Gamers angry over Xbox 360 ads after paying $50 for XBL
One of the hot topics today revolves around Microsoft’s plan to bring Silverlight ads onto Xbox Live service. This has gotten many Xbox 360 owners angry as they are already paying $50 for the service. Despite Microsoft’s reassurance that gamer experience will not be hampered by the ads, many fans from NeoGaf to the official Xbox forums have started complaining about this issue.
Recently Microsoft revealed plans to bring high-tech streaming Silverlight advertisements straight to the NXE dashboard. According to MediaPost, the plan is to incorporate this into the dashboard within the year. According to Sean Alexander, director at Microsoft’s Advertising Business, he indicated that the Silverlight ad banner will look exactly like the ones found on a Web browser online.
Silverlight can deliver streaming video advertisement trailers into the banner and competes with Flash banners. Microsoft also recently demonstrated this “feature” at the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival 2009 recently and indicated how advertisers could increase profit by adding the Xbox 360 as another platform for marketing.
Gamers are furious about this news as they are already paying $50 for the service. The consensus seems to be the same across the board from NeoGaf to even Microsoft’s official Blog site. Major Nelson further infuriates gamers by stating that Ads will be “organic” and will only “enhance, not interfere with the gaming experience.”
One of the XBL subscribers with the Gamertag rogXue stated on the blog:
More organic my a**. We pay $50 a year and still see ads. Honestly how greedy can you be before hell swallows you whole? There are nice benefits to being on Live but Gold members shouldn’t have to deal with one ad if we wish not to.
The sad part about this whole thing is that the Xbox 360 has been becoming more ad-centric starting with the NXE. With the NXE the Xbox 360 takes you to advertisement section upon bootup. You can no longer bootup into a game or even the games section of the Xbox 360. It takes you straight to the “Spotlight What’s New Channel” which is a huge advertisement section for the Xbox Marketplace. Microsoft should at least let us configure NXE so it can come up on My Xbox like the good old days.
I’ve said that the XBL is one of the best online services out there in the past but I might have to agree with the sentiments of some of the angry Xbox 360 owners on the Blog – for $50 we get ads and still no dedicated servers for all first party games (something that has been asked forever).
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July 2nd, 2009
In other news, Silverlight penetration up 30 million.
Thanks, GAF.
July 2nd, 2009
Why bother BS’ing about how ads will ‘enhance your gaming experience!’, when we all know that they won’t.
That said, they’re just ads and unless they’re popping up mid game or over the UI when you’re browsing around, then who cares?
July 2nd, 2009
Are we?
I see nothing but talk of maybe a few banner ads…..am I really supposed to be getting ‘angry’ about that?
Hey, here’s another one, I pay for a satellite TV serive and the b*ggers have the nerve to put ads on that too.
Jeez, some people, huh?
July 2nd, 2009
I don’t care about advertisements, it’s not like I follow what they tell me. Well, i’m off to Gamernook.
July 2nd, 2009
Glade we have ads like trial games, trailers, previews, contests, etc.
July 2nd, 2009
Yeah CharlieB I am assuming we don’t get as many trailers as you do over in the states, but I remember when the NXE first went live there was a trailer for The Day The Earth Stood Still which made the movie look like it was worth watching. Unfortunately it was a crap movie. Keanu Reeves plays the same character in every movie he’s been in, except for Bill and Ted.
July 2nd, 2009
Of course the Xbots aren’t upset. MMMMM fecal pie? GIMMEE MOAR YAR PLARS M$!
July 2nd, 2009
Looks like Jofa’s into scat… too bad he can’t keep those details to himself.
July 3rd, 2009
Xbot? Never heard that one before.
July 3rd, 2009
Xbot? Never heard that one before. Can someone explain what it actually means? I did ask before but did not get a clear answer.
July 3rd, 2009
xbot is a feature of the 360 in the new xbox experience or it means robot
July 3rd, 2009
Geez Microsoft are scum bags. Next thing they’ll be putting RootKits on CDs.
July 3rd, 2009
ok, so we’re a feature of the new xbox experience or we’re robots? Thank you for clearing that up.
July 3rd, 2009
harry, just admit it, your “furious” about this “news” that there are actually ads in some spots on XBL, and that you actually have to click on it in order to see it.
July 3rd, 2009
I’ll take back my impressive of a pay for service making more money off of forcing advertising on you, if they, ya know, not force it on you. But it wouldn’t make them the big bucks if you could turn it off, right?
