TV-Style ads coming to console gaming before the end of 2021

[GhostRoadieBL]

13 minutes ago, Spotty said:

I assumed it would be more traditional advertising like what you typically see on TV, such as movie/video game trailers or ads for Coca Cola or Ford. Imagine losing a game and then an ad for UberEats plays saying "You might have missed out on that chicken dinner but UberEats delivers KFC, order a 30pc bucket now and get a free 600ml bottle of Pepsi. UberEats will deliver to your door so you can stay in the fight".

 

Quote

"Developers who work with Simulmedia are able to add ads to the games and can decide which types of rewards players obtain from watching them. In-game currencies and skins for characters were two of the ideas put forward."

I don't know what the perks will be but the ads are likely what you said, hopefully it is cosmetic and players can turn them off but we all know that's not going to happen.

[Forbidden Wafer]

8 minutes ago, GhostRoadieBL said:

 number of ads from Disney+ appear on Google searches?

Considering small business couldn't really pay for ads in major TV stations at prime time... I don't think things really have changed, other than the fact that now they track you everywhere you go to sell their stuff.

[Helpful Tech Witch]

54 minutes ago, Middcore said:

What "off brand consoles" do you think EA makes games for?

that kfc console?

[GreatnessRD]

Just shows how trash the gaming industry has become. But this isn't shocking based off what has been accepted by the gaming community this day and age. It's just... sad.

[poochyena]

49 minutes ago, GhostRoadieBL said:

is predicated on the consumer being INFORMED of their other options.

Considering this thread exists, seems reasonable to me that people are informed of this.

49 minutes ago, GhostRoadieBL said:

is it a "free" market when small businesses who are paying for ads get 0.0000001% of the ads?

yes

50 minutes ago, GhostRoadieBL said:

when a company crosses the billion dollar mark, they don't go looking for the little guys unless they are buying the company.

uhh, yes they do. Playwon isn't the one trying to get their company advertised, their an advertising company. Its entirely reasonable to assume EA was looking to contract an advertising agency and Playwon came up from searches, so they chose them.

I've actually even been contacted and commissioned for work from a 7 billion dollar company for advertising purposes.

 

[BlueChinchillaEatingDorito]

Bringing back this gem the OG folks would recognize.

[Spotty]

3 minutes ago, poochyena said:

Considering this thread exists, seems reasonable to me that people are informed of this.

There should be disclaimers on the product page/box that state there are third party advertisements included (along with a disclaimer that the content displayed in the 3rd party ads does not represent the publisher/developer to cover their own ass). I think along with my previous comment about games containing 3rd party ads not being in games rated for general audience/Everyone to prevent advertising to children along with no tobacco/alcohol/gambling it should be included in the rating system (ESRB, PEGI, etc)

 

 

But of course the game publishers are going to put this shit in games way faster than anyone can legislate against it, then they'll spend millions lobbying against tighter restrictions. Inb4 EA ends up at a hearing proclaiming "They're not advertisements they're surprise messages".

[poochyena]

52 minutes ago, Spotty said:

I think along with my previous comment about games containing 3rd party ads not being in games rated for general audience/Everyone to prevent advertising to children along with no tobacco/alcohol/gambling it should be included in the rating system (ESRB, PEGI, etc)

what, why? This is showing you have deranged thoughts about ads if you are comparing them to literal cancer causing products.

[That Franc]

Alright, this might just be enough to finally push me to quit gaming.

[Spotty]

24 minutes ago, poochyena said:

what, why? This is showing you have deranged thoughts about ads if you are comparing them to literal cancer causing products.

Not sure what the TV ad regulations are like in America but in Australia you're not allowed to advertise alcohol, gambling, or 'unhealthy food' during children's programming and you're not allowed to advertise tobacco products at all.

 

Ads in games is one thing but having young kids play Roblox watching advertisements for beer or cigarettes to earn robux is irresponsible. I think there should absolutely be regulations set to prohibit such advertisement in video games, just like there are regulations for such advertisements on TV, radio, print, etc.

[poochyena]

7 minutes ago, Spotty said:

Not sure what the TV ad regulations are like in America but in Australia you're not allowed to advertise alcohol, gambling, or 'unhealthy food' during children's programming and you're not allowed to advertise tobacco products at all.

