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In-game advertising, and why you should never buy Far Cry 2.

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In-game advertising, and why you should never buy Far Cry 2.

from JoeUser Forums

This game incorporates technology of Massive Incorporated ("Massive") that enables in-game advertising, and the display of other similar in-game objects, which are uploaded temporarily to your personal computer or game console and replaced during online game play. As part of this process, Massive may collect your Internet protocol address and other basic anonymous information, and will use this information for the general purposes of transmitting and measuring in-game advertising. Massive does not store or use any of this information for the purpose of discovering your personal identity. For additional details regarding Massive's in-game advertising practices, and to understand your options with respect to in-game advertising and data collection, please see Massive's privacy policy at http://www.massiveincorporated.com/s...rk/privacy.htm. The trademarks and copyrighted material contained in all in-game advertising are the property of the respective owners. Portions of this produce are c 2007 Massive Incorporated. All rights reserved.


While the impact of the in-game advertising may not bother you, it's the principle of the matter you need to be concerned with. This is an unsettling trend that people are getting far too accepting and comfortable about, and I'm honestly surprised there aren't more people upset with it.

Simply, this says two things. The first is that this is clearly a secondary source of income for the publisher which they aren't passing on to the customer. In effect, you are paying for the game twice. Seeing as how you're paying $50 for the full game (which frankly is an absurd amount given how short and shallow games are these days), they are therefore saying that the game is worth MORE than $50, and they'll exact payment on you by taxing you with advertising.

The second issue is support. The presence or lack thereof of advertising directly gives publishers justification to support or not support a game post-release. By putting ads in they are effectively saying that games without ads are not going to get patches or customer support (which they're under no obligation to provide anyway). They will be able to effectively blackmail consumers into tolerating more and more BS. Accept draconian DRM schemes or else we'll never give you PC games again. Accept a game box clogged with advertisements for Intel, three minutes of unskippable Nvidia videos, and a gameworld bulging with Axe and Burger King ads, or else we'll never give you a patch to fix our broke-ass game.

A responsible publisher who didn't have their head seated so far up their own ass they were finding impacted corn kernels (say, Stardock) would say that this in-game advertising was paying for additional support in the form of free new missions, however neither EA nor Ubisoft has ever revealed any kind of reason to tolerate this harassment, and even such I would find such a claim dubious - after all, Battlefield 2142 has been out for how many years, and it's received only ONE official map, as well as enduring an arduously slow and rather lackluster patching process. Simply, there is nothing about that game that reveals the revenue from advertising was passed on to the consumers in any way.

I will never buy a game with in-game advertising, and neither should you. By doing so, you're encouraging more and more behavior that infringes on your consumer rights.

139,799 views 43 replies
Reply #26 from GalCiv2 Forums Top

Me and my shadowcat miss Mechwarrior too.  I think I blame the demise of the joystick.

I really hate advertising in most of its forms.  I don't like being sold to unless I'm deliberately looking for it, and I feel that the whole sales and marketting process is inherently rather pushy, and that the world would be better off without it (like an arms race). Right now, I'm of the opinion that having adverts in software I install on my computer is intrusive, and I hate to see any extension of this creeping horror of tackiness.

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Reply #27 from Sins Forums Top


I'm a member of the Telephone Preference Service(TPS) and the postal equivilent here in the UK, both are very popular services.
 I'm sick and tired of sitting down to my evening meal, just in time to be cold called by a call centre employee who cannot speak English, trying to sell me something that i would never buy over the telephone anyway.
 
My junk mail thanks to the Postal Preference Service(PPS) and the avoidance of store cards, is down to only a few tree's a month now... at one point i had a waste paper basket positioned right beneath my letterbox.
 
Tv channel surfing during ads is a national sport these days ask anyone who doesn't work in advertising.
 
It will be interesting to see how the revenues currently being spent on ingame advertising fan out to actual sales. I bet it will be very dissapointing for those invested.
 
Peolpe worldwide are becomming decensitized towards advertising of all kinds, they may be in their minority at the moment (which is debatable imo).
 Advertisers fall into a similar box as politicians, nobody really pays any attention to them because they cannot trust a word they say. (all is remebered come polling day though)

 Occasionally a new Advert appears in the world which, is either very clever or very funny, it all too soon becomes repetative though. Invariably the funny ads are allways outnumbered by ads that insult your inteligence or just outrite try to brain wash you with sheer mind numbing repetitivness. (cilit bang anyone)
 
Consumers in general are becomming more astute in their purchasing, more demanding from the products they do buy and through their own research more informed.
 