An Xbot is a senseless pro-Xbox fan that will take anything MS dishes them, and love it. An Xbot will take the RRoD fiasco, and find a way to boast about the 3 year warranty MS was forced to provide only once class action was a risk. An Xbot will boast about fraud (forcing RRoD) as a way to get a new 360 under said warranty when another part of their flawed machine breaks. An Xbot will pay for an online service that forces advertising down their throats, and be just fine with M$ selling their occupancy in the NXE to a third party. An Xbot will never find fault in anything M$ does, and will defend their fragile E-gos with distractive, irrelevant attacks on the competition in the face of glaring hypocrisy. An Xbot will always give M$ a pass, and reward them by swallowing heaping steaming spoonfuls after spoonful of shit, and cheerfully ask for more.
I don’t expect any of the Xbox fans in this forum to be furious, but I was hoping for a modicum of rational thought, that at least ONE of you would admit it is a shitty, exploitative thing for M$ to do.
I could see this actually being a pretty decent thing to do, if when given the choice to opt out you could be rewarded by allowing the ads. Perhaps a discount on XBL subscription, or extra time awarded for card entry if you don’t opt out. THAT would be an ultra cool thing for M$ to do, as a way of reducing the cost of ownership for their loyal fanbase.
July 3rd, 2009
Yeah Carl, it pisses me off to no end. How dare they put advertisements on there that we have to click on to see. Damn them and their subliminal advertising. Damn them all to hell!
Jofamang, thank you for clearing that up. It sounds like a case of sour grapes to me though. No company is perfect, however with the flaws that Microsoft have, I am still happy with the product that I am receiving. I am happy to know that if my product does break down within 3 years, I am covered. I am happy to pay for Xbox Live because I believe I am getting a good service out of it. It’s a great way to keep in touch with the likes of CharlieB while I am away from my Xbox.
As I stated earlier, no company is perfect. I know I am shaking a hornet’s nest when I ask what we should call the Sony enthusiasts who accept delay after delay with games with a smile.
I mean, let’s use Gears 2 as an example. Last year Cliffy B said it will be out in November. If it was delayed by a few months, I would be pissed, because I was told that it was going to be released in November.
Now let’s jump to the other side of the fence and talk about God Of War 3. Earlier this year and late last year we were told that it was going to be released in time for christmas. It has now been pushed back to next year, along with Heavy Rain and some other games that I can’t care to remember right now. Aren’t you guys in the slightest bit annoyed at that?
July 3rd, 2009
I think we should all just be so grateful we have all these PS3 owners only too happy to leap up and be outraged on our behalf everytime they say something is not right.
Thanks so much guys, it’s always nice to know that if you imagine there’s anything wrong you’ll be there here bashing away & frothing away at the mouth for us so we don’t need to bother – no matter how insignificant and piddlingly minor the matter is.
I sleep so much more soundly knowing that. Thanks.
After you’ve laid into Microsoft for having XBL and charging for it will you take up the case of my satellite TV service for me?
I mean, I pay quite a lot every month there and the b@stards have the nerve to include ads on almost every channel on that.
July 3rd, 2009
“I think we should all just be so grateful we have all these PS3 owners only too happy to leap up and be outraged on our behalf everytime they say something is not right.”
HH some of you xbot guys are happy to do the same thing for the ps3 owners, so why now use this as an argument ??
Back on the topic …. I do not mind the advertising personally. I do think it is a bit rich though, and it is the principle of the matter.
A paid service (paid by you, the consumer) to get a “premium” service only to get advertising within your experience. And yes, as rightly pointed out, the same thing happens on pay tv …. don’t get me started on them !! The big selling point of pay tv was “NO ADS” within months of releasing pay tv, ads started to sneak in. Pretty poor form if you ask me.
At the end of the day, it is up to the LIVE consumers if they are happy to be paying for the service and also getting ads. If the majority of us are, no problem. Another little money spinner for ms. I personally don’t have too much of an issue, except for the principle part.
Maybe it should be ad free for the gold members and bombarded with ads on the silver membership ??
July 3rd, 2009
I rest my case. Not a single issue with your hobby time being sold to 3rd parties for extra cash. It is one thing for a company to advertise itself within its own medium, it is another to sell those ad opportunity.
Using TV as an example is weak. There has been advertising on TV since it came into being, as it is part of the business model that allows TV to exist.
We pay for games. We pay for the equipment to play those games. Some of us pay to be able to play online. We pay so much every step of the way to support the industry, and we have made many many people rich. Why the hell should we have to put up with unsolicited advertising that has been sold to the highest bidder? Do you guys really not see an issue with this? I know happy is a sheeple, but I would think Harry could at least grudgingly agree that there is something amiss here.
July 3rd, 2009
haha Happy, well put.
Maybe the anger should be quelled a little until we actually see these advertisements?
July 3rd, 2009
I totally agree JofaMang. If they are going to put that type of advertising in games then the games should be reduced dramatically in price or even be free.
