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Ads Taken, Ads Dropped
Did a very small piece on something that came to mind in light of the Deus Ex ads. Nothing too long or deep and I'd like to know what you guys think. I'll copy it over here.
Did a very small piece on something that came to mind in light of the Deus Ex ads. Nothing too long or deep and I'd like to know what you guys think. I'll copy it over here.
The recent Deus Ex ads controversy got me thinking about the situation. If you dont know whats up with what happened theres a large thread on NeoGAF with details here. The short version, adverts were introduced into the game a few weeks after the game shipped. The ads can only be found in the loading screens but not every loading screen will show them. They arent interactive just a static image at the corner of the screen.
I dont think anyone really has a problem with adverts within video games but I think Eidos made two critical mistakes here.
Firstly the advertisement introduced after the game had launched. I have finished the game multiple times and did so before these ads started appearing. Ill definitely go back to Deus Ex at some point in the future but right now Im done with the game. These adverts missed by eyeball time and I havent had to see them at all.
Introducing them after the game was out for a while made some folks think they were being duped. Like a bait and switch. Nobody but Eidos even knew about them until they started appearing. If Eidos had been upfront about them, maybe even before the game came out, then the reaction from folks wouldnt have been as harsh as it is.
As you can see these ad in question is for Star Wars on Blu-Ray, a brand new release arriving in shops now. It has nothing to do with Deus Ex at all. Theres a massive disconnect between it and the game itself. It seems as if the advertisers here are hoping that Deus Ex players are Star Wars fans and need a gentle reminder about the release. Not all players are going to be Star Wars fans to some players they may as well be advertising kitchen appliances or soft drinks for all they care.
If the adverts were more relevant, then maybe the audience wouldnt be annoyed about them. Then again maybe Deus Ex isnt best suited, as there isnt much else in terms of the franchise itself that they could advertise.
This brings me back to Halo. I think adverts would fit well into the game if they learned carefully from the Deus Ex example.
Just like in Deus Ex, the adverts should be discreet and not-intrusive. Right now some players are complaining about ongoing reminders to purchase Halo Reach DLC every time they fire up the game for some online multiplayer. This reminder is a full screen dialogue box that must be closed by the player. Its not quite discreet and its very intrusive.
I think the best place for adverts would be during the waiting time between matches. This is essentially dead time for every Halo player. Theres nothing to do but stare at screen. Some players check the previous games stats, others look at challenges, commendation and other information or browse the Armour but I suspect the vast majority of players simply just stare at the screen whilst talking to the buddies. A perfect captive audience.
Halo is vast and theres always something new going on and something coming out for folks to buy. Whether its new Avatar items or DLC, theres always something to advertise and sell. All of this is very relevant to Halo players.
Non-intrusive and relevant, specifically targeted to the active Halo player base and grabbing the attention of a captive audience. No more complaint about forceful reminders. In the example Ive used what I think is the best available screen real estate. The current fancy loading image was nice to look at for the first few games but after that its ignored. Sticking an advert in there is the best choice for my example. I do think the ad should be a little smaller than my example but just a bit so that it doesnt clash too much with the playlist image.
When youre searching for a match or in a party, you dont want to separated from your buddies. Thats the one obvious drawback in my idea here. The advert would have to be static and non-interactive otherwise the player risks being taken away from an active gameplay session without realising it. Maybe theres ways around that, maybe not.
So what do you guys think? Adverts will continue to appear in games in future, so I think its best to have a framework in place that minimises disruption to the players and maybe even helps the advertises sell their product better. If you Halo was to have (more) adverts in future, how would you like to see it handled?
