I'm not sure which I enjoy more: Randy Pitchford's clueless yapping (Aliens: Sponsored by COKE!!!!) or the fact that every single time he attempts to talk shit he gets busted on it.

Thank you, Blue's posters, for not letting me down!




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http://ghosts.nin.com/

I think gamers don't mind developers making money, including from appropriate advertising (billboards/loading screens etc) but they object to being treated like idiots.

Actually, I do mind. Sad thing is, lowering the price won't do it for me either. As much as publishers hate multiple SKUs, I won't be satisfied unless there is one SKU with ad-supported lower price and another full-priced SKU without ads. I don't care if the ad SKU is $25 and the non-ad SKU is $50, I'll still pay $50 (assuming the amount of content warrants it).

Still, with more and more electronic delivery happening. Two SKUs shoundn't be that hard.

He's talking more about licensing logos in order to up the authenticity of the environment.

Oh please. Do you seriously believe they give a DAMN about the "authenticity" of their levels? This is money grabbing 101, plain and simple.

And being the utter cockmongrel that he is, Pitchford has to lie about it.

Creston

Maybe IBM would like to be reminded of their close relationship with the nazi's and their machinery that helped keep the concentration camps running, at least it would be authentic.

Admittedly, calling it In-Game Advertising was only going to get him flak when really he meant to call it 'licensing'.

Except he's not "licensing" the name - the benefit accrues to Phillips (having their brand in the game) and in return Gearbox gets money.

I think gamers don't mind developers making money, including from appropriate advertising (billboards/loading screens etc) but they object to being treated like idiots. And to say it's to enhance authenticity is to do just that - nobody's falling for it.

Edit: and I reckon he's completely nuts if he thinks Opel would licence the use of their logo to attach to Nazi vehicles - like they're going to want to be associated with that.

This comment was edited on Mar 29, 07:24.

Amongst all the corporate PR spiele, Pitchford does have some sort of point... He isn't talking EA-esque dynamic advertising designed to solely give them more money with no passing off to the customer. He's talking more about licensing logos in order to up the authenticity of the environment.

Admittedly, calling it In-Game Advertising was only going to get him flak when really he meant to call it 'licensing'.

While I'm not a big fan of Gearbox or in-game ads, Borderlands does look pretty cool. I want Aliens: Colonial Marines to be cool too, except it's being designed for the console, is squad-based and has quick-time events. I couldn't really care less about the new BiA game, as WW2 shooters are pretty much dead. And they added a third-person cover system.

Though, Pitchford really should stop with the lame justifications for in-game advertising.

The better the budget, the better the game.

The bigger the budget, the bigger the potential losses and the less likely the developer is going to innovate or take any risks. Lower budget also means a greater focus on gameplay, as you don't have the resources to create pretty graphics to cover up shallow gameplay.

For people who care about our games, the idea of bringing more people to the games is very exciting.

Why would I care if some casual/non-gamer finds out about the game through increased marketing? First of all, I'm primarily a single-player guy. Secondly, if I do play online, I want to play with experienced gamers, not retards that are completely worthless and don't understand the notion of teamwork or basic etiquette.

Philips was eager for us to use their physical logo in the factory as it was then, and we placed an old version of their mark. Without that agreement, we would've had to leave that authentic detail out.

Oh, how devastating. I don't know how I'd cope without seeing the huge Philips logo in that level. I mean, a generic dilapidated old factory feels completely different without real-life corporate logos.

Just say that you want to make more money. At least that honesty would only make you a douchebag rather than a lying douchebag.


This comment was edited on Mar 29, 03:16.

Yeah, if in-game ads bring the cost down to 10 bucks a game for a new triple-A title I'll shut up about it. Otherwise, fuck you, Randy.


'The media says I use fear as a tactic. That doesn't even make sense. How do you use fear as a breath-mint?'
- Terry McGurrin as George W. Bush

Yeah, if in-game ads bring the cost down to 10 bucks a game for a new triple-A title I'll shut up about it. Otherwise, fuck you, Randy.


