I don't really think any ads are effective as the vast majority of my purchases are based off of needs/ research from internet and products I'm introduced to through blog posts.

However, I like ingame ads. There's nothing wrong with it in my book, as long as they fit the atmosphere, which they usually do. I don't see the harm and think they're kinda cool, especially games that update the ads to keep up with new releases.

I know. I'm the minority.

I'd have to agree. Playing Crackdown, I didn't feel the urge to go out and buy some Axe deodorant or a Dodge truck. Can't say I've ever been motivated to pick up a product because I saw it on a sign or ad in-game. However, I do feel that in-game ads that fit within the established world add a sense of realism that doesn't hurt the experience.

It's when companies try to shoehorn in ads and product placement into places where they don't fit just to generate some extra revenue that it becomes distracting and annoying. In those cases, I'd say in-game advertising is actually detrimental, as it can leave a bad taste in the player's mouth.

The man who created Chuck E. Cheese's should know a thing or two about crass commercialization.

@Captain Impulse: Have to agree with the realism argument.

But otherwise it makes no sense. The first ingame ad I remember seeing is the Powerade machine in Enter the Matrix. It didn't really do anything for me ingame and I surely haven't bought any recently. Though if it actually did do something in game, like give me bullet time powers, then I would indeed be more inclined to buy it in real life out of curiosity and awesomenss. So ingame ads = no, ingame ad power ups = yes!

I don't believe that in game ads work but I don't think that they don't work either. I'm just not convinced that someone who sees and ad for something in a game is going to be convinced to go out and buy it. Basically people already know what they like and what they don't, if they're going to buy something then they'll buy it regardless of whether or not they saw an ad in a game.

I guess the argument could be made that kids are impressionable, the power of suggestion and what not. They way I see it though is, no harm no foul. I don't care if it's there as long as it doesn't affect gameplay

The only ads that are successful for me are trailers... Things that give me a good glimpse of what I'm buying... I've never been swayed by ads for food, and some ads have swayed me AGAINST food... Same thing with clothing... Despite being an avid Ninja Turtles fan, I never once in that era craved Dominoes... or was it Pizza hut... I was a Little Caesar's guy because it was cheaper, heh... And I only wanted the Nintendo Cereal because it was Nintendo Cereal... The ad alerted me to its existence, but I would have begged for it if I saw it on the shelf.

@Pickens: Man, that would be sweet. Getting power-ups from ad-related content would make it worth it in some cases.

You know what would also make in-game ads "worth it"? A reduction in the price of the game. Ads are all about garnering additional revenue for the developer, so when are we going to see some of those savings passed on to us?

I made myself laugh there.

EA is the biggest offender in my opinion. All of their games are no holds barred when it comes to billboards, stores, and actual product placement. And I remember it being bad to the point of being intrusive in Skate.

If you can get an advertisement in a game tasteuflly, and in keeping atmosphere of the game, like the one pictured above, it should add to the authenticity of the game. Much like having licensed cars.

@Bluecell: Oh and it's also a mre viable way of making sure the audience will see the ad. Just like product placement in TV shows. DVRs are becoming more and more popular to the point that almost anyone can skip the commercials if they want to, but if the product is part of the show itself, there's no avoiding that. But you still have to be tasteful about it.

30 Rock does a great job of that. For the last while, Alec Baldwin has been trying to become the head of GE. As in General Electric. The Office also does a decent job, every so often plugging printers or shredders...or Staples itself.

Smallville completely sold out in a recent episode, in which they were advertising Stride gum. One character even says: "The Stride factory already shut down? Maybe they won't make the flavour last so long, next time." - It made me cringe.

Anyways, the only guarantee someone is going to see your advertisement is to put it right in the content, especially with the level of piracy now-a-days.

@Captain Impulse: its revenue that should be used to make the game better, i dont care spending 60 bucks on a game if its a great game. If the developers want to put in ads, tastefully into their games im all for it. It seems that most of the time games suck its because theres not enough money in the budget for polish. i think in game ads can be used to give developers extra resources to make better games. And i love what the guys at gearbox are doing with brothers in arms, thats exactly advertising done right.

@smuckersisgood: I haven't seen what they're doing. I'll have to check it out.

In game ads are fine as long as they don't break the fourth wall. In a realistic game it makes sense to have ads since there are ads everywhere in the real world. An ad on the side of a bus or in a subway station inside a game would be an unnoticeable part of the background and wouldn't take away from gameplay. In older games, developers whould usually place fake ads in those places mentioned above, so I don't see why a tasteful (ie not shiny, flashy, or distracting) ad wouldn't fit. Sports games are a good example of this, as the in game ads actually make the stadiums look and feel real.

