Overwritten.net
Games => General Gaming => Topic started by: idolminds on Monday, October 16, 2006, 03:48:53 PM
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As seen on shacknews:
So. In the latest CGW podcast, they received retail boxed copies of BF 2142.
When you open the box, a big slip of paper falls out first, preceeding any discs or manuals. The slip of paper says, essentially, that 2142 includes monitoring software which runs while your computer is online, and records "anonymous" information like your IP address, surfing habits (probably via cookie scans), and other "computing habits" in order to report this information back to ad companies and ad servers, which generates in-game ads.
Now, I can live with certain in-game ads (though apparently there will be Dodge truck and Neon ads in the bleak, futuristic world of 2142), but including a lengthy description - outside of even the Eula - seems to indicate even EA knows that this is some shady borderline spyware shit. I don't support it and won't be buying 2142 (for a host of other reasons, too).
I wonder how true that is.
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Screw EA.
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See, that's garbage. I don't mind in game ads as long as they fit. If you're playing halflife I'd almost rather destroy an actual coke machine rather then a 'Boke cola' machine. But this kind of garbage can't work that way at all so what it'll probably entail is something more along the line of a splash screen or something intrusive like that.
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EA is a conglomerate of ballsuckers.
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After all this bad business that's surrounding the game I'm still willing to be a ton of morons will go out and buy it even though they complained about constantly after every Battlefield release. It only gets worse and yet it does well each time.
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Fuck that shit. I never bought a Battlefield game and fully intend to continue not doing so. I may even decide to boycott all EA products to begin with (not that there are many I'm even looking forward to in the first place).
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I find this very hard to believe.
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Why? It wouldn't be the first game to try it.
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This is supposedly exactly what the sheet says:
The Software may incorporate technology developed by IGA Worldwide Inc. ("IGA") (the "Advertising Technology"). The purpose of the Advertising TEchnology is to deliver in-game advertisements to you when you use the Software while connected to the Internet. When you use the Software while connected ot the Internet, the Advertising Technlogy may record your IP address and other anonymous information ("Advertising Data"). The Advertising Data is temporarily used by IGA to enable the presentation and measurement of in-game advertisements and other in-game objects which are uploaded temporarily to your personal computer or game console and changed during online game play. The Advertising Technology does not collect any personally identifiable information about you, and EA will not provide IGA with any of your personally identifiable information. The servers used by the Advertising Technology may, from time to time, be located outside your country of residence. If you are located within the European Union, the servers may be located outside the EU.
By installing and using the Software, you agree to: (i) the transfer of the Advertising Data to servers located outside your country of residence and, if applicable, outside the European Union; (ii)the collection and use of the Advertising Data as described in this Section; and (iii) the delivery of advertising and marketing content by the Advertising Technology. IF YOU DO NOT WANT IGA TO COLLECT, USE, STORE, OR TRANSMIT THE DATA DESCRIBED IN THIS SECTION, DO NOT INSTALL OR PLAY THE SOFTWARE ON ANY PLATFORM THAT IS USED TO CONNECT TO THE INTERNET.
"other anonymous information" is pretty vague and broad, isnt it?
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I am going to write an email to EA games right now and pretend that I was going to buy the game, but now won't in light of this.
Because this is total horse shit.
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Why? It wouldn't be the first game to try it.
Sure but EA is a software giant. Nothing says "We don't give a fuck" more than this.
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Yeah, and software giants are generally the ones who don't give a fuck. Again, I fail to see why this is surprising.
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Because of all the controversy surrounding spyware? It is almost a taboo in the tech industry, and to have a game franchise as popular as the Battlefield series so blatantly use spyware is pretty surprising for me.
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Well, to each his own. This is more or less exactly what I was expecting to come down the pipeline from EA at some point or another, though not necessarily right now or with this product. But still, I don't find this at all surprising. EA isn't worried about taboos. They never have been.
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The one company I'm worried about going down this road is Ubisoft. Theyw ere among the first to implement the MASS advertising system in their games.
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Since it's EA, I'm not surprised. Also because it is EA, it won't affect me since I have no plans on buying the game.
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Dont worry about the game being buggy guys. They already released a patch for the game.