'The media says I use fear as a tactic. That doesn't even make sense. How do you use fear as a breath-mint?'
- Terry McGurrin as George W. Bush

A challenge for the forums:

- What kinds of examples can you think of where an in-game, in-show, or in-movie product placement felt really good, natural and actually added value?

Oh, oh, I know, I know Randy! When we place a pound of Sponsored Defense Contractor C4 up your ass, and blow it up! That'd be AWESOME value!

Creston

Then came halo for PC, pitchford opening his fucking mouth blaming gamers for his low quality work on the port, what a load of shit.

Pitchford was bleating about how awesome he was LOOOOOONG before that. He was one of the devs from this fantastic group called "Rebel Boat Rocker", back when .plan files were still considered cool and edgy, and every day he'd be yapping away about how their game was going to kick everybody's ass, ESPECIALLY 3dRealm's ass, and how it was so cool, and so awesome, and so much better than everything else.

Probably fairly predictably, Rebel Boat Rocker folded about 4 months after that, having never released a single game, nor even really any screenshots / information about their game. Seeing as how Pitchford was jerking off to his .plan file all day long, instead of actually working, that's probably not that surprising.

They made a good Half Life expansion pack (at least the first one was good. Blue Shift was just rehashed crap) and that gave them a little credit, and I think they made a pretty good shooter for a Nintendo console?

But things started going downhill, rapidly, when Halo for the PC was released, and Randy began to think that he was some kind of fucking blessing to the gaming industry. He's basically a less talented, more retarded version of John Romero.

Creston

he may call himself a 'hardcore gamer'

Randy Pitchford is so fucking hardcore, that Halo for the PC ran like an absolute champ on his rig, and the rest of us were just really fucking stupid for not knowing how to build/optimize a rig.

THAT'S how hardcore he is!

Randy Pitchford puts the fuck in fucktard.

Creston

Then came halo for PC, pitchford opening his fucking mouth blaming gamers for his low quality work on the port, what a load of shit.

did he really? i didnt follow/play the halo pc port.

A challenge for the forums:

- What kinds of examples can you think of where an in-game, in-show, or in-movie product placement felt really good, natural and actually added value?

Wow is that fucking pathetic or what? my eyes are burning after reading that shit yikes!

I used to like gearbox from the half-life expansion Opposing Force and Blue Shift half a game yet still fun for what was there, but still half a game was bullshit.

Then came halo for PC, pitchford opening his fucking mouth blaming gamers for his low quality work on the port, what a load of shit.

Since, Blue Shift his excuses to take advantage of gamers are like his mouth has been a swarming toilet bowel full of turds.

Oh, hope no one has eaten dinner, recently.

Pitchford's selling more "ads are good for you" bullshit. He needs to be told it's OK to be a greedy fucking whore.

I wonder if the ad revenue will help them ensure that their future projects aren't broken, poorly supported, half-assed Xbox ports like the first Brothers In Arms was. Somehow I doubt it. After that title, I vowed to rent all their future titles at best. This all but confirms I'll be doing that. I'm still waiting for the day when the revenue from in-game advertising results in value to gamers through lower prices or titles that don't keep getting shorter and shorter. It's all well and good to say it gets them more budget money but they've shown no proof of that, nor does a multi-million selling title like Brother In Arms require the additional revenue anyway. The word Philips being on the outside of a building or Opel being on the front of a car does nothing for immersion and 99.9% of gamers wouldn't even notice it one way or the other. If he would at least admit that it's about money instead of pushing the tired and lame authenticity excuse, I could give him some credit for being honest.

Parallax Abstraction
Ottawa, Canada
This comment was edited on Mar 28, 22:13.

Burned by in game advertising??? Really? I can't say that I've really noticed it. Are we talking a scenario where you are in a city and there is a billboard that says Coke?

Nothing intrusive there.

he seems to have forgotten that we gamers have been nothing but burned by in-game advertising and have seen NO advantages on our end.

he may call himself a 'hardcore gamer' but if he did he would know we have every right to be fucking annoyed.

Pitchford's selling more "ads are good for you" bullshit. He needs to be told it's OK to be a greedy fucking whore.