The deals listed, which hit the day after Thanksgiving, include DSi bundles for $170 that come with five free games and a $25 Nintendo gaming coupon, Left 4 Dead 2 for $40, an Xbox 360 Elite bundle featuring Pure, Lego Batman and Halo ODST for $299, and tons more.

Check them out in the gallery.

The two words are a name, a name that was not immediately familiar to me. "Dick Marcinko."

When I saw them, I should have remembered our Brian Crecente's preview of Rogue Warrior from April. In it, he confirmed what the appearance of those two words implied to me: That you place a name like that on an ad, right above the logo, if you want whoever sees the ad to think the name there belongs to a real person.

From Crecente's preview:

Marcinko enlisted in the Navy in 1958, transferred to SEAL Team Two in 1966 where he served two tours in Vietnam. In the late 70s he became the first commanding officer of SEAL Team Six, the US Navy's premier counter-terrorist unit. In the 80s he formed Red Cell, which was tasked with testing the security of naval bases, nuclear subs, ships, civilian airports and embassies.

In 1992 he wrote his autobiography, Rogue Warrior, which went on to become a New York Times best seller.

...

[Bethesda's Pete] Hines says that the game is meant to be about what Marcinko is doing and who he is and points out that the books Marcinko writes are about 20 percent truth and 80 percent BS, which is, Hines says, Marcinko's personality.

The game is sort of based on all that. A search of the Internet produced plenty more on the real Marcinko, who you could start reading about on the man's official site.

I don't know how much Rogue Warrior is based on the real Marcinko, nor how much of Marcinko's writings, which began as non-fiction and have spawned a line of novels, are based on real events. But what arrested my eyes was the portrayal of a game, via an ad, as if it was based on someone real. It lends a different sense of reality or seeming-reality to games, a medium I've almost only ever seen advertised as a form of pure fiction.

The ordinance prohibits advertisements for video games that have been rated "Mature" or "Adults Only" on CTA vehicles and in CTA facilities. A lawsuit was filed today by the Entertainment Software Association in federal court in Chicago challenging the ordinance.

Reached for comment this afternoon, Wanda Taylor, a spokeswoman for the Chicago Transit Authority, told Kotaku that the authority has not yet been served with the suit but that they feels that the ordinance is defensible.

"The CTA does not allow advertising for alcohol or tobacco products and this ordinance is consistent with that long-standing policy," she said.

The Media Coalition says that by restricting advertising for video games in a public forum based on its content, the policy infringes upon the First Amendment rights of video game producers and their audience. The ordinance also, they say, unconstitutionally gives legal effect to a private voluntary rating system in determining which speakers may advertise with CTA.

"Ex-Governor Blagojevich spent hundreds of thousands of dollars unsuccessfully to defend a law that barred minors from buy or renting similar video games before it was struck down as unconstitutional," said David Horowitz, Executive Director of Media Coalition. "The Chicago Transit Authority should repeal this ill-conceived ordinance rather than using scarce resources to fight this in court and get the same result."

Taylor pointed out that they have a number of guidelines in place for determining if an advertisement can run on the CTA. The guidelines, she said, require ads to be truthful and not directed at inciting imminent lawless action.

The ads cannot be legally obscene, sexually explicit, depict nudity or portray graphic violence nor can they incite lawless illegal action.

The guidelines now also include this item:

"Advertisements marketing or identifying a video or computer game with an ESRB rating of "Mature (M)" or "Adults Only (AO)" are prohibited."

Their claims, from a promo video IGA recently released

• 90 percent of gamers recalled the brands they had seen in games.
• 84 percent feel the ads they see "fit" within the games.
• 70 percent perceive brands that advertise within games as "innovative."
• 36 percent "Bought or requested information of a product after seeing an in-game ad."
• Gamers spend 8.4 seconds, on average, looking at an in-game advertisement.

You can see the figures for yourself in their video.

IGA Worldwide Video [Youtube via Joystiq]

This is how Sony will be flogging LittleBigPlanet across Europe - three short TV spots showing off some of the more creative uses of the level creation tools.

In The Cullen Family Planet, Murray shows us the LBP level he made for his two sons. Remember - the family that explodes dogs together, stays together.

Two more after the jump.

The Janice Planet could spawn a new genre - revenge modding. "We start off inside Janice's heart, which as you can see is mostly frozen..."

With The Heavy Metal Mullet Planet, the clue is very much in the title. Guide a hair-metal Sackboy to the stage by SWINGING ON THE MULLET OF A ROBOT DINOSAUR GUITARIST.

Just take a few moments to savor that last sentence.

The Sun Online (the intertubes version of the popular tabloid) will be hosting an Xbox-themed portal for the rest of the year. "I love Xbox 360" will feature assorted pro-Xbox advertorials, competitions and game features.