If the developers and publishers are struggling to make end meet with the money they get from game sales then they should really be looking at making them selves more efficient. After all, people spend what they get so if more money is made from advertising, then the publishers and developers will spend that. And then in a few years time they will need to look at other ways to supplement their bloated revenue as we will back where we are now.
A lack of efficiency, and an increased reliance of a new larger budget will result in unsustainable growth in the games industry. And so in another 10 years when another inevitable credit crunch hits the world, there will only be a hand full of games producers left. The hardware of the time will be too costly to work on and so small budget games by “bedroom” programmers will prevail. Maybe not a bad thing.
I am not against advertising in games, but there must be a trade off. I don’t go buying adverts or pay for “The Commercial Channel” on tv. If they are being let into our homes to peddle their wares, I don’t want to have to pay for the privilege.
July 3rd, 2009
I don’t think it will include the advertising your after Harry !!
July 3rd, 2009
I agree andrew_ds, there should be a trade off. Who knows, is the beginning of a possible free LIVE paid for by advertising ??
July 3rd, 2009
ummm harry. GOW3 was never reported to come out at the end of the year. It was reported to come out at the end of the fiscal year, which is in March.
Heavy Rain was never given a release time until E3.
Thank god you guys have Huxley and Alan Wake to look forward to.
Nice try xbot
July 3rd, 2009
Funny, I was sure I read somewhere last year that it was coming in 2009, as well as Heavy Rain, as part of this “stellar” list of exclusives this year. At any rate, it must be frustrating seeing gameplay videos for the past two years and still not be able to play it for at least another 6 or 7 months.
What if it was the type of advertising that was the ‘Click here for the chance to win a 12 month subscription to “Jugs Magazine”‘ variety? Again, it’s all speculative.
July 3rd, 2009
well…technically the first “gameplay” video was at E3. All the rest were prerendered or cinematic within the games engine. Waiting does suck, but in the meantime at least theres a bunch of similar games coming out to hold us over. Bayonetta, Ninja Gaiden sigma 2, darksiders, and Dantes inferno. Hopefully the last two dont come out all at the same time.
July 3rd, 2009
There is a place in games for advertising. As games become more realistic, there should be adverts. After all, on my way to work I see loads of bill boards for various products. So maybe in a racing game or fps there should be advertising bill boards.
But I don’t want it rammed down my throat (add comment here) to the point that it affects realism or there is no escaping. Nobody wants to have GT5 brought to you by Pirelli, or Call of Duty in association with Smith & Western.
It needs to be part of the environment like in real life. Not popping up or where every item in the game is “made” the by the title sponsor.
We need to not over react until games come out with advertising. Then we judge. If it gets on my tits I know I will either not play it and will think twice about getting any follow-ups or games by the same publisher.
Harry – I am not keen on Jugs magazine. I used to like Perfect 10 as all the girls had natural racks. I also like Fluffy Felines magazine.
July 3rd, 2009
If I understand Andrew then I think he’s got the right idea.
It’s looking certain that GT5 will have official tyres by Pirelli and Goodyear, and I wouldn’t say that that is bad…au contriare, I’d say it’s fucking brilliant as it’s what GT players have wanted for a long time.
“GT5 sponsored by Pirelli” would suck, but at least in that scenario you can understand the sponsorship.
It’s when there’s no obvious connction between product and sponsor when it feels contrived.
Phranc is right, the first GOW3 gameplay was at E3, and Heavy Rain was shown only a coupla weeks before E3 (and how fucking incredible does it look BTW)
But I’ve said before that it’s no surprise to see Sony’s big games getting eased back; they’re waiting for the slim and the price cut…and maybe BC.
July 3rd, 2009
No Papa Johns adverts in the next Mario game….wtf
July 3rd, 2009
Agree with Andrew:
It all depends of the way they implement it. It would be a nice detail to find real products in, let´s say, an post-apocaliptic set up and even being able to use them as refreshments or weapons. That would add to the suspension of disbelief.
In the other hand, anything that interrupts the game, like a tipical pop up or having Chris Redfield stopping and saying: “Sheva! Hand me over a Redbull, because Redbull Gives you wings!”…
*Barfing ensues*.
July 3rd, 2009
We had this conversation here ages ago. I don’t remember who it was, but they kept insisting that “I don’t see any adds on XBL!” Was it CAD maybe?
At any rate, adds on a gaming OS is just tasteless. They already charge for the service, do they really need to whore it out to mega-corporations too?
July 3rd, 2009
Harry – would it really make sense for Sony to release 15 games at the end of the year to all compete against each other? Pushing a few back and spreading them out is the best thing to do. Both Heavy Rain and White Knight are getting more polish and in white knight’s case – content.
