In game advertising

[goldenhorde44]

Subject:
In game advertising

Description:
so where you have neutral store buildings / billboards / civilian cars in the game, strike advertising deals with real world companies to put up their stuff. Like a billboard with a Coca-Cola can and some Arabic script. Or civilian Ford cars. Or a McDonalds (they're actually everywhere in every part of the world, except maybe Iran / North Korea / regions of SubSaharan Africa). That kind of thing.

There are really two options of how to go about this, either strike these deals before the game comes out and make the billboards etc permanently of so-and-so company. Alternatively, you could have a subscription service where companies pay BioWare to have their ads show up on the billboards for the next update.

Positive Effect:
-Raise more revenue so you can make a better game
-The CC Generals setting, of all the RTSes, is probably the only one that can do this without breaking realism. In fact having modern day brands would probably enhance realism between the real world and the 2030s generals setting.

Negative Effect:
-don't want to overdo it, where every little village on every map is stuffed with billboards. then it gets annoying
-perhaps more work for the graphics guys

[Elearen]

I can see this being a hot topic

[Alex06]

Well, they already have done that with Best Buy, GameStop, Game and EB Games in C&C3 and RA3. I don't see why not.

Though I doubt certain companies would like to be portrayed inside a war game.

[goldenhorde44]

greenpeace?

[=LEVIATHEN=]

No. No. No. No. No. A few spoofs on the actual companies would be alright (Nuka-Cola, McBurger Kong), but NO REAL ADVERTISEMENTS. Companies seem to try to paste their brand everywhere, and I would really like it if they at least kept video games a clean area, just like they wouldn't paint their adds on the top of a forest.

[R315r4z0r]

I'd like to see this. Just as long as they don't go overboard. As long as the ads match the setting then its fine.

For example, I don't want to see a movie ad for a film released last week. Since the game takes place in 2030, it would look out of place and stupid. But for other companies like Coke and McDonalds that's perfectly fine.

The issue I see though is that these companies probably won't want to have their products in the game.

[reice]

I think that companies will have their advertising in a game wherever they can. What we might not be seeing is the possible hardships that these companies will put the developers through; I imagine they'll be breathing down their necks about where the advertising is, whether or not it is visible, suitable, and all the crazy legal stuff that comes with interacting with big brands.

TO BE FAIR THOUGH I'm not knowledgeable in this topic so I probably may as well had not have said anything. I'm sure that if it was a good idea then more games would have it.

Of course, the more money they get for the game, the better, so long as they don't ruin it for the players.

[PizzaAtomica]

What we might not be seeing is the possible hardships that these companies will put the developers through; I imagine they'll be breathing down their necks about where the advertising is, whether or not it is visible, suitable, and all the crazy legal stuff that comes with interacting with big brands.

This is all true. When companies are supposed to give you money in return for you putting up an ad for them, they will be extremely demanding about how you do it. Just watch the movie "The Greatest Movie Ever Sold" to get an idea. ( http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1743720/ )

[Plrsvek]

They can make tons of money if they advertise these stuff in game, as long as they don't overdo it I don't see any problem. And the earned money must be used for the game itself ofcourse

[StormWolf]

Even though I find some of them in the older games funny. Like McBurger Kong and how it would have small mushroom clouds when destroyed. But I don't want to see advertisements of real companies all over the maps. It may be a little overkill on the eyes and I don't want C&C to become another place for product placements.