Poll: Ad-Sponsored Games

[MajWound]

What if developers could offer games cheaper by recovering some of the production costs with blatant advertisements and product placement? I don't mean it has to break up the game, but they could at least make it very obvious, like in Alan Wake. Between the car and the flashlight batteries, I felt like I shouldn't have paid the full $60.

Would you buy a cheaper game riddled with ads, or would you pay full price to avoid them? You know, if you had the option.

 

[Richardplex]

No, I play games as an escape, to fully immerse myself in them and forget about reality, and live as a member of the universe of the game I'm playing. Advertisements would shatter my immersion time and time again.

 

[BanicRhys]

I'm not opposed to this idea, it would probably be a good way to make games more profitable if they're cheaper for the consumer but still make a good amount of money for the devs.

But I would always buy the ad free version, though.

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

Depends on how the ads were placed in the game.

If I had to sit through a 30 second commercial after every game of TF2, or every level of Metro 2033, or every time I finished one of the missions in Red Dead Redemption, I'd be pissed.

 

[hannes2]

I don´t think I would mind ads, provided they fit into the game. If I´m able to throw stuff around or break it in a game, a vending machine, a car, a billboard or whatever functions as an advertisement shouldn´t be excepted from that. Similarly, the setting is important. A current-day ad in, say, Fallout would obviously break immersion somewhat, but if they had used vintage Coke ads instead of the Nuka-Cola ones, why not, they´re modeled after those anyway.
If that made games a little cheaper, I´d be fine with that.

 

[King of Wei]

I would if the ads were done like in the few games I've seen that already had them.
Both End War and Battlefield BC had advertisements for Netflix and various other things on billboards throughout the game. Prototype did a similar thing with having a few Gamestop stores around the city. Noticeable but not annoying.

 

[LookingGlass]

I believe Deus Ex: Human Revolution is putting advertisements for real-world things up on billboards and whatnot within the game. I'll have to see it in action to determine how annoying and/or immersion-breaking it is. If it made the game $5-10 cheaper, I wouldn't bother. If it made it half price or something, I might.

 

[Olrod]

Don't racing games already do that?

 

[oplinger]

"laden" with adverts? Probably not. What i'd go for is if the ads fit in the game world, and didn't feel too out of place. Billboards, bus stops, even if an NPC mentions it as you walk by. I could go with that. Hell I'd even be okay if the loading screens were just big poster ads for companies. Not alot going on for loading screens anyway. However, I wouldn't take a video playing for Lay's as a loading screen. That would just be irritating.

There are a lot of ways to advertise in a game...I think it'd be a great idea for companies to utilize that, especially if it lowers the cost of games, or at least increases profit for devs (not publishers)

 

[likalaruku]

It depends. Will it be subtle like Coca Cola & Pepsi brand vending machines & product-related quests, or will it be like Blip.tv commercials with pop-ups, long ads, & TV-like commercials that stop the gameplay & make you watch the full ad before continuing.

I'm fine with the former & against the latter.

 

[neonsword13-ops]

Sure I would. My patience with ads seems to be on a higher tolerance level than my mother.

Of course, I rarely have money to spend, so positive either way with me.

 

[likalaruku]

No, I play games as an escape, to fully immerse myself in them and forget about reality, and live as a member of the universe of the game I'm playing. Advertisements would shatter my immersion time and time again.

That's what I say to people when they ask why I think that the most realistic game graphics are creepy.

 

[Canadamus Prime]

Product placements I could live with as long as they don't detract from my gaming experience and are appropriate for the game. Like for example if I'm playing a game like say Grand Turismo or something, then seeing billboards for say Pepsi or whatever would be fine. However, if I'm playing, say the Legend of Zelda, the last thing I want to see is a billboard for Pepsi or whatever.
As for advertisements, if you're at all suggesting that my gameplay get interrupted by some 30 second ad every once in a while, I would have to say HELL FUCKING NO!! I can't even stand that when watching television and I certainly don't want it while I play my games.

 

[pspman45]

It depends on how obvious the advertising is. If it's something like what the did in the transformers movies (if you notice, they are all GMC brand cars).
But if an ad just pops up in the middle of game play, I'd say no