EA has tried this before, with predictable results. In 2020, EA Sports UFC 4 included full-screen ads for the Amazon Prime series The Boys that would appear during ‘Replay’ moments. These were absent from the game when it launched, with EA introducing the ads about a month later, thereby preventing them from being highlighted in reviews. It wasn’t long before the backlash led to EA disabling the ads.
EA already did this. Many games had real ads on billboards in the world. Need for speed underground 2 was sponsored by cingular wireless. Your ingame pager was product placement and the company’s logo was on screen whenever you were doing free roam.
This is very EA with historical precident.
Burnout paradise city. Which also was one of my fav games of all time. No ads would be cool.
And they already do it on mobile. They are just trying to bring ads to the pc and consoles, just like they do on mobile.
Tbh, having advertisment on billboards in a racing game is the less intrusive and immersive way to do in game advertisement.
But then again billboards in real life are an eye sore. /shrug
City of Heroes tried the same basic thing back in the day. They figured it’s an urban environment that has billboards and posters as part of the general clutter, why not get paid to switch out a fake ad for a real ad?
There are many independent developers who deserve your money more than EA. Vote with your wallet.
Good thing seeing that a game is published or developed by EA, or one of its subsidiaries, is 9 times out of 10 enough for me to not bother with the game to begin with. They don’t make a thing that is worth dealing with them to get to play.
That company burned all of its good will and trust with me years ago. So sure go ahead and put as many ads as you want EA. I know for sure I won’t be seeing them.
I’d be okay with this if they made those games cheaper. But no, I have to pay $94 CAD for a shit live service game that I don’t even have the rights to and which the online service may be terminated at any time. Fuck EA and their monopoly on sports games.
I cannot buy fewer EA games. The last EA game I bought ran on the Super Nintendo.
I used to buy FIFA and NHL games, once every few years. But they’ve gotten so shitty I just gave up on them. I haven’t played a soccer game in years now. PES used to be a good alternative but I’ve heard it’s not great anymore either.
Oh, it won’t be exclusive EA-exclusive enshittification, I’m sure.
I cannot buy fewer EA games.
Not with that attitude
The last EA game I bought ran on the Super Nintendo.
Have you checked Babbage’s return policy?
*Babbage’s’s
Babbages’
*Babbages’s’
*Bbabbbagesssss
*FuncoLand
Babbage as in the steam-driven mechanical game engine, version 2?
I remember the controllers being kinda clunky.
Heh
For reference for anyone
Now GameStop
I haven’t bought any EA games in many years as well. I don’t have any EA games in my Steam library, though I probably have some Xbox 360 games around. The only one I know for sure was Rogue Squadron II on Gamecube
Wait, Rogue Leader was Lucasarts and Factor 5. EA didn’t have anything to do with it, did they?
Maybe not, I don’t know if EA was handling Star Wars yet.
This is another reason I tapping out of gamepass now. With whats happening with streaming, I don’t even want to support a “good deal” when I know the prices will go up, they’ll make tier pricing and add ads somewhere. I want to own my shit. I’m done with ads. Amazon last change to prime made me cancel all services except youtube and bought a 14tb hdd. EA, Ubisoft, Blizzard are all on do not buy list for me.
If they’d just be smart about it. Make the ads in-game. Like a Nike poster on a wall or a can of Pepsi on a table or something. I wouldn’t have a problem with that. Making them the entire focus - however brief - just makes me hate them immeasurably.
You can’t really sell ads on a per impression basis with just product placement. They want the ad sales to be recurring revenue.
Even then they should still be held to a higher standard.
Especially now in the era of generative AI.
The poster should have a well known character in the world lore holding the Coke, or a location in the map for the car ad, etc.
The ads should feel like they are actually a part of the world, and shouldn’t be put in a game unless this can be accomplished.
In game ads don’t have to suck. But because the power dynamic is such that shit ads can be shoved down players’ throats with the only response being to not buy that publisher’s games, the medium isn’t going to find an acceptable equilibrium.
In game ads in live service games for in game assets may not suck too much though (an inevitable part of the future).
I’m pretty sure their goal is to bring ads in the same form as the mobile games, not as part of the in-game world. If they can do it on mobile, why shouldn’t they on pc or consoles?