Microsoft has also signed a deal with Bluepod, a 'proximity marketing' agency that uses Bluetooth to send ads to the phones of unsuspecting pedestrians who wander too close to transceivers hidden in cinemas, shopping malls, etc. This is why I always leave Bluetooth turned off on my phone...

Xbox partners with The Sun Online to push price drop [New Media Age via Xboxer.tv]

You may remember that Obama got some press for snapping up billboards in Burnout Paradise, but Boston.com writes that he's extended that to Guitar Hero and Madden NFL 09.

The in-game ads aim to inform voters that early voting has begun. Obama is the first presidential candidate to buy up in-game ad spots.

Barack's been on the receiving end of some cash from both Activision and Electronic Arts, so that ad spend has a chance of coming right back to him. That's not just good marketing, it's smart cash recycling.

McCain hints he may raise Obama-Ayers ties in tonight's debate [Boston.com]

Can't say I was much of a fan of the first "Live Your Moment" ad, the "casual" targeted slow-motion nightmare that kicks off Microsoft's new Xbox 360 holiday ad blitz. Fortunately, the next two, shot in the same vein and focusing on LEGO Batman and Xbox Live Marketplace's video download service, are simply more goofball than nightmare-inducing. The kid in the second ad spot, fresh-faced though he may be, looks like he's getting a hit of heroin off-screen, he's so delighted.

Don't do drugs, kids. Play LEGO Batman instead.

While we contend that Microsoft's new marketing thrust is the kind of disturbing digital witchcraft that will give us night terrors, the company describes its efforts as "focused on shifting brand perception and driving re-appraisal of the platform in a very competitive region with entrenched competition."

Continue on for the first "Live Your Moment" ad, if you dare, to see if your "re-appraisal of the platform" is significantly driven.

Gaaaaaaaaahhhhhh!!!!!

MS Launches Biggest Ever Xbox 360 Marketing Blitz [Edge Online]

Are Sony trying to appeal to the portly gamer set who prefer to masquerade as teenage waifs online? Or is it the other way around, speaking to the blue ocean market of women with runway physiques who desperately long to be a morbidly obese and wear nothing but brown? Or is it just "Look, nipples!"? We're stumped.

PS3: Matrjoska [Ads of the World]

Anyway, The Motley Fool came up with a tongue-in-cheek list of five ways to tell if you're EA Sports ad material:

Think you're ready to be "in the game," as EA says? Here are five signs you'll be the firm's next sports star. Drumroll, please:

5. You frequently brag about your digital outfielder's "cannon of an arm."

4. You look just good enough to not upstage the console.

3. The closest you've been to a football field is your nationally televised defeat during season one of Madden Nation.

2. You bought a $200 headset to go with your gaming console because "that's how the pros do it."

And the No. 1 sign that you might star in a new EA Sports ad: You replayed the Super Bowl in Madden NFL till your team won — by the exact score you predicted in the office pool.

I dunno, I think you guys can do better. Post your own version of "you know you play too much Madden when." And would you want to be in one of these commercials?

5 Signs You'll Be The Next EA Sports Star [The Motley Fool, pic the WSJ]

According to GamesIndustry, the ASA did find the game distasteful, but was not glorifying violence because of its "comic and exaggerated" nature:

"Although many might find the name and content of the game to be in poor taste, the content of the ad was unlikely to cause serious or widespread offence," it said.

ASA dismisses Bully advertising complaints [GamesIndustry.biz]

“The growth of in-game advertising, both current and projected, makes it an attractive medium for brands looking to reach hard-to-reach consumers,” said Elizabeth Harz, EA’s Senior Vice President of Global Media Sales. “This study solidifies what many in the industry have known for a long time: in-game ads are effective and well-received by the gaming community.”

Hooray! We're only alienating 18% of the gaming public! Hit the jump for the rest of the numbers, most of which seem to be aimed more at attracting advertisers rather than assuaging consumer concerns.

Landmark IGA-Nielsen Study: 82% of Consumers React Positively to Receiving Contextual In-Game Ads During Game Play

New research data from 1,300+ consumers indicates brands receive measurable lift in perception, awareness when advertised in-game

Tuesday 17th June/...Integrating dynamic advertisements into videogame environments provides brands a measured lift in overall consumer awareness and opinion of the products they are exposed to during game play according to the Consumers’ Experience with In-Game Content & Brand Impact of In-Game Advertising Study, a landmark research study conducted by Nielsen BASES and Nielsen Games on behalf of IGA Worldwide, the leading in-game advertising network.

“With young adults now spending on average 6 hours a week gaming, advertisers should be excited at how well their messages were embraced and the brands positively perceived,” said Justin Townsend, CEO of IGA Worldwide. “The consumer insights we’ve gleaned from this data will help drive the industry’s first research-based in-game advertising measurement standards as well as strengthen IGA’s position as an effective in-game ad network brands can trust to efficiently deliver their message to target audiences.”

