Product Placement

There are no monthly fees with GW. GW2 will follow the same business plan. The income streams are limited to the sale of the game, and ingame store downloadable content. While it seems to have sustained GW for 5 years, the dev teams have not exactly been faced with the problem of how to spend all their funding. I'm wondering how people would feel about other sources of income... like advertising.

It would be easy enough to plonk an ad on the log in screen, but why limit it to there? How about we place the products being sold in the game? Do away with the red cape vs blue cape in PvP, make it Coke vs Pepsi - a battle of taste!

Bilboards on the mountainsides. Subtly change names: The Bill Gates of Kryta.

OK, a little over the top there, and a little hard to find enough companies with global markets that would want to advertise but it could be done. It wouldn't really suit the period, but what the hell, it's fantasy.

So, who would leave the game in disgust if this happened? Who wouldn't care? Who'd want to see it?

A funny thought. But no thank you.

I think in-game adverts for modern-day real-world products would ruin the GW vibe/atmosphere.

They can put whatever they like on the login screen, as they do now for their own ingame store ie. they don't require click through to get into the game, and they're easily ignored.

I'd also hate advertisers to have any kind of influence over the game content, because they "pay the bills", or they're trying to out-do their competitors product placements etc.

Unlike some game developers (*points a finger at EA and their new Sims 3 streaming ad "feature"*), Anet actually has a little thing called integrity.

Having real-world advertising while playing a medieval-style rpg disrupts playing and immersion to the point that I would cease playing immediately. Or not buy the game in the first place. No discussion.
I buy for playing the game, not for watching advertisements.

Advertisements from NPCs for ingame-goods as part of the environment ("Buy Gumpy's best Swords from Gumpy's Sword Armory" signs in a town) are a totally different thing - those would certainly be welcome as part of the atmosphere.

This.

I would really be disgusted for something like the OP's suggestion.

/notsigned

Would make the game look really bad in my opinion and ruin the atmosphere.

HERP DERP LET'S DO /SIGN AND /NOTSIGN CAUSE THIS IS A SUGGESTION, AND A SUPER SERIOUS ONE AT THAT!

would it shy me away from the game, probably not. still gonna be a good game either way, but it would make for a bad atmosphere and make arenanet look like a bunch of amateurs. they wouldn't. this has been an undertaking for them since day one, and i'm sure there are many plans (and backup plans) to get the funds they require without selling out.

Did it,
Korea, Coke.
Done
http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Coke_Item

Like a lot of people, I don't watch much TV any more because of all the commercials (and most of what little I do watch is DVR'd so I can skip through the ads). And I'm getting a bit peeved at having to watch a commercial before some Youtube videos.
So, ads in GW2 would be a definite deal breaker for me. I'd rather they went more micro-transaction.

With reference to the above Korean Coke promotion - that's not a whole lot different than the mini-pets sponsored by PCGamer and other magazines. I don't mind that - as long as the in-game item doesn't have any overt advertising on it and blends into the game's style. Hell, I've got the Destroyer and Asura mini-pets. I really wouldn't want to see GW2 become some sort of pop-culture spawning ground either - no Hahna Montana or Hairy Potter mini-pets.

And, btw, if this thread is some lame attempt by ANet to "test the waters" - consider the waters to be tested .... and toxic.

So ugly

Quite sure that it's a bad idea, it would just seem so out of place in a FANTASY MMO-like game...



I don't know why, but this vanquish is making me awfully thirsty...

You have been playing for 3 hours. Please take a break and enjoy a Red Bull energy drink!

No.

Anet should just start selling ingame money for real cash. That would eliminate every other gold farmer.

In fact the items don't scream "Buy Coke!". They're skins are pretty normal.

On topic, that would seriously break the immersion unless very well done. And it wouldn't be done well enough.

But seeing somehting like a pepsi logo engraved on a wall instead of a neon sign or being done "in-character" might pass. But that'd be more of a joke than publicity.

It might work if it were for Acme Chastity Belts, Ace Helmet Company, etc; so I say no to modern ads.

i can see the occasional ad for joke products that fit into the game in a funny way (in that new script they talked about on the blog recently.

Dwanya Bubble?
Rata Sum rat traps

Lol @ Anet's integrity statement. When they completely ignored the community (aka the first 4 years) they lost pretty much all of it. When they started using micro-transitions (which on it's own aren't bad, but do stray from the "free online play" because you still have to pay for this "extra content"), they lost that tiny bit that was left.

Also, I personally really don't care, as long as it's subtle. I really wouldn't mind if you could buy "coca cola" at the merchant, and it would have the same effect as one of those sparkler bottles. (25% IMS for 10 minutes)

Doesn't hurt me, and only provides more money for Anet to pay for servers, etc.

Such a stupid thing would make me quit for sure.

I already hate many of the contemporary references in fantasy games, like the US cultural imperialism found in WoW.

I actually wouldn't mind having that; if it will grant us frequent updates and server upgrades because of the advertising money, then by all means go for it.

As for the billboards: No thanks.

*is drinking Coke as I type this*