News EA is looking at putting in-game ads in AAA games — 'We'll be very thoughtful as we move into that,' says CEO

[ohio_buckeye]

What aggravated me were social justice ads when I was playing madden a year or two ago. Like dude, keep politics out of my video game. Want to play a football game not see social justice stuff.

 

[questorfearz]

Okay third party app developers get started on an ad blocker for EA games

 

[Phaaze88]

If you make a good game, you will make a lot of money.
If you make a not so good game, you need adds and other sources of revenue.

A good game isn't enough for most these publicly owned businesses.
They want the constant influx of cash, as much as they can possibly squeeze out of folks, thus the push for live services/battle passes/subscriptions/always online/in-game shops/etc.

Spoiler

But:
-time is a form of cost, and we all only have so much of it to spend.
-there's only so many people one can bring to their subscription/etc, when dozens of others exist trying to follow the same money train.
-all these different subscriptions are expensive! Add in-game purchases to the mix, and phew... Then, the in-game currency(ies) are there to mask how much is actually being spent, which is a scummy tactic.
-some people are getting tired of some of the mediocre, or crap releases that's coming out these days; creativity isn't as high on the list as it once was.
-there's only so many available 'slices of success' in this pie of recurring spending. The rest are doomed to flop, or be nowhere near as successful.

I bet the recurring spending is reaching its cap for some of these businesses; the money rolling in has slowed down, so they're looking towards in-game ads as an alternative.

 

[ohio_buckeye]

They may the route of 2k. If you’ve played nba 2k they are always pushing the basketball brands. So you may start seeing stuff like that in ea’s sports games.

 

[habadadidadi]

After I pay $70 will there be a paid option to get rid of the ads?

 

[sitehostplus]

Ok, let's try an experiment.

What kind of ads do you think would be appropriate for the game C&C Generals?

Some I can think of right off the bat.

An ad to join America's Armed Forces (At the very least, the US Army).

An ad for GM's electric Humvees.

Any others?

 

[MatheusNRei]

I bet the recurring spending is reaching its cap for some of these businesses; the money rolling in has slowed down, so they're looking towards in-game ads as an alternative.

If that's the case then we're probably looking at a crash eventually.
If you need ad revenue to keep a business in the green and ads aren't one of your products then your business is in trouble.

 

[PiranhaTech]

Sometimes it's obvious like Energizer in the original version of Alan Wake. Kind-of amusing. Billboards also aren't bad. I just don't want the YouTube situation where "loading ad..." actually crashes and then you cannot access your content.

Also, ads that stop the action shouldn't be in a $30+ game.

 

[ApocalyptoSoldier]

ApocalyptoSoldier is looking at not putting EA games in their games library — 'We can't trust them to stick to just bilboards,' says random commenter​

 

[SethNW]

No, just hell no. They ridlsed price to 70USD and that didn't stop other garbage like micritransactions, cutting games into DLC,... This won't either. They might start small, I mean it was just hire armor right, no big deal,... But it will balloon in no time before you gave to wait loading screen ads and stuff and they are talking like in that movie, Ready Player One, where they total about percent of player screen they can cover in ads before they get seazures. Because that is how parasites at EA work, only thinking on shareholder value.

For those who don't know what I am talking about, here is scene:

View: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=KpPE85Jogjw

And yeah, it used to be funny, now it seems pretty realistic.

 

[logainofhades]

Games at $70+ isn't nothing new. NES/SNES games were often around the price point, when new, back in the early 90's, when the $ was worth much more than now.

 

[helper800]

Games at $70+ isn't nothing new. NES/SNES games were often around the price point, when new, back in the early 90's, when the $ was worth much more than now.

In retrospect, I don't understand how the business model of; pay once for a game and you own it/get a full featured experience no longer works in this day and age. Selling games like that is apparently such a bad business model we have to sell games in parts called DLC, add microtransactions, include predatory gambling mechanics, insert advertisements directly into the game, and other such nonsense.

 

[logainofhades]

In retrospect, I don't understand how the business model of; pay once for a game and you own it/get a full featured experience no longer works in this day and age. Selling games like that is apparently such a bad business model we have to sell games in parts called DLC, add microtransactions, include predatory gambling mechanics, insert advertisements directly into the game, and other such nonsense.

They want to milk gamers of every dollar they can.

