Would You Like a Game With That?

[Logan Westbrook]

Would You Like a Game With That?

What do Burger King and McDonalds have in common, aside from the obvious? The answer is, they've both released videogames, and they're not the only ones.


Here's a question for you all, what makes food seem more delicious or a beverage more refreshing? You guessed, make it into a game, because nothing says flavor quite like a weird tie-in product.

Topless Robot [http://www.toplessrobot.com/2009/07/the_10_most_heinously_corporate_videogames.php?page=1] have kindly collected ten of the most egregious examples of the 'corp-em-up', complete with videos. The games range from the 'really rather good' Cool Spot for the Genesis/Mega Drive to the 'I can't quite see the connection here' Mick & Mack: Global Gladiators and the Japanese only Pepsiman.

Thankfully, the tie-in game seems to be a dying breed, despite the best efforts of Burger King, but in my humble opinion, that's really only because we have in-game advertising now.

Oh, and for all the people in Europe and Australia who don't remember Cool Spot being a tie-in game, all the branding was removed from it for the PAL region.


Permalink

 

[Pipotchi]

Even though I lived in the UK I was vaguely aware that Cool spot was something to do with 7up, though in fairness it wasnt a bad game.

I remember a pretty famous game on on the Amiga Snes/Megadrive called Zool that was basically a Chupa Chups lolly game although that was an even better game than cool spot so maybe its only recently that Tie in games have become rubbish

 

[randommaster]

Pepsiman doesn't make sense anyway, even in his own commercials.

 

[Radeonx]

I remember McKids for the NES. Man, what a horrible game. At least the corporation games started dying a few years ago.

 

[Random Argument Man]

I don't get it. He gets a ton of pepsi cans all over town...And then he stops at the end to drink from a Pepsi machine....

 

[Ralackk]

I got the McDonalds game for my genesis as a chrismas preseant, you can imagine how happy I was with it.

 

[El Poncho]

I don't get it. He gets a ton of pepsi cans all over town...And then he stops at the end to drink from a Pepsi machine....

This.

 

[maxusy3k]

Even though I lived in the UK I was vaguely aware that Cool spot was something to do with 7up, though in fairness it wasnt a bad game.

I remember a pretty famous game on on the Amiga Snes/Megadrive called Zool that was basically a Chupa Chups lolly game although that was an even better game than cool spot so maybe its only recently that Tie in games have become rubbish

Zool was one of the best games ever. I remember the music being particularly awesome.

Also I remember watching this a whole bunch of times.

Of the games in the article, I only remember Cool Spot and Mick and Mack. Seem to remember Mick and Mack as horrifically frustrating, whether because of difficulty or shoddy design though, has been blurred by the mists of time.

 

[walkingdead127]

Hurray for advertisement fail!
We should not have to pay for something that tells us what to buy. What's next we pay for tv commercials?

 

[aww yea]

I don't get it. He gets a ton of pepsi cans all over town...And then he stops at the end to drink from a Pepsi machine....

floating pepsi all over town just isnt the same as regular pepsi

 

[tehroc]

It is cold. The pepsis he picks up are outside temperature.

 

[BlackIronGuardian]

Okay, first off, why does he run all that way for a drink when he picks up millions of them on the way there?

And why did they endeavor to write the most annoying title track ever?

 

[GamerPhate]

wow... my jaw dropped just in the intro..

The guy gets way more soda for one person to drink without some getting warm. And look at that guy too.. is that what Pepsi is trying to market it's product to, or is that a more realistic interpretation of the average American, or what? Either way, it scares me.

That game looks so horrible.. omg.. Pacman had only slightly less depth. I guess at least you can jump in this game?

 

[Chipperz]

I don't get it. He gets a ton of pepsi cans all over town...And then he stops at the end to drink from a Pepsi machine....

This.

A THOUSAND TIMES THIS! Seriously, I'm quite scared by this movie...

Also, all I remember about Zool was that it was bastard hard. I didn't realise it was an advery game...

 

[MrBrightside919]

Are you serious? They made a PEPSI game?

 

[Outamyhead]

Didn't need advertising to know Cool Spot was based on the 7up character and merchandise, I knew that and I was 11 at the time.

 

[Therumancer]

Hmmm, well product tie in games can be good if they spend time developing them, and especially if they provide them for free. I didn't think that Toyota game where you drove around shooting things was bad for a free game (of course the name eludes me so...).

Burger King simply did a horrible job with their promotional games.

Truthfully I think the issue with in-game advertising is that companies want to control what they are associated with to a stupid extent. For example I believe there were issues both in the movie Day Of The Dead, and with Dead Rising (more or less a video game homage) with using real places in the fictional malls because no companies wanted to be associated with people dying in their stores or whatever. Maybe there was some product placement there, but I can't remember it.

At any rate though, it seems to me that the generes of game most condusive to advertising (Sandbox Crime Games, Survival Horror) are the ones that companies avoid, leading in many cases for me to groan when they have to insert it in some jarring and inappropriate way to a game where it doesn't belong.

Just my thoughts.

Oh and if I had to pick the best product tie in game, it was one released like a normal game. Called "Darkened Skye" it was done to pimp Skittles.

 

[Macar]

Pepsiman was actualy a lot of fun, and totaly quirky. My brother and I played it on our PS.