July 3rd, 2009
Wow where do I start. OK I’m going to be honest and say I see both points of the argument. On one hand yes it is bad if Microsoft was to place adds on the dashboard because yeah we do pay for the service I can see that point. But Happy makes an even better point that that we are all paying for Cable/Satellite and it come with adds too and we pay for that without a complaint. On the other hand what advertisements are you talking about. It not like I’m getting an advertisement for Tide or Deodorant, or Walmart. Actually now that I’m writing this I actually wouldn’t mind if adds were like flyers. I wouldn’t mind getting the flyer for Bestbuy or Canadian Tire or Walmart, and maybe even EB Games too. But back to my point. I wrote about this once and I detailed what was on my dashboard and it was stuff like 1 vs 100 advertisements, stratigies for games, E3 Content, contest, movies on the service, Arcade game releases, Majors Minuite, shows that talk about upcoming games. The few advertisements that I’ve seen are like Toyota but you got a free gamer pic or theme for the dashboard, Doritios and then ran some contest and I believe there was pics and themes involved as well for free along with that game which was also free. Mike makes it seem like it a bad thing that the 360 starts up on the page that tells you what new and whats going on. I find it hard to call it an advertisement page. It’s more like and information page with details on Movies, downloads and videos and basically game releated information and a mojority of what I siad previously. Mike you also said “You can no longer bootup into a game or even the games section of the Xbox 360″. That simply is not true. If you go into your settings you can change these options and make it so the 360 goes straight to the game. Anyways I like the adds of information and it’s not like what you get on billboard or magizines or television. It is completely different and it’s a feature that I love because I like to waste time there seeing what’s going on before I jump into my games. Besides with additions like 1 vs 100 and cross game chat, achievements, Live.fm, Messenger, Twitter, Facebook, Netflix, Movies Downloads, Arcade demos, XNA demos, Canal +, Sky TV, Game Demos, Game Trailers, Avtars, Natal, Games on Demand, Video chat and voice chat, friends list and the ability to see your friends, friends list, and the most recent people you have played online, personal Bios, Messaging via picture, text or voice, Party mode, Photo Party, watching Videos/TV with other Live Members. Lets also not forget the numerous times that there are contest and times when you can play developers or celebrities. I know I’m missing some other things but this is more then justfies a $50/year fee that I’m happy to pay.
July 3rd, 2009
The only things I was really commenting on here was firstly the idea that a couple of blog comments from who knows who equated to loads of Xbox owners being ‘angry’ and secondly the rather sily notion that a paid for service aitomatically means it ought to be ad-free.
Hence my comments about PS3 owners up in arms about this – like it’s even happened yet and we have any idea how obtrusive or inobtrusive they’ll be.
Similarly with the TV analogy.
I live in a country whgere we have the BBC, an ad-free TV service.
My satellite service costs approx 5 times what my BBC licence fee comes to so it really is a premuin service and at that cost you might expect them to ease off on the ads.
Not a bit of it.
They have pushed the usual UK ad-level (1 x 2min adbreak every 15 or 20 mins) to close in on those unwatchable US TV levels (1 x 4min ad break every 15mins).
I absolutely agree that we should get some sort of benefit either by reducing game costs or XBL costs but I suspect we’ll be told that rising costs mean we get ads without seeing a reduction in the price of anything.
I guess that kind of leaves us with the PS3 gang pretending they prefer pretending they have a charity behind them and us Xbox owners have satan himself counting coin at every turn.
Either way I personally don’t care, XBL costs me pennies a day and I’m well used to ads in everything, even if I do hate them.
Mostly I would prefer to wait and see before I made any great sweeping comment that anyone (excepting those PS3 guys of course) is really angry about this.
July 3rd, 2009
The TV analogy is just wrong. TV is a business model built on ad revenue. Gaming is not. We all (no matter what brand loyalty) have supported the industry financially at every turn. Pay for the console, pay for the game, pay for online play (whether XBL or MMO subscriptions), pay for peripherals, pay for movies etc etc.
I would say ads on TV were misplaced if say, you had to pay for each specific series, or timeslots, and not just channels. Channels like showtime and HBO run ad free (in the “unwatchable” US TV ad level environment) due to their subscription fees. If HBO were to suddenly start running external ads during inserted commercial breaks, there would be hell to pay, in the form of boycotting of the service, guaranteed.
I don’t have a beef with consoles having advertisements for their own services. In conjunction with attracting new revenue, they also educate users as to features and content. I also have no beef with advertising that has rewards (e.g. Minigames and clothing in Home,in locations that you have to CHOSE to go to) or like i mentioned earlier, if XBL subscription offered credits for opting into the advertising.
I would have the same beef with PSN if they went down the same road, this is NOT a brand specific attack. But I will give you credit Happy, as we do indeed need to see the exact nature of the advertising.