As people continue to tighten their belts due to the ecconomic climate and companies are forced to abandon philosophies such as designed obsolesence due to environmental concearns, companies may be tempted to throw even more money at advertising to counter their downturn, when they should be looking at ways to improve the quality and lifespan of there existing range imho.
 
Where and when can i sign up for the gaming preference service.

 

Start11 - Customize the Start Menu and Taskbar in Windows 10/11.
Reply #28 from Demigod Forums Top

Quoting Nights, reply 1
Me and my shadowcat miss Mechwarrior too.

Shadowcat pilots unite. All about the stack of medium lasers and shooting legs off--although that worked way better in MW3 than 4. >.>

Reply #29 from Demigod Forums Top

Sometimes advertising in games is a nice thing which makes the game more authentical. A good example for this would be Race Driver: GRID. You could make ads of real companies on your car and you got more money for the race. I Loved that feature.:inlove:

Reply #30 from Demigod Forums Top

Quoting fragieD, reply 22
Just to get one thing straight....World In Conflict doesn't have any in game advertising except for the intro screen of nvidia. All billboards, fast food joints etc are fictional.

One of the "In game advertisement' in WiC

Roger that, FragieD. Thanks for the good news!...

Reply #31 from GalCiv2 Forums Top

Out of curiosity, what is the nature of the in-game ads?  If it's just on loading screens (which you have to sit through anyway), or the occasional in-game billboard or vending machine... so what?


If you don't like it, don't buy it.  That's your choice.  But don't get pissed at other people if they don't join your moral crusade.

Reply #32 from Demigod Forums Top

Why what did you buy that you regret?
Shattered Suns. I didn't read nearly enough about it.

 

:fox:

Reply #33 from Sins Forums Top

Quoting Kitkun, reply 7

Why what did you buy that you regret?Shattered Suns. I didn't read nearly enough about it.


 


 

You really didn't need to read about, one gameplay video and its was a no buy for me.

 

Anyways at the OP, I like Intel and nVidia advertisements because they make me drool over new hardware. Besides, more advertisements = cheaper games.  If you can live with telelvision ads you can live with this. On TV, advertisements = money for tv shows and their staff. Games ads would equal to more funding to developers, to make better games (I certain hope they make use of that extra money to make better games). Another thing, without in game advertising, Trackmania Nations Forever would not have been free, and that is one good games for its price ($0).

Reply #34 from Stardock Forums Top

Quoting HG_Eliminator, reply 25

HG_Eliminator (Khan of the "Honor Guard" Mechwarrior Gaming unit.) *AKA* JF_Incommand, Former Khan of the Jade Falcon Clan.

*chuckle*

I always get a kick out of the people who play the electronic BattleTech properties that take these titles. I've probably met, face to face, at least ten people who claim that specific title. But when you ask them about Hazens, Prydes, or Pershaws their eyes go blank.

If you're looking for a new home, come back to where it all began. Come back to www.classicbattletech.com

;)

Reply #35 from Stardock Forums Top

people who claim that specific title

Not a claim, A fact.  Honor Guard.com ;) The C.O.C lists admins as well as the Units history and beginnings :)

If you're looking for a new home, come back to where it all began. Come back to www.classicbattletech.com

Nice site. we have been looking for new mech games since the demise of MW5. Tried a few including BF2142 which had mechs, but none felt like the old fasa games.

Reply #36 from GalCiv2 Forums Top

The Battletech Universe is interesting, but Mechwarrior dragged me in as an action game.  Thankfully a quite tactical, teamwork based action game, but still rather visceral.

I mostly lost to people with the big autocannons or the streak short ranged homing missiles: cheeky strategy, they'd always knock me over with splash damage by shooting the ground nearby. Still, there's definitely a joy in trying to jink and jump and twist (and lag) to stay just outside of the bigger mechs' firing arcs long enough to bring them down.

Reply #37 from Demigod Forums Top

Speaking of intrusive advertising, try firing up the film DVD of Silent Hill (I believe it was...). About 15-20 minutes of previews which you CANNOT skip by. Thats crap.

