The ad creep marches onward seeping into every aspect on our lives. From the little space above the gas pump to the little space above public urinials we receive messages telling us to buy, buy, buy. And now the creep is moving into video games.
As Tony Walsh points out in his latest article on Mindjack, ads in games are bringing in new revenue streams for game makers. But will ads for Tide or Mountain Dew for in your new PS2 game make it any cheaper to buy?
No way:
Does your cable TV bill get cheaper in January when CBS is able to charge a million dollars for a 30-second Superbowl spot? Nope. Thats called growing your profit margin. Theres no way in hell that money will find its way back to the consumer.
Another scary fact that Tony brings up: 70% of gamers like the ads and feel they add an element of realism to the game. I dont know about you, but if I want realism, I look out the window.
Check out the article. Im proud to say that I helped edit it, so hurl your grammatical abuse in this direction and send your kudos Tonys way.