ADVERTISEMENT IN GAMES

I find it obnoxious and shatters my suspension of disbelief 99% of the time. I would not consider ads acceptable in any game that is not a casual throwaway time-filler. And even in those I find them annoying (if tolerable).

I personally don't mind ads if they last only a few seconds. Everyone's gotta make a living.

Companies would pay only a few bucks every 1,000 unique players or so. Therefore, advertisement in our indie games wouldn't be worth it.
Hosted Flash games that get hundreds of thousands of players worldwide can have a better CPM (Cost Per Thousand) and make substantial revenues with it though. It also depends on what website they are hosted.

author=Dyhalto
The best games don't have ads in them, and they don't need them.

That's because they cost $60 to play.

I mean if your shit sucks, then you probably shouldn't charge for it. And if you're reading this thread, your shit probably sucks. But someday it hopefully will not. And then it's dumb to not make a dime off of a fun game you spent tens of thousands of hours creating.

Some people hate hate hate HATE ads, while other people (like me) will take any amount of ads over having to pay for the game. I'd be interested to find out the ratio of preferences, I wonder if gamefaqs has ever done that poll.

(that image is hilarious though)

You've never played RPGs on the iPhone? Or flash RPGs? Or RPGs on Wiiware/PSN/Xbox Live Arcade?

I've played tons of them. They're about the same quality as RPG Maker games, usually, though some are professional. I have Secret of Mana and FF4: The After Years on my iPod, for example, both paid games that I wish had an ad-based model as an alternate option. And there's a pretty good official Dragon Age flash game that is free and has no ads, but hooks into your Bioware account and gives you a piece of armor in the real Dragon Age if you beat it (which is basically like an ad for Dragon Age, except more effective). I mean there are a hell of a lot of shitty games on the iPhone, because the barrier to entry is lower for developers, but there are also thousands of legitimately good games.

And also like I said before you can literally release your RPG Maker game on the iPhone. So "iPhone games can get away with it because they suck" is not a valid argument.

I don't like advertisement in games. It's really annoying with pop-ups and such.
While I still don't like it, I find it more tolerable when the products appear in the game itself as product placement(as mentioned above).

Metal Gear Solid 4 seemed littered with Apple advertisement among else(you even obtained a usable iPod!). It's easier to ignore than a big fat message taking up part of the screen.

I don't know. If the game is based on 21st century Planet Earth I don't really see the problem with it; even adds some realism.

author=papasan96
I guess it could be done more as product placement, at least if the game is set in contemporary times. Like instead of having generic shops you could buy your supplies in Tesco's (or Wallmart or whatever). Or drink Red Bull to regain health. Actually thinking about it, my first game had a fair amount of unpaid product placement...Denny's, Macdonalds, Mizuho bank etc.

As far as adverts vs paying for the game is concerned, as long as it's not too intrusive I agree with LockeZ. But many games also have the option to pay to get rid of or reduce ads as well.

That's the way I like it. If a game is going to have ads, then they should be incorporated into the game world.

For instance, say you're playing a game that is set in a big city, like what you'd find in Grand Theft Auto or something. I wouldn't have any problems seeing billboards or signs for popular products. I'm even okay with clothing and such ingame sporting real life brands.

There are also games like the old Jet Moto series on the original Playstation where each team was essentially a brand name. I always played on a Mountain Dew bike because that retro green and yellow design looked awesome. It made it feel like a real world competition where major sponsors were running their own teams, which is similar to how things are in real life racing. Take Formula 1 for example. For many years there was a Benetton team, and now there is a fiercely dominant Red Bull team.

If it is something like the examples above, then I'm cool with it. When ads and real life brands are incorporated into the game world I feel that it actually enhances the immersion and realism because the gap between game and reality is narrowed significantly. I'd MUCH rather see ingame ads for Coke and Pepsi than something made up like Squishee Sodas or whatever the heck it was I saw last time I played Saints Row. There is no Squishee Soda so I cannot relate to it. Coke and Pepsi, however, I can relate to.

I still share a lot of popular opinions regarding advertisement that you guys are echoing. I'm not a fan of annoying "click here to play your game!" banners for flash games and the like, and any online service that throws a dozen of ads and banners at me when I'm trying to play a simple game is also annoying. This isn't immersion and doesn't make you feel like you're playing in a virtual version of the real world. It's just annoying.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wACBAu9coUU&feature=player_detailpage#t=292s

Wayne's World did it best.

author=GreatRedSpirit
Ness dug through the trashcan. Ness found a Big Mac! Ness took the Big Mac.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but this somehow reminds me that the player helps get McDonalds up and running in Terranigma. Or a very close facsimile thereof.

I loved that game!