Gearbox recently landed a deal with Double Fusion for in-game advertising. Now, people hate advertising and for years, decades, in fact – games have been devoid of internal advertising. Gamers want to keep it that way. So gamers asked, how could Gearbox be so cruel and allow in-game advertising to pervade their fantastic games, such as their award-winning Brothers in Arms series?
Gearbox recently posted an update on their blog that sets the record straight on in-game advertising – they explain how it will work, how they value integrity and authenticity like all of us gamers. Hit the jump to find out what Gearbox says!
Randy P from Gearbox clarifies that Gearbox also hates exploitive advertising and that they will always put quality first. Randy says:
We partnered with Double Fusion because we believe they approach this kind of thing with the right attitude and because we wanted to be in control of these kinds of decisions for some of our games. It is important for us to ensure that we’re able to keep our artistic interests in mind and that our gamer customers’ interests are cared for.
Randy goes on to explain the advantages of in-game advertising. Of these, the most interesting one would have to be where he details how it can help in-game authenticity. You will notice the Philips logo from 1944 in the screenshot above. It is used in Hell’s Highway to ensure a degree of authenticity, just like it actually was in 1944.
I think Gearbox is doing the right thing here. I love the Brothers in Arms series and I like how Gearbox has maintained authenticity levels in it. If in-game advertising is going to be anything like what Gearbox has in mind, I’m all for it! I’m still not too sure, though. It may not take too long for “exploitive advertising” to seep in!