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There’s been some discussion on the AtomicMPC forums about in-game advertising in PC games (for some reason, this doesn’t seem to be an issue in Console gaming).

First of all, yes the screen-shots of in-game adds are from a free game that uses add revenue to keep the servers going. I just wanted to show some in-game adds and Quake Live was the quickest game I had on-hand that had adds. Also, sorry for the low textures, as I said, I was in a hurry so left the details turned down.

I’ll copy and paste my argument FOR in-game advertising, and expand on it a little.

QUOTE (SquallStrife @ Oct 16 2009, 10:40 AM)

QUOTE (DasBok @ Oct 16 2009, 10:57 AM)
Probably.

Maybe I’m ok with it, ’cause I’ve been expecting it for a while, it was always bound to happen, ever since Half Life 2 came out, and was tied into steam, I’ve been expecting it.
And I honestly don’t think its a bad thing. The advertising is generally out of the way, and companies like the TAC can get a message out, but in a way that doesn’t really affect game play.
I know that the revenue probably doesn’t reach the developers, but I’d like to think that a small part of it goes into maintaining servers, and possibly making it into the packages that they use to fund new games. Heck, it probably does go strait to their pockets, but that doesn’t REALLY affect me, so it doesn’t bother me.

I can understand the whole “principal of the matter” argument, but at the end of the day, if your still buying and playing the game, then that argument has no weight, they will keep releasing games in such a way, and I’m really only seeing this argument from PC gamers, I’ve seen in-game advertising, AND advertising on the Xbox360 dashboard, and you pay $80 for Xbox Live. And I’ve never heard a 360 owner complain about adds in a service/game they play for. (Yes, I know that’s a “they are ok with it, so why arn’t we?” argument).

One other thing I’d like to point out, to me, these adds make me feel more immersed in the game, especially if its based in modern times. An add for “coke” or another product, heck maybe even a TAC one if its a racing game, its something I identify with, and it sucks me into the world more.

And I honestly believe that. I believe that in-game adds can be a good thing. I believe they ARE a good thing. They really do help suck me into the virtual world that has been created. For example, in say Modern Warfare 2, if I see an add for some made up fizzy beverage, I know my minds gonna go “hang on, that doesn’t exist, this isn’t real” and the suspension of disbelief is ruined. But if that same billboard has Pepsi, in a way that I’ve seen it whilst driving around in real life, or on TV, then my minds going to go “quick, get behind cover, I DON’T WANA DIE!”

The fact is that adds are a part of our every day lives. We can’t avoid them, even if blind. So why not have some form of advertisements in game worlds that are meant to mimic real life? And at that same time, why not use real products?
Sure someones going to be making money off of it, but if you were the developer, or publisher, or advertiser, are you going to tell me that you REALLY wouldn’t do it?

Also, if in-game adds really annoy you that much, then don’t play games with them. The excuse of “but I still want to play the game” doesn’t hold up, its similar to the argument of “I can pirate games because I can’t afford them”. It helps no-one and doesn’t make a point.

Quake Live has done adds good.

Well, the TAC has.

All the TAC adds for motorcyclist safety have been along the lines of “there’s no re-spawn for motorcyclists” and “Motorcyclists need more Armour” amongst other things.

Really smart idea IMHO.

Check my example at the red Armour on a CTF map.

So last night, me and Nick decided to catchup and play some console games, started out with the awesome Halo 3 ODST, and we got a respectable score on it. My God it is so much fun, both the singe player and the brilliant mod Fire Fight.

Next we moved onto the Wii with the brilliant Mario Kart Wii for some old time gaming. Caitlyn came out and joined us, and it soon degenerated into us yelling at each other and generally making fun of each other like we usually do.
Then Caitlyn started getting into a reminiscence mood, and was trying to remember a level she claimed “might” have been from the original Halo, and after a long time of her failing to describe what the map looked like, and us loading up all three Halo games. She finally went away and drew a few lines on a piece of paper.

You can see this piece of paper down the side here.

Now, how much of a bloody nerd must I be to know exactly what Caitlyn was talking about from a simple drawing like this? And yes, I was right, we loaded the game up, and sure enough, it was the map that we remembered (it wasn’t in Halo).

We also decided it would be cool to every few nights to get a Halo PC game happening, just for fun. If its just us three. Or if any of you want to join, then that would be brilliant.

Oh, and yes, we did also play some Halo 3 in multilayer. Defiantly better than Halo 1 on the Xbox, so much fun. Love doing races in the ATV’s, and some of the new weapons are just awesome fun to try and use. (Single handed playing ftw).

Definitely gonna have to get a Gold subscription for my 360 so I can play Fire Fight, and Halo 3 online.

I should probably make a start of Gears of War, and Perfect Dark as well.

The map was Torlan from UT2k4 btw.

I just want to put this thought out there publicly.

Is the convention of building a computer inside of a computer case out of date for general home users?

Obviously for those who enjoy hording lots of Linux ISO’s, or building ultra huge fast machines (read enthusiasts), its not, and it is still a viable platform, but my main question is, why hasn’t there been a greater push for more consumers PC’s designed similar to HP’s TouchSmart, Dell’s Studio One, or Apple’s iMac?

Personal, for general home users, and even general office workers, I think the idea of having a box that houses your CPU, Hard Drives, DVD drives, motherboard, video card, sound card, etc. is a way of computer building that should have started to die quite a bit ago.
I mean, how many of you have built cheep home computers, and had a huge amount of free space left in the case can just make you feel sad looking at it.

The obvious argument against this, is “we have laptops”, but those machines don’t easily cater to people who want something with a 22″ or bigger screen (22″ seems to be in the process of becoming the current monitor “standard” for size).

I also don’t see why this type of design couldn’t be feasible to the home builder either. I mean, if Dell, HP, and Apple are fitting proper processors into these types of machines currently, and with low and mid-range graphics cards being GENERALLY good enough for most casual gamers, without putting out allot of heat (and this situation is only getting better).

Would it really be that bad, if Monitor “cases” were a standard? I mean, you would only need to replace your case… when you wanted a bigger screen (assuming you are not a normal home user who will simply throw out, and buy new, an entire new computer when one component is out of date)

Obviously, this way of computer building isn’t going to be an overnight change, and I’ve got a feeling that if or when it does come, allot of enthusiasts will fight it.

I really want to hear what everyone thinks to this, I believe its the way forward, do you?

Failing that, as an intrum step: whats your thoughts to USB hubs (already have them) and DVD/Br Burners built into Monitors?