July 3rd, 2009
So the latest UK Console sales are out here is what the standings look like.
courtesy of UK retailer GAME’s first-half fiscal statement, we find data from GfK Chart-Track for sales up to June 27th, 2009. Unsurprisingly, Nintendo is in the lead with the DS, having sold 2.7m in the past year, bringing its total up to 9.1m units (that includes 300,000 DSi units sold since launch). The Wii is in second place with 5.4m, up 2.3 from last year. And then we get to the main attraction: 360 and PS3 sales.
You’ll recall that in February, Microsoft claimed the 360 bested the PS3 in overall European sales by 1m units, citing GfK Chart-Track data again. In the UK, the Xbox is siting pretty with 3.9m units, up 1.7 from last year, while the PS3 is at 2.2m, up 900k from last year (and, coincidentally, right where Microsoft would’ve been a year ago). In between the “big boys” is the PSP, with 3.3m consoles sold, up 500k from last year.
July 3rd, 2009
I see a grand total of 1 frame out of 75 in the Spotlight section (one of eight sections) that has an advert on it. Purposely navigating to and clicking on it, the frame contains Energizer Advanced Lithium on the top and then a menu for Gamespot at E3 videos, reviews, themes and pics, and free rock band dlc.
Every other frame (and sometimes this frame) in the Spotlight section navigates to XBox 360 related content, much of it free or discounted. Right now there is a free Worms 2: Armageddon game, 1 vs 100 Live beta, Major Nelson’s Iraq trip video, 30% off Fable 2 dlc, etc.
I’ve had a free red/black matrix type theme up (courtesy Doritos) that I downloaded about two weeks ago because I thought it looked cool (it doesn’t say doritos anywhere). I downloaded and played the free Doritos Dash game when I came back and had fun with it for the half hour it was worth it.
If free games, demos, previews, videos, pics, themes, etc. through one frame that you have to want to navigate through because of it’s content is how they want to advertise, then it’s fine by me, and I would prefer it there because I like looking through it and picking what I like to see or have for free.
Netflix is the only other advertising frame I see here and it is for a free trial. This is fine because it is a pretty important service that I would want to try as a 360 owner in the states, and actually pays for a Gold membership in how much it saves me. 30% to %50 off DLC with Gold is just more money saved on top of this.
Mike, CAD’s right. You can still boot up straight into the game, and I just tested it today with Fable II. Hit the guide button, go to the settings frame, system settings, console settings, startup, then select Disc, XBox Dashboard, or Windows Media Center.
July 3rd, 2009
Comparing TV ads with the XNE adds is wrong.
I hate ads, I would like to Customize my XMB/Dashboard the way i want it. with no fucking ads, specially on the Dashboard since im paying for the service. Xbox owner should have TOTAL control of their Dashboard. THat is just wrong from M$, their getting money from 360 user and from the ads they put up. but it is M$ we should have seen this coming.
July 3rd, 2009
CARLb:
they PSN does DLC 50% off all the time, and not just for DLC even for FULL PSN GAMES
I bought CoD4 and CoD5 map packs for 4.99 (which is have off.
I bought the Resistance:FoM for $2.99 (50% off)
I bought WarhawK for $20. when it was going for $40. I also got Rag Dull Kung fu for free.
and now they are starting to give free Movies/TV shows/Animate on weekly Basis. i just got Voltron season/episode 2 for free.
AND AGAIN ALL THISE WITH NO ADS, and fREE service.
July 3rd, 2009
Roca
So how did you know about all those discounts and Free games? Did you scrool through everything until you found something was free?
July 3rd, 2009
@CAD
‘when you can play developers or celebrities.’
Oh c’mon now
You don’t really want to play with so called ‘celebs’ do you?..
July 3rd, 2009
Roca, the reason you have that is because they are trying to compete the best way they can with XBL, so it looks like you are finally reaping the benefit with “Rag Dull Kung fu for free” and some discounted map packs.
I didn’t mention PS3, but since you want to bring it up:
Sony press release
“SCEA SCEE today announced the introduction of in-game advertising on PS3.”
talkplaystation.com/dynamic-in-game-advertising-on-its-way-to-ps3/
I would much rather have 1 ad in a frame you had to navigate to purposely to see the content instead of having it forced on me in game. Hope you have fun with that.
July 3rd, 2009
Prediction: We will now see all PS3 fanboys argue the merits and joys of in-game advertising for all games free and paid for.
July 3rd, 2009
Sony press release
“SCEA SCEE today announced the introduction of in-game advertising on PS3.”
LMAO
OK Mike, I’m livid about this and I can point to several others (who may or may not own PS3s) who are angry about it.
So, where’s the negatively spun tread on it here?
