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The Daily Hotness: In-game advertising really grinds my gears photo

Expect to see things like the above image plastered all over PlayStation Home, as well as an increasing number of your favorite videogames in the near future.

At an upfront by Microsoft-owned ad firm Massive held in New York City on Wednesday, Activision Blizzard revealed numerous upcoming sequels to established franchises (including Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, one of the more uninspired videogame sequel titles in recent memory, and what’s being called Guitar Hero 5 for now).

A devious and sickening example of in-game advertising came in a sample screenshot from GH 5. Of course, the Guitar Hero franchise is already infamous for its blatant and brazen advertising, like the Axe-branded guitar and the Pontiac Garage venue in Guitar Hero III. Apparently, a screenshot of GH 5 was shown; it featured a Burger King logo next to the note highway. Excuse me while I go vomit into a wastebasket.

I suppose this shouldn’t surprise anyone, since Activision recently signed a multi-year ad deal with IGA Worldwide. Still, this kind of crap disgusts me, and it should disgust you, too.

Anyway, recap! A Canadian actor who lent his voice to some Ubisoft games told the world how he escaped last week’s Mumbai terror attacks; Activision announced Eagles, Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins, and reggae songs for Guitar Hero World Tour; Hamza continued his prolific run of previews; and plenty more happened on 12/03/08.

Wednesday Regulars:
Scraps: 'You're heavier than you look' (12/03/2008)

Originals:
F.E.A.R. 2's viral marketing is clever, mildly creepy

Reviews:
Castlevania Judgment

Previews:
The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena
Ghostbusters (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)
Ghostbusters (Wii)
Ghostbusters (DS)

Contests:
Contest: Get beta access to Freaky Creatures with clever Photoshop skills
Contest results: Why you haven't bought a gaming notebook yet
Sacred 2 contest winners announced!

News:
Microsoft confirms internal memory in new Xbox 360 Arcades
Prince of Persia voice actor recounts survival of Mumbai attacks
Eagles, Nirvana, Pumpkins, and free reggae pack coming to Guitar Hero this month
Blitz working on 'true 3D games.' Yes, just like Freddy's Dead!
Red Bull first to exploit Home's advertising potential
Captain Obvious: Atari will continue selling games to retail
KOTOR MMO has 'potential' to fleece you of all your cash
Atari: Used games are 'extremely painful'
LBP moderation is 'evolving,' will eventually display the reason for deletion
Activision hearts sequels, announces Guitar Hero 5, Modern Warfare 2, and more
DC Universe could be on your doorstep by next Christmas
Tetsuya Mizuguchi's new Wii music game named QJ
Pata-pata-patapon plushies are the perfect decor for your rearview mirror
Gardening Mama bends over in America Spring 2009
MS starts racial profiling, claims Hispanics like home entertainment best
190 million households to have consoles in 2012
Delay on Ghostbusters was to max out the creepy factor
Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days confirmed for US release
Prepare to be jealous: Ben Heck shows off his new portable Xbox 360
Study: First-person shooter cutscenes aren't engaging enough
Hefty Fable II patch nearing completion, no word on a launch date
Disney entering the MMO market: Mickey Mouse roleplay sex in 5, 4, 3, 2 ...
Come be amazed by Valve's lifetime retail sales figures

Galleries:
Street Fighter movie: Chun-Li? More like Chun-Lie
Shiny skin time: new Tekken 6 PS3/Xbox 360 screens

Videos:
Prince of Persia: The Fallen King makes us want to pinch little cheeks
DJMAX Technika now testing in Los Angeles
DSi clenches, eventually yields, to some hot homebrew lovin'
Have you heard of Black Sigil: Blade of the Exiled?
New Riddick trailer shows darkness, also gameplay
F.E.A.R. 2 videos terrify with the power of the S.I.L.L.Y. A.C.R.O.N.Y.M.


Continue: More recap stories





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20 comments | showing # 1 to 20

Kyousuke Nanbu's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/04/2008 01:38
Kyousuke Nanbu
ADS IN VIDEOGAMES, NERD SMASH.

Eh, I buy a DVD and the first thing is a commercial I can't skip, I load a video on the internet and I get a commercial first, at least in videogames I can just ignore them.

Although they don't really bother me at all, unless the game sends me on the burger king quest to get a whopper sword, I could care less.