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So now that must have brought it nicely almost up to beta status.
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8.1 from GameSpot, BTW.
This is from GameSpot on the in-game ads and spying:
http://www.gamespot.com/pc/action/battlefield2142/review.html?sid=6159893&tag=topslot;action;1&om_act=convert&click=topslot
On a peculiar note, even though the world is ending in 2142, it appears that advertising will still be around. Battlefield 2142 features in-game ads, though we didn't get to see them firsthand during our testing. Still, there is a printed disclaimer that comes with the game telling you that Battlefield 2142 will analyze certain "advertising data" on your machine to determine what ads to display to you. Ironically, EA says that if you don't want your data shared with its advertising partner then "do not install or play the software on any platform that is used to connect to the Internet." But that would pretty much defeat the purpose of playing Battlefield 2142, wouldn't it? Of course, you could always play single-player against the artificial intelligence, though the AI won't be mistaken for human opponents any time soon, and the single-player is still limited to 16-player maps. Still, this is an example of things to come, as we begin to see dynamic in-game ads appear in more and more games.
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Still, this is an example of things to come, as we begin to see dynamic in-game ads appear in more and more games.
Another thing to come, then, is the death of PC gaming as we know it. I'd say it's pretty safe to say most PC gamers don't put up with spyware now. I don't think a game or even games will change that fact.
Some people will justify it, sure. But others will stay away simply due to the spyware. That combined with the it-must-be-completely-obvious-by-now idea that the BF games are pretty much some of the buggiest games out there upon released I think will show a sharp dip in sales for BF 2142 in comparison to BF2.
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I'm surprised to see absolutely no negative reaction by Gamespot in that quote. They act as if this is just like the sun rising and setting every day. It's not. It can only happen if we let it. For the game press to act as if it's business as usual only facilitates complacency where we need militant action.
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Ive seen a lot of online backlash on this game. Unfortunately, all the casuals and people that dont read game news or visit forums wont care. They wont even read that sheet of paper that comes with the game, and click "Yes" through the whole install.
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Right, which is why those who know better should be sounding the alarm for the benefit of everyone, including themselves.
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This is what makes me mad about game media in general. They sort of aren't allowed to kick and scream about this kind of thing. At least, I assume they aren't, because they never do. Fortunately, that's something Overwritten.net will have no trouble with, so I think we can all rest assured that we'll be outcrying this stuff as soon as we get up and running.
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Ironically, EA says that if you don't want your data shared with its advertising partner then "do not install or play the software on any platform that is used to connect to the Internet."
What the FUCK?
I was pretty hard on PCG the other day in my state of drowsiness. Having read that Mage Knights preview again, they talked about the problems hoping they would be corrected.
But yea in their podcasts they are fairly outspoken, but in the publication they often insist that going along with this advertising stuff is the right thing to do. I don't get it, and neither do I get this love affair with Battlefield.
Anyway I hope they give 2142 a fair review.
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I don't get those things either. Death to BF, death to in-game advertising (at least other than static shit like gpw was talking about -- I can deal with a Coke machine).
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In-game advertising can be good. Trackmania Nations was plastered with nvidia and jeep ads. Americas Army is pretty much one big army ad. Those games are free, though...so people dont care if theres any ads. Its like TV. No one really likes commercials, but you arent paying anything for the entertainment so you put up with it.
Maybe what we need are not in-game ads but ad sponsored games. That would go over much better.
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The thing I have against journalists convincing me that this is a good thing is that I don't see how it benefits gamers at all. Fine, have adverts, but shouldn't the cost of the game be going down?
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Well, considering how much extra it's costing to make games these days, I'd say no. They're trying to find ways to make the continued development of bigger games feasible, which as many have claimed, it's slowly moving away from. I don't know if that's true or not, but I'm sure there's at least some truth to the argument. I just don't want to see help come by way of advertising, because I fucking hate advertising. I'd rather just pay more money.
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Or...do we really need budgets larger than what we already have?
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Need? No. But... all signs point to yes.
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True. Wonder when we're going to hit the wall. It'll soon cost more to make a game than you will make selling the game.