July 3rd, 2009
Happy, that will never happen. If it is covered it will be made to look like it is somehow organic to gaming and PS3 gamers are happy with it or unaffected by it compared to the evil greedy effort being made by Microsoft and how “furious” 360 gamers everywhere are up in arms about it.
That Sony press release was from June 4. Not a peep here.
July 3rd, 2009
CarlB
Your so on point. MIKE ARE U LISTENING!!!
LMAO
July 3rd, 2009
No mention of the UK sales either from GFK Chart-Track.
July 3rd, 2009
The obvious difference here is that these Live ads are not “in-game”, are they.
I’m not saying these ads are good or bad, as frankly I don’t care, but if you’re going to bring the PS3 into this, we should redress the balance and say that it’s not just Sony doing in game ads, as Microsoft own Massive Incorporated, who, conicidentally, turn out to be an in-game advertising company who struck dynamic ad deals with EA, and more recently, Activision Blizzard.
bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=conewsstory&refer=conews&tkr=ATVI%3AUS&sid=aY.DLOyouNCQ
The point Roca is trying to make is that there are no ads on the XMB or in the PS Store, and if I’m honest, it wouldn’t bother me if there were.
July 3rd, 2009
CAD, all those UK sales data tell us is that the PS3 is tracking at the same rate as the 360, given that, quote verbatim, it’s “right where Microsoft would’ve been a year ago”
Given you guys like to point out the PS3’s price, lack of games, lack of content, general shitness, etc, etc, etc, it should really be doing worse, no?
July 3rd, 2009
Just turned on my PSP looking at PSN… look at all those ads for Comic-Con, Mountain Dew, Pulse with Real Housewives, NYC Prep, Mr. Troop Mom, Pink Panther 2, Garfield’s Pet Force, Waltz With Bashir, etc.
Guess what? XBL and PSN users both will still be able to get the content they want, and perhaps extra, without any problem.
Btw, lockdown, the point roca was trying to make was that PSN has “NO ADS”. BS. Both XBL and PSN have ads mixed in with content. Big deal. I could care less whether I see a billboard in a game environment or a brand name on a product in game. I’d rather see that than “beer”, “food”, etc. ala “Repo Man” whether it’s a PS3 or 360 game.
July 3rd, 2009
Which is exactly why I ask Roca how he knew about those free and discounted items. If he spent time looking trhough the Marketplace then he would appreciate a spotlight area that tell him about it. The very thing he condems.
July 3rd, 2009
Clearly it’s different in the US…there’s zero ads in UK PSN or XMB.
July 3rd, 2009
lockdown, PS3 is doing great considering it launched a year later and is priced $100 more than the competition. It may be in 3rd place but it has a great lineup of games and will continue to do well for Sony throughout the gen.
July 3rd, 2009
lock_down, you guys unable to download Qore, Pulse, preview movies/shows in the UK? Didn’t know that.
July 3rd, 2009
Does Ford Racing on PS3/PSP count as in-game advertising?
July 3rd, 2009
Qore, Pulse? What are these things?
July 3rd, 2009
it’s funny that the only one’s whining about the advertisemetns on ‘live are ps3 owners, who don’t have xbox live.
everyone needs to relax. mike and his girlfriend, dave, simply scoure the internet for ANY anti-360 “news” and post it on their “blog” (read: mindless fanboy drivel) for site hits so they can keep employed.
*sigh*…oh, mike….it must kill you to know that after 2 years of negative ms press, the 360 is completely OBLITERATING your precious ps3 in sales, games, online gaming, and features.
apparently it must be affecting as you’ve decided to sacrifice any sort of journalistic integrity to ride sony’s jock…
carlb – the ps3 is not doing “great”. not according to retailers, not according to publishers, not according to gamers, and certainly not according to sony themselves.
you forget that sony, and their legions of fanboys SWORE, a lead to market would mean nothing in the face of “150 loyal ps2 owners just waiting to buy a ps3″…..
it’s more than the first to market, sport. the 360 trumped the ps3 in all avenues…..oh, but congrats on bluray….one of the slowest adoption of any media format in history…..
lockdown – the ps3 is almost 1/2 the sales of the 360 in the UK. not good. unless you’re a complete idiot…or fanboy…take your pick…
July 3rd, 2009
happy – mike and dave are blatant ps3 fanboys. waiting for them to post ANY anti-ps3 news is wasted time.
look around the net and communities. this site is cited many times as place of fanboy “journalists”, skewed data, lies, and ignorance. funny tho; dave p’s name is crap around the ‘net gaming community….no wonder why….
July 3rd, 2009
lockdown – here…i know you’ll ignore this as it’s full of FACTS…. but here it is anyway.