Of course, as mentioned above, this would only work in realistic games. Ads in a fantasy game make the game world seem less "real". Putting reality where it doesn't belong keeps the audience from immersing themselves completely in a fantasy world. I know I would be pissed if say Square replaced potions in Final Fintasy with Gatorade. I also have to agree with Captain Impulse. If games are going to have ads then they should be cheaper. After all, the point of putting ads in TV, radio, and magazines is to subsides publishing cost in order to reduce the final retail price.

So, game publishers, you can put ads in your games if they are tasteful and if you lower the price of games (I'm talking triple A titles for less than $40 here).

in-game ads can be very positive, it helps developers get extra funding to help add more time to polish a game, but ofcourse it has to be done right that it wont look force and must make sense where it is placed.

true true, but then again, i don't think Atari is very effective.

I have to agree with Nolan Bushnell. I played Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory and did not notice any in-game ads until it was pointed out to me later on that Sam Fisher took some chewing gum with him (forgot the name) along with a dozen other instances.

@psycoking: All ads break the fourth wall for me - my thoughts instantly snap back to "oh, someone got paid to put that in" the moment I see one.

I just did some writing on this for a couple of UK mags, and it did seem that the industry people I interviewed felt that the cash injection in-game ads provide allows for slightly more commercially risque, creatively liberated game design, as there's money coming in that doesn't depend on sales. That's good right?

Plus when done well, contextually relevant in-game ads add a level of realism photorealistic graphics can't. Like in EA's Skate for example...

Ads seem to work well during loading screens. I mean, it's not intrusive and you're not really doing anything at the time.

@darktorns: No, sir! Sadly ingame ads are only used to maximize the profit of the publisher.

The developer and the player have no benefit from such commercials. Games will stay buggy and unfinished, Why spend the income on polishing, if you can release the game the "traditional" way and make more profit?

I don't like ads in games nor reality. It's information designed to get my attention in some way and wants space in my brain that I want to use for useful and interesting pop-culture trivia and quotes.

If my memory serves me correct, didn't Pole Position feature billboards of the Atari logo strewn about the landscape? Wouldn't Bushnell be guilty of in-game advertising if that was the case?

It seems to me that in-game advertising is the most effective when it fits the subject material. Like if I play a racing game, and a particular manufacturer's cars handle the best, that's most likely because their real cars handle that way (or at least it creates that impression in the player's mind), so the player is more likely to consider that manufacturer's cars next time they're shopping for a new car.

@Bluecell:
I don't think the ads in Skate were too overbearing, at least no more than in the real world (except one company controls every billboard in skate...). The products that people were most likely to buy after playing the game were probably the items that you could buy in the skate shop. You might see an awesome t-shirt in the game and then actually go out and buy that shirt.

By the way, does anyone know in these type of games, does the game company pay licensing fees to the car/skate companies, or do they pay advertising fees to the game company?

I don't put stock in what NB says but I agree that it's a bad thing generally. It's usually more entertaining to see what the creators make up. Then, it's not that bad unless they repeat a lot in the world (Gilette trucks anyone?) But part of the reason I like games is because I can escape all that mainstream crap and noise.

@Bluecell:
Really? There's in game ads apart from clothes and board parts? I didn't notice...

Ads in the real world piss me off, so imagine my hate for them in the very places I go to escape. There really is no justification that will work against me. I don't like them, I don't want them, and if I see them laced in your game, I'll walk away from it, even if I really like the game! (See Burnout, Battlefield 2142, Quake Wars: ET, Crackdown)

Okay, so they don't cause me to go on a rampage, but it has got annoying enough that I stopped watching TV, and can only surf the net with Adblock on full power. I don't willingly look at the stuff because I don't enjoy being sold to after 25 years of non-stop BUYBUYBUY! It just gets old you know, and I'm tired, man. For a game to come right out and try to sell me useless garbage places it right next to cable TV, where one pays for the privilege of being sold to. No thanks!

Mr. Bushnell, may I ever get the chance, I'll buy you a beer!

Bushnell hasn't been a real part of the gaming industry for years. His opinions are as much worth as a veteran's look on the new iPod. The guy may be a hero, but for him, it's just a thingamagigger with a few whatchamacallits.

I bought some of those Mushroom Tires after I played Mario Kart.

I discovered the new Harold and Kumar because I play Quake Wars.