Besides, product placements will be in games that fit them, things like GH, the burnout games, sandbox ish games set in modern times, if we start seeing red bull potions in RPG's, then you can bitch.
gamadaya's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/04/2008 01:58
gamadaya
Wow, next to the note highway? That's really pushing the boundaries. I like ads in some games, but not like that.
WowItzMike's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/04/2008 02:03
WowItzMike
Yeah, that's really unattractive. Like in that Midnight Club (which I don't play) commercial they put the starting line right in front of a gosh-darned Pizza Hut. C'mon, people!
Samit Sarkar's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/04/2008 02:26
Samit Sarkar
@WowItzMike: See, I don't have nearly as much of a problem with that -- it's just like advertising in stadiums in sports games. If it makes sense, and it makes the game more realistic, then that's fine. There's also a Best Buy in Midnight Club: Los Angeles on some corner, and apparently, it looks like a real one in the real-life city. That's okay by me.
randombullseye's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/04/2008 02:35
randombullseye
Fifth.

Starting a new trend, lets see if the internet picks up fifth.
Clance's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/04/2008 03:10
Clance
Confirmed! Every game from now on should be set in World War II to prevent advertising possibilities...

Also Confirmed! Modern Warfare 2 to include an on-base Burger King in the Middle-East.

CONFIRMED! Coca-Cola trying to get ad space on Resi 5.
Timmeh's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/04/2008 03:13
Timmeh
I don't mind real world products popping up from time to time where appropriate (though games like Grand Theft Auto have managed to create believeable worlds without having a Burger King on every corner) but I hate stupid fucking adverts for stupid shit that has no place in the world. Like big billboards advertising current products in Battlefield 2142.

The only benefit from blatant product placement is to developer and publisher pockets, which I find to be distasteful considering the price we pay for games.

As for DVDs, I actually don't mind the ads because they are usually trailers for other movies and have more than once led to me enjoying a movie I might have otherwise missed. On the other hand, I don't thnk a 60ft tall billboard for Lynx (Axe for you Americans) on a post-apocalyptic landscape is going to inform/interest anyone.
Timmeh's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/04/2008 03:15
Timmeh
Oh and those web videos that are preceeded by a commercial are ad-supported. As in, instead of paying you have to watch an advert. Games aren't.
Wedge's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/04/2008 03:31
Wedge
I'd love to see more advertising in games. If they'd use it to subsidize costs so the games aren't so expensive. Otherwise, gtfo.
Suff0cat's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/04/2008 03:55
Suff0cat
Ads in Guitar Hero always seemed a bit pointless too me. You're either staring intently at the note stream or rocking out and not even looking at the screen.
Clance's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/04/2008 04:15
Clance
I just had a great mental image of a Burger King hologram sticker ataached to a sniper rifle scope. That would be immense.
CjnLion's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/04/2008 04:45
CjnLion
I'd be fine with it if in-game advertising alleviated the amount that we pay... but it doesn't. This fact makes it all the more insulting.
xenon's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/04/2008 04:52
xenon
I agree with CjnLion, also there's a difference between advertising between contents (commercial before DVD movies and web videos) and ads inside contents (what happens in games).
John B's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/04/2008 07:33
John B
I don't mind advertising as long as it fits in with the theme of the game, e.g. billboards.

What gets my goat is that here we are being fed advertisements, but yet we still have pay full price for the f*cking game!!! Excuse me? If advertisements are going to be thrown at us, then I want a lower purchase price to compensate for it!
Black Uroborus's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/04/2008 08:09
Black Uroborus
Like everyone else has said, as long as it fits the theme, then I don't really pay it much mind. To be honest, sometimes I barely notice it.

The shit will hit the fan, however, when/if they begin doing things like "This game was brought to you by the new Ford Explorer" during loading screens.
Dr Terror's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/04/2008 08:15
Dr Terror
The worst part is, you can't even stop this by not buying the product. They'll just market research more & get you to buy whatever it is you use anyway. The real reason they're doing this is to condition us to accept advertising in videogames - a gigantic & untapped media entertainment resource.

This isn't about economic strife or passing the value onto customers. Its about breeding a generation of gamers weened on loading screen Taco-King trailers before they "press start".
momomo66's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/04/2008 09:06
momomo66
Meh... game ads have been around FOREVER. It's funny that Red Bull is brought up because I can remember plugging in Wipeout XL years ago, and the first thing I see is a giant screen for Red Bull (which I actually thought was a fake future product at the time). This is old news and really, let them blow their money on it - as long as it doesn't get it in the way of the game, and it keeps the prices down. Fine, whatever, whore yourselves out.
LsTr Of SmG's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/04/2008 16:40
LsTr Of SmG
Hated the advertisements in GH3 and GHWT if it's as bad as it sounds in GH5 Activision can GTFO.

Rock Band's better anyway.
omeedg's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/05/2008 08:30
omeedg
Why should ingame advertising bother you? It's more revenue for game companies that doesn't come out of your pocket. Which means they make more profit, and as a result, that attracts more talent to the gaming industries, more companies will start to get a piece of that profit. Which will result in more game companies, more games and more fun.

What's not to love?
DADASLI's Avatar - Comment posted on 01/27/2009 10:35
DADASLI
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