For those of you that haven't seen, EA CEO Andrew Wilson recently said in an earnings briefing that in-game advertisement is an option for them as a way of driving what he describes as 'meaningful' growth. He claimed that these will be 'thoughtful implementations' but I personally find it hard to see how that can be done in a tasteful way that doesn't feel like the consumer is being preyed upon. Let's discuss if it can be done in a 'thoughtful' way, and what the implications are of what Andrew Wilson is saying.
I will say, over the last couple of years ads have started to creep into EVERYTHING. Now most streaming services have ad breaks in, whereas previously one of the big advantages of streaming was that there were no ads. Also, just about every social media is rammed with ads and I cant leave the house without thousands of companies trying to sell me stuff everywhere I look. But at least I can escape this world and pay £60 to dive into a video game and be left alone by all these marketing companies trying to hijack my brain right? WRONG! Because EA plan on using the place where I go for escapism to remind me that I am just an ATM machine that every company wants to deposit from.
I am a little skeptical of EA claiming they will do it in a meaningful way, because they have already done it in the past and it (in my opinion) was not meaningful. In fact it was like being slapped in the face. You may remember the giant advert for 'The Boys' that appeared in UFC 4, or the numerous ads that are pumped into our brains in the various different EA Sports games. Now you could argue that it adds to the realism, because real life sporting events have ads in them all the time, but again - escapism. Ads appear on TV so that, generally speaking, they are not charging people a lot of money to watch. But when you pay full price for a game, the benefit of that should be that you are not being targeted by companies. Hell, I have considered putting ads onto my page so I can make money. But you are getting this for free so that is different, if I was charging you to read the articles, I wouldn't put ads in as well.
I would kind of be on board for this if EA were saying that they are putting ads in games and cutting the price of games to consumers. But they wont do that, because they are EA and they like money. I mean, look how much they fleece people who play The Sims! And don't get me wrong, there are some instances where I think ads are completely acceptable. Free to play games for example, I absolutley believe you can have ads for the paid content, because we all understand that the point of free to pay is to encourage you to spend money on skins etc. Also I don't have a problem with certain games that advertise DLC or other games in the franchise in their main menu. In fact sometimes that marketing has even worked on me, I loved Assassins Creed Odyssey and the ads for Valhalla in the main menu was what convinced me to buy it. But there is a difference between that, and ads actually being inside a game.
We have to remember that EA is sneaky, which is honestly why I am so surprised they have been so forthcoming with their intentions this time. They have previously put ads into a game a month after it was released so that the reviews were already out to try and avoid backlash...sneaky. Now, I don't think it will be as obvious as in the next Star Wars game Darth Vader is drinking a Pepsi and the Death Star is sponsored by Pizza Hut. But I think seeing any adverts for companies that exist in the real world honestly takes me out of the immersion. I love the fact that video games are their own little universes and they have their own brands within them, it is part of the escapism. Like Nuka Cola in Fallout or Sprunk in GTA. It is a fun attention to detail that makes me feel like I am in a different world. I personally feel that the fun of that would kind of be lost if that was Coke and Sprite.
What we now have to consider is what this means for video games going forward. If EA do this and profit heavily from it, other studios will follow. On the flip side if the backlash from this is too great, then perhaps a lesson will be learned and EA will do a 180 on this. Basically it is about voting with your wallets (which sucks because EA have some great games) and also making your voices heard. Obviously I have made it clear that I am personally against the idea of ads creeping more and more into video games, but perhaps you have a different opinion, and if so please comment down below because I am always up for a healthy discussion.
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