TV ads in console AAA games

[bleedblue1223]

This started with NBA 2K series, and looks like others will be trying it as well.

Marketers Experiment With TV Ads in Console Videogames

Marketers experiment with video ads on console games, but they face several hurdles to user adoption

Click to read more...

 

[Beau Knows]

They're gonna try to find a way to get people to watch their ads one way or another. Between ad blockers and cord cutting, younger people just aren't watching that many ads anymore.

Imagine paying for a game, then buying the season pass or whatever, then buying "loot boxes" and watching ads. You'd hope people wouldn't put up with that, but seeing the way some people just throw their money at their screens, I'm sure it the ads will find their way in one day.

 

[Super Cake]

I swear to f***ing god if i am playing a game and then all of a sudden the game automatically pauses and a ad starts playing, someone is going to get slapped over and over agin.

 

[PeteWorrell]

The day they put ads in games is the day i will fully endorse pirated releases.

 

[LarKing]

I’d boycott any game/company that puts video ads in. f*** that.

 

[Commander Clueless]

Sounds like a fantastic way to make me not buy any more games.

 

[wingsnut19]

Sounds like a fantastic way to make me not buy any more games.

Yeah, no way I would support any product that does this. I don't mind the blatant product placement in games, but interrupting gameplay to play a video ad would be a signal to me that it is time to stop participating in the industry.

 

[542365]

I doubt they’d put them in the middle of a mission, but I wouldn’t be surprised at all if it replaced the loading screen, which it already kind of does in some games. With next gen featuring SSDs, though, there won’t be very long loading screens, so they’ll probably prolong it to play a 15-30 second ad. That would be a game I’d never touch. We would need a huge swath of the gaming population to push back on that shit like we saw with Star Wars Battlefront 2 at launch. It would need to be rejected hard immediately or it will become the norm.

 

[wingsnut19]

I doubt they’d put them in the middle of a mission, but I wouldn’t be surprised at all if it replaced the loading screen, which it already kind of does in some games. With next gen featuring SSDs, though, there won’t be very long loading screens, so they’ll probably prolong it to play a 15-30 second ad. That would be a game I’d never touch. We would need a huge swath of the gaming population to push back on that shit like we saw with Star Wars Battlefront 2 at launch. It would need to be rejected hard immediately or it will become the norm.

If they prolong a loading screen by even 15 seconds to me that is the same as interrupting gameplay. Definitely wouldn't purchase any game that chose to do that.

 

[x Tame Impala]

If i have to watch some stupid ass ad with John Cena in it inbetween Halo matches or EASHL games then i'm going to lose it.

 

[Frankie Spankie]

If they prolong a loading screen by even 15 seconds to me that is the same as interrupting gameplay. Definitely wouldn't purchase any game that chose to do that.

14.9 second ads it is!

 

[bleedblue1223]

The only way it's acceptable is if they offer a free-version of the game that is ad-supported, and the standard $60+ game that is ad-free. We all know this will never happen since many of these games adopted the free-to-play micro-transactions and still charge the typical $60 with premium versions going much higher.

Next thing we know, they are going to have commercials in blu-rays and premium streaming services.

 

[Osprey]

Most of the replies so far seem to be reactions to the headline instead of the actual news.

The format offers players in-game rewards in exchange for watching optional 15- to 30-second commercials, which is similar to the ad experience in some mobile games.

The key word is "optional" and, presumably, they'd be accessible from the menus, not things that you'd be bombarded with during gameplay or any other time. I'm not defending it, but it doesn't sound much worse than current microtransaction practices.

 

[542365]

They did that in like NHL 14. You could watch an ad for like a minuscule amount of HUT currency(Coins? Gold? Pucks? WTF they call those things)

 

[bleedblue1223]

Most of the replies so far seem to be reactions to the headline instead of the actual news.


The key word is "optional" and, presumably, they'd be accessible from the menus, not things that you'd be bombarded with during gameplay or any other time. I'm not defending it, but it doesn't sound much worse than current microtransaction practices.

That's how the micro-transactions started in sports games. It's the exact reason why those games are garbage now, they just incrementally got worse and worse.

 

[x Tame Impala]

Most of the replies so far seem to be reactions to the headline instead of the actual news.


The key word is "optional" and, presumably, they'd be accessible from the menus, not things that you'd be bombarded with during gameplay or any other time. I'm not defending it, but it doesn't sound much worse than current microtransaction practices.

I read the first article. It sounds like they’re going with a gentle approach first and then over time, as we get more and more used to ads, make them a normal part of gaming.

“Slippery slope” and all that.

 

[Osprey]

That's how the micro-transactions started in sports games. It's the exact reason why those games are garbage now, they just incrementally got worse and worse.

I read the first article. It sounds like they’re going with a gentle approach first and then over time, as we get more and more used to ads, make them a normal part of gaming.

“Slippery slope” and all that.

I don't disagree. I was just pointing out the misunderstanding in this thread. People were imagining ads in the middle of gameplay or during loading screens.

 

[bleedblue1223]

I don't disagree. I was just pointing out the misunderstanding in this thread. People were imagining ads in the middle of gameplay or during loading screens.

NBA 2K has started with unskippable ads in loading screens, where the game will finish loading and you will have to wait for the ad to finish.

 

[RandV]

It should just follow the natural progression like sports: TV commercial timeouts, board adds, playing field adds, jersey/equipment adds. I want to see Master Chief done up like a pro European hockey player!

Really though I feel like this isn't the first time they've tried something like this?

 

[GreytWun]

They are just testing the waters. Once it’s in the games they will slowly find ways to force the ads somehow.

 

[MetalheadPenguinsFan]

It’s shit like this that makes me glad I’m not much of a gamer anymore.

 

[Frankie Spankie]

It’s shit like this that makes me glad I’m not much of a gamer anymore.

Eh, the problem is AAA gaming, it has been for years and it just continues to get worse. The indie gaming scene is where it's at. You rarely find the bullshit tactics of AAA games to suck every single penny out of you and they actually focus on making great, focused games rather than AAA games that try to appeal to everyone for maximum sales but it's all just good.

 

[KingBran]

I miss the days where EVERY video on the internet did not have ads.

People just accept ads now-a-days. It sucks.