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/technology/2009/07/03/xbox-360-has-outsold-wii-ds-and-ps3-in-uk-2009-115875-21492199/
July 3rd, 2009
happy – here’s a story affecting ALL ps3 online users… let’s see if mike or dave lose their vaginas long enough to write about it….
http://www.neoseeker.com/news/11138-hulu-blocked-on-ps3-browsers/
July 3rd, 2009
lock_down:
July 3rd, 2009
“CAD, all those UK sales data tell us is that the PS3 is tracking at the same rate as the 360, given that, quote verbatim, it’s “right where Microsoft would’ve been a year ago”
Actually lock_down Roca made that bit up himself and tacked it on to the quote – if you look at the link I gave it does not say that at all.
July 3rd, 2009
ah kev, I was just trying to be nice and say it doing “great” for releasing as late as it did and being priced $100 more, not “great” as in what Sony and PS3 fanboys predicted before launch. Of course it could do better, but hey, I’m one of those PS2 owners still waiting for the price to drop on PS3. I don’t even own one yet. Should see it drop by fall, but either way, I still have my 360 to keep me busy, if it lasts that long.
And Sony is still selling many digital downloads and have lost the focus on UMD(fail)/Blu-ray alone, so no worries, sport, they should survive the gen, though I agree, it is far below pre-launch expectations.
July 3rd, 2009
Wouldn’t bother Carlb
. Now he’s dropped a load on the thead Kev’s in bed playing with his todger over the thought that he just owned blorge.
He’ll be back when its sore to drop another creamy load…
July 3rd, 2009
Oh yeah kev, every PS3 owner is so annoyed that the US only Hulu has been blocked…yeah, Europe, Asia and Japan are fuming!
Happy, what are you talking about? It was CAD that wrote it.
But it’s still true anyway. If Xbox 360 sales are up 1.7 million to 3.9 million…3.9 – 1.7 equals….2.2 million…exactly were Sony are now. It’s basic Maths.
Carl’s right, sure, it’s below expectations, but given the circumstances, I don’t think it’s too shabby.
Kev, while you’re here, how does the Forza 3 two disc thing work? I need to know how the “definitive racing game of this generation” works across all SKU’s.
July 3rd, 2009
How would we know how the two disc thing is working? The game isn’t even out yet……
July 3rd, 2009
They said on the 1up podcast… the main game is on one disc, and if you want bonus content it is on the other. I’d be the one to just play through the main game and move on. For those that care to mess with it, the other stuff is there.
July 3rd, 2009
lock_down
Naa mate, I wrote it here – http://gamer.blorge.com/2009/07/01/ps3-slim-rumor-partially-hogwash/
It’s a TechRadar quote I posted up.
Besides you’re missing the point here, it’s talking about sales 1/2 way through the year, Xbox sales are accelerating (tho PS3 sales are not) and you don’t have an end of year number yet.
July 3rd, 2009
…..but it does tell us one thing, Roca likes to add on his own invented BS to quotes.
That’ll be something to bear in mind when he starts posting links and making big claims about what they say.
July 4th, 2009
Wow, there is soooo much bitch slapping going on in here, it’s funny. Even Kev jumped in with his guerilla tactics of “jump in, shake his stick around and then flee”.
I think one thing to remember is that psn is free, and as such we all expect that ads are going to appear. Sony have every right in offering a free service to show ads to pay for said service.
@HH – In my opinion, pay TV should not have ANY ads in it’s service. It’s big selling card over free to air tv, was the fact “NO ADS”. Yet months later, the duped customers and now have ads on pay tv. This is wrong, but is just accepted by it’s customers now. I think the same applies to Live, it is a paid service by it’s subscribers and being a premium service, should not really contain ads.
Even on the net, the download servers around the place – premium paid service means no ads and no waiting. Free = waiting and ads.
In saying all this, IF I renewed by gold subscription (which is highly doubtful) I would not be angry about it, but it may mean the difference between me paying my hard earned cash, for that service or not !!
July 4th, 2009
Sure, if you had to wait on that frame that had ads. Which you do not. You don’t even have to see it if you do not desire to.
July 4th, 2009
has anyone bought the new punisher game yet, wondering if its a must buy?? It looks like psn is getting alot more exclusive downloadable games than 360…look at trine 4 example but its not set in stone
July 5th, 2009
I might have weekenditis, but I couldn’t understand your post Carl?
July 5th, 2009
You stated “Free = waiting and ads” and you shouldn’t have this with paid service.
With gold you don’t have to wait for ads, and if you desire to see the ad frame (I sometimes do make the effort to navigate to it because it usually has some free content: vids, interviews, previews, games, themes, pics, etc.), you have to make an effort to get there.
So essentially, you don’t have to wait for the ads and you only see them if you desire to.
July 5th, 2009
Advertising for sections of available service, and updates to those services and offers is acceptable to me. Like CAD has pointed out, it is a timesaver and effective in alerting you to deals. The PSN does have that. On the XMB interface, there is a tickertape for PSN news, basically advertising for PSN specific things like new or discounted DLC, updates to the network or firmware, significant game updates, and those sorts of things.