(he said deeply analytically)

Reply #38 from GalCiv2 Forums Top

The in-game advertising in Far Cry 2 is pretty light for the single player game.  There are some Jeep Wranglers hanging around.  Thing is, you really wouldn't want to drive one.  There are tons of trucks around with mounted machine guns, why travel around in an unarmed jeep?  NPCs don't seem to drive them, either.  From the sound of it, it's the online game that pushes the advertisements to you.  Perhaps to help pay for the servers?

Far Cry 2 is an excellent game.  It's got problems that seem to stem from catering to consoles.  Blast a guard station, drive a quarter mile away, come back, and the guard station is repaired and manned again.  That's the price you pay to keep your save game files down around one megabyte.  But, all in all, a very fun game.  And it's looking like it will take a good 40+ hours to finish, too, which is something that's getting rare these days.

My main problem with in-game advertising isn't that I'm somehow getting my rights violated.  I'm a lot more worried about the effect on creativity.  Coke advertisements don't fit in a fantasy game setting.  They barely fit in a Gal Civ setting.  If advertising starts to become a major source of revenue, we're going to find all our games happening in present time or the near-future.  That worries me plenty.

Here's a weird twist to throw at ya.  NCSoft's City of Heroes has optional advertising.  Advertisements pop in on the billboards if you leave the option turned on.  Turn the option off and, as soon as you switch zones or re-log, the advertisements will be gone.  The game studio only gets paid for people that look at the advertisments.  I planned on turning them off after a day or two but I've been keeping them on, mostly because I want to see what companies are willing to go for this kind of advertising!

Reply #39 from GalCiv2 Forums Top

What the heck is wrong with ads?

I'm gonna buy FC2 in any case.... "you should not buy it"... OMFG.

Reply #40 from GalCiv2 Forums Top

If they keep doing this, I'm gonna want a cut. Pixels aren't cheap, you know. $0.0004 per pixel sounds like a fair price. Perhaps they should be paying us to put ads on our screens :D.

Reply #41 from Stardock Forums Top

Strange, after reading reviews of Far Cry 2, this is the first I have heard about them enabling uploading ads to your game-space.

Like other games with this same tech, I will not buy it. I game to avoid advertising. Thank you for the heads up, and anyone who supports in-game advertising is a fool and is to be challenged on that point.

Reply #42 from Sins Forums Top

Hear, hear. I find the idea of paying for a game and then being forced -and unlike many other media you can have no other option if you want to experience further content- to endure their spam, leaves an unpleasant taste.

More insidious is the stated intention that [Massive] ''may collect your Internet protocol address and other basic anonymous information, and will use this information for the general purposes of transmitting and measuring in-game advertising.'' At best you will enjoy 'targeted' advertising, junk mail writ large on your computer screen from those companies wanting to reach out to your 'demographic' based on your IP and whatever other information the program may mine from your online activities. At worst Massive and other companies will have ever increasing access to personal information and data; not only where you live and what you buy, who knows just how much information they will be able and willing to collect in the not too distant future?

I would be interested if Stardock has an opinion on the subject? Do they believe the potential negatives from a consumer’s point of view merit a clause in their gamer’s bill of rights? 

 

Reply #43 from Sins Forums Top

Quoting Legerdemain, reply 3

Quoting Nights Edge, reply 1Me and my shadowcat miss Mechwarrior too.
Shadowcat pilots unite. All about the stack of medium lasers and shooting legs off--although that worked way better in MW3 than 4. >.>
Mexhwarrior 2: Mercenaries. After that Mech 4 was just butter. Can't remember what I piloted. I just remember the Reactor was Online, the Sensore were online, Weapons were online, and apparently, all systems were nominal.

 

People, just wake up and realise that you vote with your wallet. For example, Crysis was never worth $60. Its barely worth $30. Don't expect Far Cry 2 to be any better in that regard. Whereas really good games are the ones that still maintain their price tags long after they are released. By jumping on the early release you are paying the biggest price for whatever you hate about that game. While in 6 months, I'll be buying it for half the cost, thanks to pundits like you that drive down the reputation of the game.

 

I guess I should thank you.

 

If every gamer were like me, more developers would price their games based upon the real value of the software.