Product placement in games.

Hobbes

After the horrible i-pod advert called "Blade Trinity" I was annoyed that I had to pay to see what amounted to an advert (only I-Robot is second to it).

I see now adverts are now being pumped into games.

Anarchy Online is now free to play as long as you don't mind getting spammed by adverts in game (eg. Sprite).

Turns out the latest Splinter Cell also has adverts in it for chewing gum and AMD. I don't know how they justify the adverts though as the game is still the same bloody price.

Stephen

GT4 has loads of Vodafone and AMD billboards around the tracks. The US version of NFSU2 is basically one long advertisement for the Cingular mobile network - lame.

ObeyGiant

This isn't particularly new. Product placement has been with us from the start (tapper, cool spot etc.). Although it has ramped up a bit recently. Chronicles of Riddick was the first one that I remember thinking it looked a little out of place.

If you ask me (and you haven't), in-game adverts can help add a certain level of realism to a game, by bringing the game world slightly closer to the real world (like Splinter Cell or Crazy Taxi).

However, the Anarchy Online one is just wrong.

jill_valentine

If I recall correctly, the game that got harshed most severely for making this acceptable was Enter the Matrix, !in association with Powerade!. So many vending machines...

Metal Gear Solid 2 had quite a bit, but it sort of made sense that lots of soldiers on an oil rig might have lad's mags...

The Sims gave in, but kudos to them, they did it well. Avril Lavigne and Bloody Aguilera both make appearrances, and both are fiercely rude harpy people. Your Sims can get food from a McDonalds stall, but the description says something to the effect that the vendor has to live in his stall on the wage McDonalds gives him.

sound_wave

wasn't Red Bull advertised in the first WipEOut on the PS?

flogen

Yeah, just read up about the splinter cell adverts, they were harping on about realism etc, and while i haven't seen it implemented in the game yet I wonder how subtle it is and how realistic it actually is. How does the chewing gum work?

iregk

The whole brand name/product placement does make a game a little more real, providing its not been taken too far. GTA3 on the pc had a realgta patch that you could download and replace everything with real items i.e. the yakuza stinger became a toyota supra etc...

But recently and in particular EA games it is been taken to the extreme. The should just rename EA Games to Product Placement Games. Need For Speed 2 takes the cake, a burger king paint job for your car!!!!

jill_valentine

Didn't McDonalds actually release a platform game once? My old brain suggests it was on the Gamegear...

seamus

They've been doing this in movies for years. With games sales now demolishing box office takes, it was an obvious progression.

jill_valentine

jill_valentine wrote:

Didn't McDonalds actually release a platform game once? My old brain suggests it was on the Gamegear...

I was wrong, 'twas the Genesis.

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/g/sega_genesis/mcdonalds_treasure_land_adventure/overview.php

BlitzKrieg

i wouldnt mind them in cyber or real world themed mmorpgs if it meant i wouldnt have to pay such huge sub fees, and as long as it isnt pop ups (billobard sprites would be best)


and in racing games etc i dont see the problem...unlike movies the appeal of games is interaction product placement in movies can ruin the experiance and in worse cases (like i robot and blade 3) get in the way of the storylines...while games product placement is great when you can smash said product with a basrball bat etc.

Hobbes

flogen wrote:

Yeah, just read up about the splinter cell adverts, they were harping on about realism etc, and while i haven't seen it implemented in the game yet I wonder how subtle it is and how realistic it actually is. How does the chewing gum work?

The first cut scene it zooms into a item in Sams hand. Its a pack of chewing gum (airwaves), he takes one and eats it.

Two cutscenes in you see a guard near a radio, it zooms into the radio and beside it is a packet of airwaves chewing gum.

Another cutscene in is an air blimp with an airwaves advert on it. I swear the cutscenes are just glorified chewing gum adverts.

Load screen has AMD on it, all computers either have AMD or nokia adverts on them.

iregk

I know this is a games forum but Minority Report really took the mic. That was the most product placement I have ever seen. But just look at Fifa 2005.... nuff said...

KdjaCL

Its new in that most of these ads will be updated when you go online, SC:CT also has nokia on board.


kdjac

Stormfox1020

The first two splinter cells were sponsored by Sony Ericsson, ie Sam's PDA was made by them. I wonder why they switched to nokia in the latest edition? Maybe Fisher wanted to play snake on his off days. Anyways More to the point, I agree that there a more and more ad's popping up in games and its ruining the games in my opinion. I want to play a game not be brained washed into buying certain phones or drinks etc. I also recall the Tony Hawks series had a few Nokia and Jeep sponsers in them.