 

Ads in games is one thing but having young kids play Roblox watching advertisements for beer or cigarettes to earn robux is irresponsible. I think there should absolutely be regulations set to prohibit such advertisement in video games, just like there are regulations for such advertisements on TV, radio, print, etc.

oh, you mean they shouldn't advertise cigarettes, I thought you meant ads, in general, should be treated with the same rating as drug use is. I agree ads in games should be considered when rating a game, but I believe that is already the case. Games with online functionality usually come with a disclaimer that online portions aren't included in the rating.

[Spotty]

5 minutes ago, poochyena said:

oh, you mean they shouldn't advertise cigarettes, I thought you meant ads, in general, should be treated with the same rating as drug use is. I agree ads in games should be considered when rating a game, but I believe that is already the case. Games with online functionality usually come with a disclaimer that online portions aren't included in the rating.

Correct, I wasn't comparing advertising to cigarettes. I was comparing advertising in video games to advertising on television.

I think if games include advertisements then those advertisements should be regulated similar to ads on other mediums (TV, radio, etc) and I think there should be a disclaimer on the product that warns there are advertisements included. Makes sense to me that such a disclaimer/warning would be included along with the ESRB/PEGI rating system which includes warnings for lootboxes and violence and sexual scenes and such. That way anyone planning on buying the product can instantly see that the game includes advertisements and is aware of that before buying, without needing to look it up or look at reviews.

 

You might have missed my earlier comment which I was referring to...

3 hours ago, Spotty said:

However I do strongly agree that there should be protections in place. Any game that has built in advertising such as what is being proposed here should be rated for Mature audiences to prevent companies advertising directly to kids. The ads should follow the same or stricter guidelines as if they were being shown on prime time TV. No ads for tobacco products, alcohol, or gambling.

Which I expanded on with...

1 hour ago, Spotty said:

There should be disclaimers on the product page/box that state there are third party advertisements included (along with a disclaimer that the content displayed in the 3rd party ads does not represent the publisher/developer to cover their own ass). I think along with my previous comment about games containing 3rd party ads not being in games rated for general audience/Everyone to prevent advertising to children along with no tobacco/alcohol/gambling it should be included in the rating system (ESRB, PEGI, etc)

[RejZoR]

I hate this cancer because it's so uncreative. Everyone shoving ads into games in same format like it's still 1950's. They create massive worlds and can't integrate real world ads into them. Only one that somewhat tried was Need for Speed Most Wanted 2005 iirc, but they used same Old Spice ads everywhere and it just felt weird. I'm talking about in-game billboards. Now imagine a huge open world like in Cyberpunk 2077 or Deus Ex and see familiar brands on billboards but in way you'd expect them there not shoved in like an afterthought. And they could do it in various hilarious ways like placing real KFC ads next to made up joint that serves chicken food and make some sort of hilarious scenario (like the coffee wars in Deus Ex Invisible War) about it if the ad was fixed and not dynamic. Or just have billboards across city that change between different ads like in real world. You know, those sliding ones or digital ones. But made in a way that they don't stand out like a sore thumb like they always do, but in a way they look as integral part and feel realistic. This would be billion times better than full screen unskippable crap ruining experience instead of being part of it.

[Avocado Diaboli]

3 hours ago, GhostRoadieBL said:

absolutely, I'm going to sound old but back when TV was new the news had no ads at all, no sponsorships, no paid content.

Timestamp 0:55. Ads literally sponsoring the news in the 50s. There was never a past when things were better.

 

3 hours ago, poochyena said:

If you force them to disable the ads, you are controlling what people can and can't see and enjoy.

 

Implying that people want to really see ads. This is a bad faith argument to justify ads in paid products. If you want to see ads, you can just go to a company's website, they'll advertise their stuff there to you. It's a free market, if you want ads, go where you're inherently advertised to.

 

3 hours ago, poochyena said:

Thankfully, we live in a capitalist society so you have the freedom to make the choice to not buy from companies that have morals or products you do not like.