My problem is the selling of that sort of space to 3rd parties without compensating those who are paying for access. This announcement appears to be a 3rd party ad system. Let’s see what it actually is, though, before we add to the proof of MS’s demonic possessions.
July 6th, 2009
On the 360 guide/blade interface there is no tickertape or ads, so it appears for now at least, there have been no violations.
July 6th, 2009
I like being violated.
July 6th, 2009
“You stated “Free = waiting and ads” and you shouldn’t have this with paid service.”
I get you now, Couldn’t get the link you were making.
This is what I said: “Even on the net, the download servers around the place – premium paid service means no ads and no waiting. Free = waiting and ads.”
That comment is in relation to web download servers, not Live or PSN. I was making the point that a premium or paid service everywhere MOSTLY don’t contain ads. Free services contain ads and/or have waiting periods (for downloads).
July 6th, 2009
Dashboad is basically a “AdsBoard”
July 6th, 2009
yes, you’re right roca, every frame in the dashboard is essentially an “ad” for 360 content or functionality, and the same can be said for the xmb and ps3 content.
July 7th, 2009
Have you actually seen the XMB CarlB? The tickertape (a small line of text in the upper right corner) is the only advertising on the XMB, and it is for PSN content only. It literally takes up MAYBE 2% of the screen. The rest of the advertising for PSN content is in the store itself, and you have to navigate there to view it at all.
Unless I missed some sarcasm there, you sound like you actually know nothing about the PS3 interface at all.
July 7th, 2009
lockdown – why do you care? according to you ps3 fanboys, GT5 is faaar superior to Forza 3…. altho the facts say different…
July 7th, 2009
Here’s what I’d like to know.
At E3 they made a big deal about Silverlight and about the coming high quality HD streaming for Xbox.
So why has this been ignored and the talk is all about silverlight & adverts?
July 7th, 2009
@Kev
As a racing simulator fan, I am intrigued to see how good Forza3 will be. I am not gonna pretend to know for a fact if it will be better or worse than GT5, though Gran Turismo track record is ASTOUNDING, and I have not reason to doubt, that once again, Polyphony Digital will produce a groundbreaking racing title, as they had with both GT1 and GT3, on their respective platforms.
My experience with Forza 1 and 2 was that of an arcade racer. Not nearly as cheezy as say, PGR or Burnout, but no where near the authenticity of the GT series.
Also, don’t put too much trust in the whole ego inflating number game: it matters not how many physics calculations you have running during gameplay. Poorly implimented, 9000 physics calculations will do no better than 90 or 900 accurate calculations. Lets not forget that having a single, detailed blade of grass blow in the wind as a car passes can take hundreds of physics calculations to accomplish. My point is that boasting about physics is pointless without detailed information on what they are applied to. We DO NOT have that information. The proof will be in the tasting of the pudding.
If Forza3 is awesome, I will be forced to purchase a 360. If it isn’t, oh well, I am sure GT5 will not dissapoint.
July 7th, 2009
I should add that I am too lazy to google, but will Forza 3 have support for logitech racing wheels? I am inheriting a nice chassis/chair from my brother (he has a g25 in it right now, will get my own wheel/pedals for it).
July 7th, 2009
I have Jofa, and it is essentially the same as the GMB on the 360, except the 360 GMB does not have a tickertape. The dashboard has access to 360 content and 360 functionality.
As you see I was responding to roca. If he’s going to start calling the friends, welcome, and xbox rows in the dashboard “ads” and say the dashboard is an “adsboard” then you might as well call the xmb an “adsbar” as well, since it also has a portion dedicated to “ads”.
July 7th, 2009
Damn interwebs, without emoticons we are all reduced to Helen Kellers~ Of course, for a few of us here, that would be a step up, heh.
July 8th, 2009
Jofa,
Kev doesn’t actually know much of anything about racing simulators, so I wouldn’t ask him.
I know that Forza 3 will have support for wheel peripherals, but I don’t know which particular wheels will work. I think it’s safe to assume that most all of them will be compatible, though.
-Arvis
July 10th, 2009
jofa – if you’d done any homework you’d know the physics parameters used in Forza games were implemented by professional automotive engineeers from Team Ferrari and Toyo Tires….
keep believing you know more about physics than those guys….
sorry, but the reality is, the physics crown rests with Forza over GT, per Gamespot, 1up.COM, etc..etc…..
9,000 > 300…. you do have a point tho; kaz used some pretty screwed up physics in his GT games… some say “bumpercar” even….
July 17th, 2009
…and when confronted with facts..the ps3 fanboys run away…..again….