In-game advertisements

I don't mind them for the most part, as long as it's somewhat appropiate for the setting. For example, in a sports game, I don't mind seeing ads in the game arena, cause it's like that in real life too, and it adds some realism.

However, it can get somewhat distracting too. I heard someone complain that on Planetside, there are about 700 places where ads are put up, and these are basically ads for stuff that have nothing to do with the game (I remember seeing a picture where the homebase had a picture for Deuce Bigalow: European Giggolo displayed prominently. It looked really retarded next to the guy standing with a gun lol).

I think that what they should do is be more creative with those ads. For example, if it's in a sci-fi shooter, instead of simply showing a current, real life modern day advertisement (like a picture of those fanta girls for example, in a fanta ad), they should replace it with characters from the game posing for the ad.

For example, lets say you're in a sci-fi FPS game, running through a ruined city. As you walk through, you'll see worn out (but still visible) posters for fanta, or a ruined billboard that looks like its a few decades into decay with a "current" brand name item, like a Lexus car or something.

Doing something like that, while it would take more work, would make it more acceptable overall, as it's a little more subtle, but adds to the realism, and probably won't ruin the game too much for most people.

On the other hand, if it's a fantasy setting, I don't think what I suggested would work too well (unless those ads pop up during a loading screen, although I'd imagine that'd get old after a while).

In short, I think it's probably inevitable that we'll start seeing ads in games. Again, I just hope that they make it subtle and try to fit those ads into the overall mood of the game, or gamers will probably be mad that the game companies are selling out (esp. if the game still costs an arm and a leg to buy).

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