ads in audio cds? ads in condoms?
very bad news
Goodbye immersion..
I guess in a racing or sport title they may sit fairly comfortably but in anything else…
I am defending a desolate a space station from ensueing insectoid alien hordes, out of the corner of my eye I spy movement. Whipping round while reloading my plasma grenade launcher I am pleased to here that for a limited time I get two big macs for the price of one.
Add
There will come a point where thanks to advanced physics engines and hardware capabilities, everything in game will be destructable, apart from the advertisements. They will stand proub peddling there wares, even in the midst of nuclear war. Another nice reminder that were only playing a game.
why do you people cry so much??? Just don’t pay attention to the dumb ads. Simple as that. The games already have sony ads in them anyway.
Sony = Total Fail. Period.
it seems that PS3 games released in other Asian countries are cheaper, in Hong Kong most PS3 games are like $350HK which is like around $40US. plus, most Asian games are in English too.
You guys are all stupid. The ads will make the games seem more realistic. Why? Because in real life you SEE ads everywhere. It’s not like flashing letters will pop up with an advertise. The advertisements will be placed in the game in the same ways you see them in real life.
ALSO, it might not lower the price of games. BUT it means there will be more money towards development. MEANING, games will have higher budgets.
-nuff said
pwned
@19 thats not the point you have choosen the right name for your self. the problem is that everything is going to be corporate bllsht.
like in politics the lobbyst that finance the party’s will defenately have influence what the politician will do
this is the same
______________________________
people should be what they supose to be FREE AND INDEPENTEND
-jfk
______________________________
its not like the ads will be intrusive…
they’ll just appear on bill boards or on a can, such as a pepsi can on the floor or what not.
Its not like ur gonna have flashing popups telling u to buy nike cr4p!
I really hated the advertisements in crackdown on xbox360 was really stupid…and made it feel much less realistic.
I gots no probs with ads in games, more money towards game developers means better games i would hope (unless EA are involved ofcourse). Just hope i dont see a flashing neon billboard in a medieval fantasy rpg hey (lets hope the adds fit the game).
Objects ingame as ads are fine, but if i ever get a popup ad in a game then i will personaly bomb the game company ;p (after all i payed good… bandwidth, to get the game).
Im actualy only suprised how slow it has been for game developers to realise other revenue streams such as advertisement ingame.
——–
Error: You entered the wrong sum in the protection field.
@14 TobyLaRone
I was referring more to stores like HMV and GAME but yeah, Tesco, ASDA, Woolworths etc. will sell games cheaper but they aren’t guaranteed to get all of the Limted Editions which many people want, such as MGS4 LE which WAS (its sold out now) only available from Play.com afaik. I’m pretty sure they got the UK exclusive.
@22 ★★★RLSLogKing★★★
Sony won’t spend too much on game development. They have canned The Getaway and Eight Days because they haven’t used their allotted time to great use (I don’t know how FRD got away with HAZE), didn’t have much to show and they were reaching/exceeding the budget with so much work left to do. Sony pulled the plug and will use the money on reliable developers like Insomniac who deliver on time.
This is proff. EA suck.
@23
“people should be what they supose to be FREE AND INDEPENTEND”
are you Dyslexic? don’t you mean INDEPENDENT? Did Webbie spell too fast for you?
@22
Well said. You’re one of the first people here to talk sense. To me having a current in game advertising is almost a plus in the games that use it. I actually remember hacking NHL 96 on the PC to get the current advertisements for team stadiums. I remember being taken out of the game by playing at home and not seeing the local ads surrounding the ice.
These ads are not being inserted inappropriately. They’re being used in the way that seems to work for everyone. They’re perfect fits for games like Crackdown or Burnout. Sure you could put up a dummy product to fill the Billboard and GTA uses the space cleverly, but most companies aren’t going to put the same time and attention to detail in. Instead of seeing billboards for “Fizz Cola” I’d rather just see them say “Pepsi”. It’s little different to me than making anything else more realistic in a video game.
I’m constantly amazed at the things people will get irritated about. Here’s a situation that seems to be a win-win for every one involved. Developers get more money to spend on making higher quality games. Gamers get a more emmersive and realistic world. I’m personally glad a company can responsibly find a way to include advertisements in a way that’s unobtrusive to help fund their products.
