I have some mixed feelings when it comes to the new trend of in-game ads, so it got me pretty curious when Splash Damage announced they're planning to have in-game advertising in the upcoming Quake Wars (a game that I'm highly anticipating) Announcement here...
[quote]Choosing to place ads in Enemy Territory was not a decision we made lightly. However, in doing so we hope to be able to provide a higher level of on-going support to the Enemy Territory: QUAKE Wars community than would have been possible otherwise.[/quote]
In-game advertising caused a avalanche of negative responses for Battlefield 2142 when a slip inside the retail box notified you of its ingame advertising and player tracking with, I think, browser cookie information. I think the amount of feedback was so bad that EA haven't yet begun streaming regular in-game as (although there have been reports of an ad once in a blue moon). Valve has announced that they were going for in-game advertising for some of their games like c**terstrike Source, but it does bother me somewhat that these ads will just stick out like a sore thumb for futuristic games like BF2142 and Quake Wars. Nevertheless, it's interesting to see that developers are starting to offset their development costs with in-game advertising.
I've been reading some of the reactions that this bit of news has caused around on other sites, and most of it seem pretty negative. What worries me more though is that the Quake Wars beta keys for Fileplanet subscribers were handed out today, and from a few reports, there are a few reports that there is:
1: some work left to do
or
2: it's quite a disappointment and not matching the hype that this game has built.
Souri2007-06-21 04:01:51
I managed to get a Beta key but have only played a few hours.
I think there's a lot of negativity for a few reasons:
a) Most people dont understand this is Beta, and expect a polished game.
b) The servers are full of noobs :)
c) ETQW is too much like Battlefield for ET fans (like myself) to really enjoy. And it's too much like ET for Battlefield fans to enjoy. I think both sides are somewhat dissapointed so far.
As for ingame ads, I read somewhere that Australian law doesnt allow them, that's why we dont see ads in Battlefield, can anyone confirm?
In the beta there are placeholder posters (with a promo for Quake Wars) on the sides of a few buildings, I assume ads eventually go there. It's not intrusive, yet, but I think it's a slippery slope.nexx2007-06-27 21:15:24
Good old Wolf ET was FREE, FREE, FREE! I guess now they want their mucho E-money return. I'm willing to look at in-game advertising as long as there is no Spyware, Phishing, Trojan's or Evil Worm's involved. In-game advertising and monthly subscription make me feel like playing snes.