Yep, when I don't like the fact that Madden now has ads, I'll just go and buy Activision's Madden, or Ubisoft's Madden, or Nintendo's Madden, or CDPR's Madden. See how many Madden's I can choose from? Truly, this is a free and open market where the customer has all the choices. 

[Rune]

5 hours ago, GhostRoadieBL said:

Electronic Arts - Battlefield

Excuse the who the what now

[RejZoR]

16 minutes ago, Avocado Diaboli said:

Timestamp 0:55. Ads literally sponsoring the news in the 50s. There was never a past when things were better.

 

 

Implying that people want to really see ads. This is a bad faith argument to justify ads in paid products. If you want to see ads, you can just go to a company's website, they'll advertise their stuff there to you. It's a free market, if you want ads, go where you're inherently advertised to.

 

Yep, when I don't like the fact that Madden now has ads, I'll just go and buy Activision's Madden, or Ubisoft's Madden, or Nintendo's Madden, or CDPR's Madden. See how many Madden's I can choose from? Truly, this is a free and open market where the customer has all the choices. 

Actually you can't choose from all those Madden's because EA holds exclusive rights for it. Everyone else can use Madden, but they are not allowed to make a simulation. They'd have to make a dumbed down arcade or something.

[suicidalfranco]

So glad i haven't bought a console since the PS3 and 360.

Even happier that Ialmost completely stopped gaming ever since I Started playing American football (too tired to play after practice, too livid and drunk and high on the weekend after a game).

[Master Disaster]

6 hours ago, GhostRoadieBL said:

My thoughts

 

 This is an unfortunate byproduct of the militant march of advertising companies to completely encompass every aspect of every person's lives, pigeon holing the populous into niche markets and destroying open opinion and artistic integrity of beautiful works.

Preface: I whole heartedly agree with your post.

 

That said, the studios trying to push this into their $70 dollar games are the ones with no integrity to destroy in the first place.

[poochyena]

41 minutes ago, Avocado Diaboli said:

Implying that people want to really see ads.

More than half (53 percent) of U.S. consumers would be open to watching ads (every other episode of their favorite show) if it meant lowering the cost of subscription streaming services.

40 percent of Americans would strongly (15%) or somewhat (25%) consider paying a lower monthly fee for a streaming service in exchange for seeing more advertisements.

Plenty of people have little issue with ads. You live in a bubble to believe otherwise.

52 minutes ago, Avocado Diaboli said:

Yep, when I don't like the fact that Madden now has ads, I'll just go and buy Activision's Madden, or Ubisoft's Madden, or Nintendo's Madden, or CDPR's Madden. See how many Madden's I can choose from? Truly, this is a free and open market where the customer has all the choices. 

If you don't like one product, you buy a different product, yes.

 

[WolframaticAlpha]

5 hours ago, rodion.zissou said:

I don't even understand how ads are so (apparently) lucrative or worthwhile for companies. obv I'm not in marketing. But TBH when I see ads for products/services invading my personal space I actively avoid said product. I'm not sure what my subconscious thinks about it, but I am a true ad hater.

"If the product is good, you probably aren't going to see ads for it."

[Avocado Diaboli]

4 minutes ago, poochyena said:

More than half (53 percent) of U.S. consumers would be open to watching ads (every other episode of their favorite show) if it meant lowering the cost of subscription streaming services.

40 percent of Americans would strongly (15%) or somewhat (25%) consider paying a lower monthly fee for a streaming service in exchange for seeing more advertisements.

Plenty of people have little issue with ads. You live in a bubble to believe otherwise.

Again, this is a bad faith argument. You imply that people voluntarily want to see ads but then provide examples where they see ads as the lesser of two evils, not as the main attraction they seek out. Do you honestly think EA, Activision, Ubisoft or whoever is going to lower the prices of their games when they start including ads in them? Sports titles like Madden and FIFA are already filled to the brim with advertising, like all those sports brands constantly scrolling past the players on the screens next to the playing fields. Heck, I recently replayed the Tony Hawk games and they too had ads for Nokia and Jeep in them. They still cost the standard $60 when they came out. So again, a false equivalence.

 

8 minutes ago, poochyena said:

If you don't like one product, you buy a different product, yes.