 

[Ferlucio]

And I will very thoughtfully keep "aquiring" their games via alternative means

 

[Ferlucio]

Honestly, I'm okay with this, as long as its not intrusive. If I'm driving down the street and theres a burger king billboard. That's fine. Whatever. What I dont want is this:

Load up game
Press Start to begin
15 second full screen ad you have to watch
Enter Main menu
Main Menu
Continue Career Mode
Press A to start next race
I press A
15 second full screen ad you have to watch
Race starts. Race is 20 miles long. After 10 miles, checkpoint, game pauses itself
15 second full screen ad you have to watch
Game unpauses itself and continues
Race ends
10 second full screen ad you have to watch
Race results
15 second full screen ad you have to watch
Main menu

This is like what YouTube does. If they start doing this crap, there is going to be a war lol.

Don't worry, as long as people like you are okay with it they will start lightly and intrusively. Only in like 5 to 10 years later will it be in the way you described when it'll be too late since you were "okay" with it.

 

[purposelycryptic]

"EA"

"thoughtful"

These are polar opposites.

 

[35below0]

Okay third party app developers get started on an ad blocker for EA games

Bet you'd get banned for using it. "Cheating"

In retrospect, I don't understand how the business model of; pay once for a game and you own it/get a full featured experience no longer works in this day and age.

Blame MMORPGs and games that offered subs and passes. Once the concept of milking consumers became acceptable (to the consumer), a new age dawned. And now regular "pay once and own" games are in the minority.

Selling games like that is apparently such a bad business model we have to sell games in parts called DLC

DLC can replace expansions. It is entirely fair in that way. The game is already done. Fans love it and want more of the same. Selling an expansion is more money for the devs/publisher, and more game for the fans. Everybody wins.

Publishers can abuse DLC in the worst way. Hiding parts of the base game in overpriced DLC.

Euro Truck Simulator is criticized (by really thick people) for having an assload of DLCs. It came in 2012, fully 12 years ago and is in active development to this day. Without a subscription or yearly game release cycles, development could not be paid for. Except by selling DLC the devs can pay for salaries and keep the game going. DLCs are new map expansions, or "appreciation" DLCs that sell paint jobs or minor eye candy for a few bucks (that even thicker people complain are too expensive).

, add microtransactions, include predatory gambling mechanics, insert advertisements directly into the game, and other such nonsense.

We need laws. The gaming industry can take a huge kick in it's swollen moneybags. It is predatory and harms society. Game design purposely uses cues and tricks to make games as addictive and distracting as possible. It's disgusting.

But the worst offence is us the consumers don't do squat about any of this. We say we should do something but we never do. Occasionally we rebel but most of the time we reward the worst offenders.

 

[Phaaze88]

But the worst offence is us the consumers don't do squat about any of this. We say we should do something but we never do. Occasionally we rebel but most of the time we reward the worst offenders.

Aye. 'We' enabled most of the problems 'we' complain about.
Of course, by we, I don't mean everyone; if all it takes is a small group of us to make these 'opportunities' a financial success, then that's all the go-ahead these businesses need.

Too many darn businessmen have sunk their grubby claws into this industry, and much of the gaming news I see comes down to growth and money.

 

[PEnns]

Anything beyond product placement is a deal breaker for me, aka, no sale.

 

[painhertz]

Abandoned EA after the Anthem debacle. This should go over well.

 

[35below0]

Sony: "You will make a PSN account"
Us: "Noe"
Sony: "You will make a PSN account. Or we take Helldivers 2 away from you"
Us: "Booo! And hiss! NO means NO. Go to hell"
Sony: "Look. A game. God of war"
Us: "Oooh. Ragnarok."
Sony: "You will make a PSN account"
Us: "..."
Sony: "Ghost of Tsushima"

 

[happimadi]

I thought they would've learned their lesson with the backlash from the Sims 4 community when they added a flashing, annoying icon in the top right of the screen while actively playing the game (even after clicking, it continued to flash and glow). We already have the home screen with DLC plastered everywhere "Remember to buy this!". Modders were able to get rid of it for PC users. EA continues to prove it's a joke of a company every month! Maybe they should rely on making decent games instead!

 

[logainofhades]

Blame MMORPGs and games that offered subs and passes. Once the concept of milking consumers became acceptable (to the consumer), a new age dawned. And now regular "pay once and own" games are in the minority.

If MMO's are to blame, then it took over 20yrs to get to this point, considering WoW is 20yrs old this year, with FFXI and Everquest being even older yet.