Product placement in video games is nothing new, but Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker is definitely taking it to another level. You're going to take it even further in this week's Kotaku 'Shop Contest.
Konami had a big news conference this week to unveil the new ... well, advertisements ... it'll be serving up in it's latest installment of the Metal Gear Solid saga. Some of these products weren't even around during the time of the storyline, and the branding on all of them is nearly 40 years into the future. But who cares? That gives you license to put in even more outlandish crap.
Naturally, feel free to use any other images that spring to mind, whether they are screens from this specific MGS game or another. I'm fully expecting to see Vince Shlomi or Billy Mays with eyepatches and pushbroom mustaches.
Big thanks to Kotaku reader Meeps, who suggested this to me about five minutes after Bash's story went up this week. That brings up another useful point, we're all in this together. If you have an idea for a 'Shop Contest, feel free to hashtag it #tips or email it directly to me, with "'Shop Contest Suggestion" in the subject head so I know to pay extra special attention to it. Ideally, the best concepts involve timely news and have at least one image attached to them, but I'm open to most anything.
However, don't email your submissions in this contest to me; they're meant to be posted here. The only other ground rule is please keep your images to no wider than 1200 pixels and no taller than 800 pixels.
The 20 best will get rounded up and published at the end of next Saturday. Meantime, I and the rest of the starred commentariat will approve and promote as many as we can so folks can see them and pass judgment. Remember, if you're trying to get a comment account approved, turning in a worthy 'shop is an easy path to the privilege.