I think from this point on I’m going to start sending off a letter of praise every time I read some over-reacting idiot on the internet complains about these sorts of things. Come on people, in the digital age we have much more pressing matters to get behind. Things like broken DRM are much more of a threat. Call me crazy but when it comes to making games more realistic in a way that benefits everyone… I really don’t see why we should be spending any time on it at all.
I’m all for ads in games. The games with ads obviously would be cheaper to buy, hence make buying them instead of downloading much more appealing. On the other hand ads might mess up good games by excessive advertising. All in all I think it’s worth a shot.
I don’t care as long as the ads don’t go flipping in my face
OMG to think this move will make things any better is absoludicrous.
You honestly think publishers will sink the returns from these ads back into the games? How old are you?
Advertisements are already being used inapropriately… Ever played Anarchy Online? I left about a year ago, got tired of the billboards literally ahouting at me.
One of the first rules of film making is to never make the audience aware of the camera as to do so shatters the illusion of reality. In game, to draw a players attention away from the fantasy they are immersing themselves in is a travesty and it will become the norm.
In sports titles or racing games then I agree, the advertisement is part of the experience but there is no getting away from the fact that most games are not set in the real world. This however will not stop publishers once they have got a taste of the money available.
http://www.secretlair.com/index.php?/clickableculture/entry/massive_ruins_planetside/
rotfl!!!!111111111111oneonesix
Actually, I think ads would be very useful for independent devs. Most of the time their copy protection sucks anyway, so at least they will still be able, to an extent, to make money off us pirates too. Of course, depending on the game, ads may or may not be appropriate. I’m not sure how many companies will go the extra mile to makes particular ads to suit particular games, but it seems like a win win situation.
whats even more bs is that the game prices will remain the same. which is complete greed. if they add ads to a game the price should be reflected.
but doesn’t sony sell ps3 below the cost of its production and get their money back on games sold? (and ads from now on?)
Movies have had product placement since the 50’s. We dont care when our favorite actors are drinking pepsi or coke.
Actually some of us do care about product placement in films.
i Audi, was a disgusting example of product placement at it’s worst but it was never going to be a great film regardless…
The thing is, in a film set in the real world advertising is expected, it would be wrong not to have it and as long as it is not shoved in your face, why should we have a problem with it? In a game set in another universe on the other hand..
quote: In-game advertising is a growing t urd.
im so much happier to rip these games off now. thanks RLSLOG!!!
@ 39:
its a bit more subtle than that… movies are used all the time to mould your religious or political views… and they are very good at it. they could have us eating dog poo if they wanted to, trust that.
“Movies have had product placement since the 50’s. We dont care when our favorite actors are drinking pepsi or coke.”
An actor drinking a soda with the brand visible is fine. But how about things like Godzilla 1980 where they added scenes in a US military HQ and in practically every scene, they made sure to get a shot of the giant Dr. Pepper machine?
Look at the bright side, at least they’ll be ads for real things, unlike internet ads…I mean have you ever actually clicked on one; it doesn’t take you near anything semi-interesting or even related to the ad!
Either way this is bad news; everyone is so burnt out on ads, most people learn to ignore them all together and don’t pay attention…I know I don’t
Right now while writing this, i am having to put up with a blinking banner below the comment box that says “BEACH BUM MAKES $237,000 FROM LAPTOP!”
If ad’s in game start doing that, then maybe i’ll get concerned. but for now, billboard ads in-game potentially can add to the immersion.
mmmm i like pepsi. games already advertise stuff anyway i can remember seeing coke in 1 game before i think or something else… does it really matter? no if its on a billboard let it be there . whatever
Mmmmmm…..must….have….Pepsi…….now…..!
Hopefully in the cracked versions, people will find a way to disable the ads too (yes, I know how difficult it can be to replace in-game textures, but…)
- and replace them with logos from the cracking group. That’ll be the biggest F–k Y-u to corporate machinizations ever! Give props to the scene, folks!
-TL
@20 STFU nub go play ur xcrap plzfixme
@34 - good link
and there are more issues besides people having to see ads for adam sandler movies in their online star wars mmporpg’s like games console games not getting cheaper by this, or developers complaining why the publishers get richer while they get paid the same
nice ps3