One of the most important factors confirmed by the Study is that most consumers reacted positively to in-game ads: 82 percent felt games were just as enjoyable with ads as without. In addition, there was an average 61 percent increase in consumers’ favorable opinions of products advertised in-game post-play.

“The growth of in-game advertising, both current and projected, makes it an attractive medium for brands looking to reach hard-to-reach consumers,” said Elizabeth Harz, EA’s Senior Vice President of Global Media Sales. “This study solidifies what many in the industry have known for a long time: in-game ads are effective and well-received by the gaming community.”

One of the most comprehensive in-game advertising effectiveness research studies completed to-date, Nielsen tested multiple variables with multiple brands across multiple games, as opposed to just a single brand in a single game. The research also showed how IGA’s in-game unique advertising opportunities generate significant advertising value across key ad metrics.

"In-game advertising is an opportunity to present targeted brand messaging to a highly desirable demographic. This new data shows how important it is how the targeted and contextual ads are displayed in videogames. Participating in this study with IGA Worldwide has provided valuable new insights into effectively using the medium." said Chad Stoller, Executive Director, Emerging Platforms Organic, Inc.

Nielsen surveyed over 1,300 PC gaming participants in their homes by linking IGA’s proprietary measurement software with research trackers embedded within sample game disc. This unique methodology allowed for unprecedented in-depth analysis of consumer receptivity to in-game ads. The participating brand advertisers included Taco Bell, Jeep and Wrigley and game titles were provided by Electronic Arts and Activision.

Select Findings from the Study:

• There is an average 44 percent increase in post-game aided recall from pre-awareness;

• Positive brand attribute association increased 33 percent across all brands;

• Over 70 percent of consumers who were most opinionated about in-game ads, felt the ads made them feel better about the brand, feel more favorable toward the brand, make them more interested in the brand, and believe the ads are for innovative/cutting edge brands;

• Over 60 percent of the most opinionated consumers feel the ads catch their attention, make games more realistic, do not interrupt the game experience, and are promoting relevant products;

• In-game ad exposures with a duration over 2 seconds, as they are measured in IGA’s in-game ad methodology, generates on average an almost 30% increase in key ad metrics, including ad noticeability +100%, recall +42%, and fit +27%, vs. ad exposures with a duration of less than 1 second

“This study offers proof that dynamic in-game advertising is an influential digital ad medium,” said Dave Anderson, Senior Director Business Development, Activision. “Just as important to us is how users react to the ads. From the research it is clear that the overwhelming majority of consumers enjoyed the gaming experience just as much, if not more, with dynamic ads present. As game publishers, it is reassuring to know advertisers and consumers both stand to benefit from dynamic ads.”

IGA’s network offers dozens of games across multiple genres and platforms, as well as a range of standardized awareness advertising formats with digital measurability. The Company’s advertising products and metrics are in-line with the ad industry and measure ad exposure during game play, including key metrics like minimum time viewed, size and angle thresholds.

Videogame advertising is poised to grow to a $2B global industry by 2012 according to eMarketer, making games the fastest-growing major advertising medium. As a result, advertisers are making significant investments in the in-game environment as an effective strategy to reach target audiences.

These pictures by ad firm BBDO Chile surfaced on Ruliweb and feature hidden PlayStation images if you look closely enough. And to further the mind fuck, at least one of these two pictures (the other after the jump) has multiples of at least some of the PlayStation's trademark triangle, square, circle, X shapes. Sony, why do you do these things to our attention span? It's a Friday for heaven's sake!

List your results in the comments if you're so inclined.

Images [Ruliweb via PS3Blog]

But this shouldn't come as any surprise. In fact, this estimate is more conservative than in the past. Join me on a trip down memory lane for just a moment, back to the wonderful world of July 2007. Back then, the Yankee Group said that by 2011, in-game ad revenue could reach $971 million. So while in-game ads are on the rise, they may not be growing as quickly as originally thought!

eMarketer: U.S. In-Game Ads Market to More than Double to $650M by 2012 [GameDaily]

Game-Ad Boom Looms as Sony Opens Up PS3 [Adage via GamesIndustry]

Says Stringer:

The [supposed] solution to everything at the moment in the digital space is ad-supported. While advertisers are happy to talk that up, there is a limit to the amount of money available... Young people don't like advertising very much...

Make that, young people don't like bad advertising. If it's done in an innovative, non-intrusive way, in-game advertising could work. I mean, why not?

Questions Raised Over Modern Ads [FT.com via Gamasutra]

Circuit City's weekly ad offers a $10 gift card with a pre-order of Devil May Cry 4 for either the Xbox 360 version or the PS3 version. A $10 gift card is also available for pre-orders of the 360 and PS3 versions of Turok. For a full rundown of all the weekly ad deals, check out CheapAssGamer.com.

It is innovative, it is new, and it is far removed from the more traditional methods we have been using. I believe that is what we need if we are to reverse the number of Scots families suffering the tragedy of a loved one being lost.

Xbox games tackle drink driving [bbc]