commercials in online loading screens?

[Mu5]

Whats more worrying is this is Sony just testing the water. If we dont complain about this unsolicited ad, it may open the floodgates for loads more advertising. Soon the 'free' PSN will be cluttered with adverts - not good, and unacceptable in my opinion.

[Darkdrium777]

At least it would be on par with Xbox Live on one more point

[Mu5]

eh? Whats this got to do with Xbox live troll-boy?

[Darkdrium777]

Ads everywhere with Xbox Live, no?

Or I'm probably mistaken again because I don't have a Heatbox 360°C

(All in good fun, don't take my "trolling" seriously)

[newtype]

The difference between Wipeout and those things are that there are no breaks in between chapters or songs or scenes whereas in Wipeout, there are breaks between every race.

Newspapers and magazines, there are ads between each article. In TV shows, there are constant breaks.

Oh, there are definitely "breaks" in all of those things I mentioned...they may be short, but they are most certainly there. The point is, if you purchased a spy novel, got home, started reading it, and there was a print ad between the pages, you would be like "uh, what is this..."

NPs and Mags are riddled with ads because this has always been the case in this form of media (or at least it has for a long period of time). Further, you may have some wiggle room with your point if the game had ads from the day it was released, but it did not; they were sneaked in there under our noses.

[newtype]

At least it would be on par with Xbox Live on one more point

Nice try, but at least the games themselves don't have ads while you are playing them. Don't you think that is totally different than MS putting ads in the main sections of the NXE?

Ads everywhere with Xbox Live, no?

Or I'm probably mistaken again because I don't have a Heatbox 360°C

(All in good fun, don't take my "trolling" seriously)

I've had mine since Halo 3 was released, and no problems yet (fingers crossed)...5 or 6 of my friends have had to send their in for warranty repair though-

[gettinmoney662]

Oh, there are definitely "breaks" in all of those things I mentioned...they may be short, but they are most certainly there. The point is, if you purchased a spy novel, got home, started reading it, and there was a print ad between the pages, you would be like "uh, what is this..."

NPs and Mags are riddled with ads because this has always been the case in this form of media (or at least it has for a long period of time). Further, you may have some wiggle room with your point if the game had ads from the day it was released, but it did not; they were sneaked in there under our noses.

There's a break between a scene and a chapter where you are forced to stop watching or reading for a period of time?

In-game advertising is not a new phenomenon.

How about comic books? Ads every few pages in those.

[Darkdrium777]

(All in good fun, don't take my "trolling" seriously)

I hid my five characters here: .....

[Vartazian]

Seems like Newtype is the troll eh DD777?

[gettinmoney662]

I thought he was joking about calling him a troll. This has got to be the most overused nerd word on the Internet. Anytime someone disagrees with someone, they're called a troll.

[djKyoto]

I love this forum.

[Rapier Racer]

No point in thinking that if you complain enough Sony will stop it. don't be naive.

Sony Computer Entertainment America and Europe have announced another partnership in the PlayStation's growing advertising platform.
In October, Sony Computer Entertainment America announced it had formed a division strictly for developing in-game advertisements for all of the PlayStation platforms, including the PlayStation Network.

Yes, they then go on to spout the following crap.

Sony looks to provide more "contextually relevant and well-crafted" advertising in its games

Ooh what? Well crafted you say?

http://www.betanews.com/article/Sony...ort/1215796102

Also

Analysts at Screen Digest estimate we'll be seeing a lot more virtual billboards as companies throw greater sums of money at in-game advertising. A lot more. The UK-based firm suggests that spending on in-game ads will push beyond a $1 billion by 2014, accounting for about one and a half percent of total global advertising dollars spent.

This is despite what the firm refers to as "short term softness" of in-game ad spending so far in 2009. In fact, the company believes in its gilded heart that virtual billboards are here to stay, as they help reach groups of people who are "increasingly hard to reach via other media." So, listen rookie, those bullets the enemy are using are very real, so keep your head down behind that fallen Pepsi billboard over there and bring me a soda.

http://xbox.joystiq.com/tag/in-game-advertising/

See that? The future of gaming is bright! And lets not kid ourselves with all this "If advertising helps fund further game development..." because I'd go out on a limb and say all it helps to fund is the gold lining of some Sony execs pocket.

[Mu5]

Spouting crap indeed...

Where is this gonna end?

Can you imagine the gameplay stopping every 10 minutes for a 3 minute commercial break? What a nightmare!

[Darkdrium777]

It won't come to that or if it ever does they'll be closing down the "Gaming Division" in a matter of minutes. You can trust the gamers on that.

[newtype]

Seems like Newtype is the troll eh DD777?

Ha, and how am I being a troll exactly?

I just don't like ads in my games. Simple.



...Oh how I long for the day when I have over 300 posts so I can be taken seriously

It won't come to that or if it ever does they'll be closing down the "Gaming Division" in a matter of minutes. You can trust the gamers on that.

Yeah, I agree...while I'm not happy with the ads, I doubt it will ever get that bad.

[PoliPino]

Does anyone else find it ironic that Wipeout - whose game universe is so hyper-commercialized - is now being crucified for being too commercialized?

Too bad State Farm (and whichever companies down the road) didn't make an ad more relevant to the game universe. Probably the same people complaining the loudest would be cheering State Farm for their creativity. But I can't imagine creating custom ads for each game would be cost-effective for anyone.

[graeble]

saw the state farm ad couple nights ago. i actually like the idea, i just wish they had more ads than just that one.

...anybody else think that rapper sounds like he's having nightmares?

[PoliPino]

^^
Rapper? There's no one speaking in the ad, as far as I've ever heard.

[graeble]

guess i should have said beatboxer.

[Frances_Penfold]

More info about the ads, and their creators, from video game news site gamustra....

http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/new...hp?story=24677

In-game ad house Double Fusion has brought dynamic, in-game video advertising to the PlayStation 3 game Wipeout HD across North America and Europe, the company said Monday.

Double Fusion said it will inject advertising that will complement the hover-racer's futuristic presentation. The new video ads have yet to launch, but Double Fusion CEO Jonathan Epstein said certain unnamed advertisers have already signed up for placements in Wipeout HD. Ads will be shown during the game's loading screens, Double Fusion said.

The company added that the video ads would be "the highest definition" available in-game, and the game will also have supplemental ads that are standard definition.

One of the game's advertisers is State Farm -- an insurance firm that doesn't exactly reflect the reckless blow-em-up zero-gravity racing exhibited in Wipeout HD or previous franchise entries. (See this YouTube video, found via games blog Fidgit).

Wipeout HD arrived as an ad-free download for PlayStation Network in September 2008. The game is developed by Sony Liverpool, which recently released the expansion, Wipeout HD Fury.

Double Fusion said it plans to launch in-game advertising in "another handful" of PS3 games by the end of the year. The San Francisco-based company services more than 30 game publishers via its ad network.

Analysts have estimated that in-game ad spending could reach $1 billion by 2014. Currently the market stands at about $600 million, a figure that also includes web games.

And lets not kid ourselves with all this "If advertising helps fund further game development..." because I'd go out on a limb and say all it helps to fund is the gold lining of some Sony execs pocket.

I agree with your sentiments but it is also true that gaming on the Xbox and PS3 platforms has so far been a huge money-loosing enterprise. It's not surprising to see the Microsoft and Sony trying to recoup their costs any way that they can. If Nintendo started advertising, now THAT would just be greedy