Roar

didnt football games always have pitchside advertising?

besty

im playing tiger woods 2005 at the moment and all the big brand names feature heavily. i think its good though, just adds to the realism (as long as it is done subtly)

KdjaCL

Roar wrote:

didnt football games always have pitchside advertising?

Some sponsors come with the licence.


kdjac

Hobbes

Played the next level that required me to break into an apartment. Turns out mercs require multiple cans of Lynx (American version is called Axe) along with a crate of the stuff in thier bathroom. I guess the huge neon Axe sign overlooking his apartment probably made him buy the stuff.

Oh and some guards later in the game start pimping the new prince of persia game.

KdjaCL

Hobbes wrote:

Oh and some guards later in the game start pimping the new prince of persia game.

i took that as tongue in cheek and found it very funny, to me thats the kinda in game advertising i would like. Theres another game mentioned


kdjac

monkeyfudge

jill_valentine wrote:

Didn't McDonalds actually release a platform game once? My old brain suggests it was on the Gamegear...

There was a MacDonalds game on the Amiga as well. It wasn't toooo bad...

You didn't have to control Ronald McDonald. Instead you could control either of two kids called Mic and Mac... one white, one black... how very nice.. it was some sort of Captain Planet style enviromental game too... They carried little sort of sludge guns that they squirted on the enemies.

God. Actually... I vaguely recall playing a game on the Amiga where I was controlling the dog out of the HMV logo... that was very surreal...

jaggeh

and so on and so forth

Retr0gamer

Mick and Mack Global Gladiators was actually quite enjoyable. It played like the dave perry platformers of the era. However while you were playing it your mind was being filled with purified corporate evil.

monkeyfudge

Retr0gamer wrote:

Mick and Mack Global Gladiators was actually quite enjoyable. It played like the dave perry platformers of the era. However while you were playing it your mind was being filled with purified corporate evil.

Ronald McDonald didn't even put in an appearance, did he? I thought that was pretty classy.. ha

BloodBath

Nothing wrong with in game advertising as long as it's subtle or true to life like racing track billboards or football stadium advertising.


BloodBath

monument

Hobbes wrote:

Oh and some guards later in the game start pimping the new prince of persia game.

Lucas Arts did something like that for there 'Loom' game in the first Monkey Island.

Retr0gamer

Companies pimping their own games in another of their games is quite common. Examples are Final Fantasy VII which had a mention of Xenogears and Paper Mario 2 which has a character that pimps out intelligent system games (whivh everyone should buy anyway ).

Nietzschean

Hobbes wrote:

After the horrible i-pod advert called "Blade Trinity" I was annoyed that I had to pay to see what amounted to an advert (only I-Robot is second to it).

I have to agree, the first time she took it out was ok, little stupid to listen to loud music while ye fight but.... then the second and 3rd times they were making conversations about an ipod ffs.

Its one thing for realism, its another when ye morph storylines to give more screen time to the product.

Stormfox1020

Also anyone else ever see a film called evolution an Alien/comedy film? Instead of hinting the product though out the film, at the end they just did a mini ad for head and shoulders while the creds rolled. It was actually quite amusing.... and uncalled for?

Nietzschean

it was probally intended to be funny.... i must say i thought that film was just woefull, that H&S thing was probally the funniest thing in it...

simu

jill_valentine wrote:

The Sims gave in, but kudos to them, they did it well. Avril Lavigne and Bloody Aguilera both make appearrances, and both are fiercely rude harpy people. Your Sims can get food from a McDonalds stall, but the description says something to the effect that the vendor has to live in his stall on the wage McDonalds gives him.

The Sims is a parody of consumerism, according to some interview i read somewhere. That sounds a bit spoofy but when you think of the joking descritions they give all the objects in the game, it's true! It becomes clearer in the Sims 2 where Sims who have money as their aspiration can be very materialistc but Sims who aspire to family, knowledge and love less so. You are forced to admit there is more to life than buying - Sims need more than that to have fulfilling lives.

Also, it's funny how a person can satisfy their "want" urges by downloading virtual and thus free objects for their Sims! (Although some people actually pay for downloadable objects - sad imo).