I think this will be an important thing for gamers to unite against, because if there isn’t enough push back, every big studio will do the same.
Good thing I haven’t bought a game from a big name studio since, uhh, does Elden Ring count?
Soon the game world will have speakers with ads, that will not really follow volume settings or distance attenuation.
The tutorial will have you collect “refreshing Pepsi Colas”.
Cinematics will always look to the big billboards.
And the game will have strict anti tampering/mods and will require internet connection to support this adds.
EA doesn’t get the benefit of the doubt anymore
Yeah, I didn’t say I trust them to do it right, just that it could be done tastefully.
I’m really struggling to remember when 's the last time I played an EA game. I can’t really…
Let them monetize everything until oblivion,no one’s gonna stop them anyway,so they might as well slowly die.
They’ve got EA Sports FC (formerly FIFA) and madden though, they’re never going to die.
Maybe not, but individuals can choose where to spend their money. The masses will still buy this shit, but I am the kinda guy will will make his own life harder based on morals.
Like I ain’t shopped on Amazon for years. Some stuff I just can’t find anymore. Not used WhatsApp for many years, makes it harder to join friend group chats. Etc.
Yeah I agree completely, but we shouldn’t kid ourselves that companies are going to go bankrupt because a minority of users are absolutist about in-game ads, or will sacrifice social connections to avoid using Meta products.
In these cases an individual can act for any number of valid reasons, but it takes a much bigger collective action to influence the outcome, which requires a much bigger reason/scandal.
This is my argument.
I don’t believe my choices have an impact at all, in fact they impact me more negatively than the things I avoid.
But I can sleep at night knowing I am not giving them my money, or my business, etc.
It’s like with the Reddit exodus and people thinking it would / will be the death of Reddit. The truth is they barley noticed we left and they certainly don’t care, but again morals.
You never know, this thread could make more people think like this and make conscious choices where you can, for yourself so you know you tried to not be a part of the problem.
The masses will still buy this shit
The dark side of the XKCD comic Ten Thousand is that there’s always a new pool of suckers entering the market - people who haven’t gotten burned yet and think they’re getting something real.
I am the kinda guy will will make his own life harder based on morals.
I wouldn’t even call it morals so much at Once Bitten, Twice Shy. There’s a point at which you don’t want to keep doing business with people who make you miserable.
…82% of the visual field… …before inducing seizures.
Idiots.
Last EA game I bought was Battlefield 1 at launch, since I was a Battlefield fanatic. Haven’t given them a penny since. I’m doing my part.
Hmm. I think the last one I bought was Red Alert 3. Still worth it imo.
Once these companies have your money, they don’t care what you want. Don’t give your money to companies that abuse you like this.
Good, do it.
Let your player base dwindle some more. I already outright refuse to play EA crap. Fill it with ads, make ads mandatory before and after all loading screen.
Want to equip new gear? Forced ads Want to save? Forced ads
Put so many ads that you make bajillions. Do it ea I dare you.
An EA exec got hard reading that
Here’s another great idea: persistent ads. Have ads take up a portion of the screen always. Players may want to shop while fighting a boss or taking a shot on goal.
Different portions of the screen
Otherwise it’s too vulnerable to a common blocking technology
I hope they do it, shorting their stock will be easy af.
They tried it way before 2020 too, they talked to the agency I worked for at the time. Same result
They tried it way before 2020 too, they talked to the agency I worked for at the time. Same result
They tried it before 2020 as well.
They keep trying this every generation, hoping the latest generation will be dumb enough to accept it.
I remember them putting ads on the billboards in Battlefield 2142 way back when.
I 'member
A little thing called the “Massive Ad client” exists in NFS Carbon, Pro Street, Undercover and even World.
It was used to download ads off the internet and display them in the game’s own billboards.
It was also an entrypoint for a NFS World hack too lol so ripbozo EA
A little thing called the “Massive Ad client” exists in NFS Carbon, Pro Street, Undercover and even World.
It was used to download ads off the internet and display them in the game’s own billboards.
It was also an entrypoint for a NFS World hack too lol so ripbozo EA
Only game I play from EA is apex. Everything else is…rented…online…indefinitely. 🏴☠️