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I personally feel they're pumping out the technology way too quickly. They should let each phase of graphics, sound, and other misc tech really saturate before they launch the next big thing. Of course everyone's competing to sell their game by boasting that it has better graphics, better sound etc.
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True. Wonder when we're going to hit the wall. It'll soon cost more to make a game than you will make selling the game.
I guess not, if they have advertising stuff like this.
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I like the INQ's headlines on this:
Battlefield 2142 comes with spyware
As Electronic Arts says, "It's in the game"
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Do you think it was a dare? Like a bunch of the executives were arguing:
Executive 1: "Dude, you couldn't sell that game if you put a $100 coupon with it!"
Executive 2: "Oh yeah? How much you wanna bet I could sell it with spyware in it?!"
Executive 1: "Hmm, an interesting wager. If you can sell a million copies around the world in 80 days I'll let you run the company!"
Executive 2: "You're on! I'll do it in 79 days!"
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From a gamer's perspective, the system is broken. From a developer's (not distributor's) perspective, the system is broken. There's way too much pressure on technology driving the market. Wrong approach. This is one reason I get pissed off at how quickly I'm supposed to fork over more money just to have a machine that will play new games. No one can get comfortable with any one tier of technology, so they can excel at development, drive down costs, and get more quality games out, as well as make games more affordable (for 2 reasons, buyers have more money in their pockets, and tech-learning costs are spread out better). Before you're done paying for one thing, the next is knocking at your door, and overloading the tech talent who create the software.
I would understand if we were at a primitive stage in real-time audiovisual rendering, such as during the 8- and 16-bit generations of consoles. But this is not the case, as both graphics and audio are as good as they need to be to create expansive worlds which move fluidly. I'm all for improvements at a sane pace; but I can't see hopping from one tier to the next so quickly that no one gets to benefit from the previous one.
So now the spin is that advertising is necessary to make games development possible? Bullshit. Ad revenue is necessary for big corporations to fatten their coffers. I guarantee you that if people weren't such bleating sheep, they would find a way to make money without a single obtrusive ad, without invading your system and peering into your personal information. That the masses go willingly to the slaughterhouse is to be expected; but why is the gaming press sheepishly following the company line of the likes of EA? Isn't that a tacit admission that the press is in the pocket of the money people in this industry? Then why should we treat anything they say as anything more meaningful than an ad?
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That is serious bullshit. Luckily though I already played Battlefield 2142 seven years ago -- only it was called Tribes back then.
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The best part is you can barely tell that theres ads!
This is an unedited screenshot.
(http://img148.imageshack.us/img148/9008/bf2142billboard2ha4.jpg) (http://img148.imageshack.us/img148/9008/bf2142billboard2ha4.jpg)
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Those graphics actually look kind of shitty. And this is Quake Wars competition?
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The best part is you can barely tell that theres ads!
This is an unedited screenshot.
(http://img148.imageshack.us/img148/9008/bf2142billboard2ha4.jpg) (http://img148.imageshack.us/img148/9008/bf2142billboard2ha4.jpg)
So, Pepsi made its way to 2141, eh? ;)
Is Taco Bell there? I remember in Demolition Man, which takes place in the future, Taco Bell was still around -- and survived some sort of "chain restaurant" war or somethin'; hehe.
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Haha I love in Futurama how many of the things are still there but they're somehow different :P "Taco Bellevue Hospital"
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Holy crap that's aweful huge.
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That does look fugly. Must be at low settings. At least I would hope so. Or maybe not. After all, I do want this to fail. And yes, that's huge, and I would never play a game with giant ads like that in it. Never.
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That kind of advertising would be totally fine in FIFA! Or TrackMania Nations! Hell advertising boards like that could have passed off as acceptable in competition arenas like in Tribes Vengeance, even UT. But that's only because they are appropriate to the "stadium" environment. They're completely inappropriate and irrelevant to the setting and environment of this game.
I sure hope stupid/relentless advertising doesn't ooze its way into other promising titles.
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I saw a series of screens on one site (sorry, dont have the link anymore) where he went around one map and took pics of where all the billboards are. The ad server wasnt up or he did it offline because it was just some generic image, but all the billboards were large like the one above..and they seemed like they were all over.