And what if that different product doesn't offer me what I actually want? You know, what if that product represents some kind of local monopoly, like say, being the only one allowed to make a game about the NFL because they licensed all the iconography and names, which makes it impossible for someone to make a directly competing product based on the same things? How many alternatives exist to that game if I want to play a football game? See, capitalism is all well and good if you assume perfect conditions, but it quickly breaks down if you apply it to the real world.

[jagdtigger]

No, just no. There is a reason why adblockers exist, not to mention how widely they are used....

[poochyena]

2 minutes ago, Avocado Diaboli said:

Again, this is a bad faith argument. You imply that people voluntarily want to see ads

yes because that is literally what they are being asked. They are CHOOSING to view ads. Its a choice, thats the entire point of this entire point, is some people will actually chose to see ads because they tolerate them.

5 minutes ago, Avocado Diaboli said:

Do you honestly think EA, Activision, Ubisoft or whoever is going to lower the prices of their games when they start including ads in them?

Yes, you even admit it yourself by saying

 

6 minutes ago, Avocado Diaboli said:

They still cost the standard $60

Unless you want to pretend that inflation doesn't exist, then keeping a game at $60 is an effective price cut. If they release madden 2022 at $60 and madden 2015 at $60, the 2022 version is cheaper and they will make up the money some how, and they are choosing ads, as, through my sources, roughly half of people find that acceptable.

9 minutes ago, Avocado Diaboli said:

And what if that different product doesn't offer me what I actually want?

Why are you asking me that? Have you literally never in your life had to make a compromise? And you are trying to accuse ME of bad faith arguments?

If you hate a game enough to not want to play it, then you don't buy it. How privileged is your life that you are demanding legislation action because one version of a generic football game might have ads in it, FORCING you to have to even consider not buying it and do something else with your life?

[SADS]

I didn't really read this as "ads for gamers", but more "ads for kids"... and I find it a bit more worrying in the thought that they are using consoles and games to shove more advertising onto kids.

There's already laws in place to help protect kids from advertising on TV and this seems like a fairly sneaky way to try and get around that perhaps.

 

I realise that the deep pockets of mum and dad are probably what is driving the desire from these companies.

You advertise new skins to the kid... mum/dad fork out to shut up the begging/pleading/crying.

[pythonmegapixel]

5 hours ago, poochyena said:

 If you can make a choice to see the ads, then they aren't controlling you.

It's a slippery slope though. Ads might be optional upon release, but how long before they're made compulsory? How long before they start to be inserted not only by the game but by the app store? And how long before the "payment" for watching them is removed? Or how long before they start tracking you through the webcam to make sure you never turn your head away from the ads? They're doing this to tentatively test what users will deal with. Unless this idea flops from the start, I would be incredibly surprised if the ads didn't become more and more intrusive.

 

Also, I notice Roblox is on the list. Be realistic - the majority of Roblox's audience is young children, and Roblox will be certain to phrase the "do you want advertising" prompts in a kid-friendly way. The kids might not even realise they're being advertised to - but the advertising will still influence them, ultimately making them feel like they need things that they absolutely don't, and perpetuating the cycle of mindless consumerism which is effectively wrecking our planet.

 

Quote

Thankfully, we live in a capitalist society so you have the freedom to make the choice to not buy from companies that have morals or products you do not like.

Ha! Thanks for the laugh, I needed that. But seriously: how on earth can you believe that is actually true? So many industries are almost a complete oligopoly now, and all of the market players have bad morals because it makes them more money. 

 

Laptops are a good example. Apple, HP, Dell, Asus, Lenovo. You might look at it say "look, there is competition so there is consumer choice". In reality, all of the manufacturers are just as obnoxious as each other, so if you chose not to buy from ones with terrible morals, then you would have no way of buying a laptop. There might theoretically be consumer choice, but is it really a choice in practice if all of the choices are similarly anti-consumer? No.

 

  

2 hours ago, Avocado Diaboli said:

Timestamp 0:55. Ads literally sponsoring the news in the 50s. There was never a past when things were better.

In the UK we have the BBC, which doesn't advertise and - even better - has a mandate to remain impartial. It's one of the few things about the UK I'm still proud of.

TV being crammed with ads in huge volumes in this way is an American thing, mostly.