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RoxStar

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Is it just me or are videogame ads become less and less respectful? I'm specifically targeting members of the armed forces. Here’s a Battlefield 2:Modern Combat ad I just came across

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Well its no wonder the media are jumping on the bad videogames bandwagon! "Click to Kill"? How stupid do yo have to be? In Game Informer last month I spotted an ad for the same game with the tag "No one in their right minds wants this battle to end!" EA has also started a fictitious Blog to spur excitement in their game. http://kenchappel.blogspot.com/

 

Heres a quote from the "reporter's" blog

 

"John Lennon sang, "Imagine all the people, living life in peace (uuuh uh oh-oh-oh)", but Pops was right. The man was a hippy and a damned fool. War gives people purpose and a sense of identity. It's good for the economy and, more importantly, it makes for great, high-impact, hard-hitting entertainment news."

 

 

 

I also just watched a Socom: US Navy SEALS 3 commercial that shower a whole bunch of SEALS destroy a village, with the title "This how SEALS have fun" (or something similar).

 

My point is, these advertisements are fueling the "Evil Games" bonfire. If Advertisers would get smart, then we would have less arrows being shot at the video game industry.

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You may have a point there. It can make you wonder what kind of people the game advertisers think they are selling to. Mind you, there have been some pretty tasteless ads for films in the past as well, so I guess it isn't soley the game market. On the whole, mass marketing of many kinds tends to feel... patronising or insulting in some way. Maybe it's feeling like a statistic in a demographic?

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Meh, I get bored unless I have a reason to fight. Got to have a good story.

 

Besides, if you want to see how the game really is download all trailers and gameplay videos you can find...

 

And this whole "video games are evil" started long before this stuff. Sure this isn't helping... but its not like cutting these ads will stop the complaints.

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No, but they're not helping. Well, they are helping putting more oil on the fire and giving ammunition to the anti-gaming activists.

 

When you want to prove that gaming is not all about mindless barbarians shooting and killing each other, you don't hand them more ammo. This definitely doesn't help the industry's credibility.

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When I talk to adults about video games they are unaware of how advanced games have gotten. They think you load up, grab a gun and run through blasting for no reason....

 

I have to literally explain you don't just do that, there are storylines and reasons for this (well, in most games) I try to get the point accross that they are like interactive movies... not just crap... its a very common misconception. After they realise this they drop it, and are like... "oh"

 

I mean, they know they watch movies with this stuff, or worse, so when they find out that a video game is just a movie that you semi control... they can't complain.

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I saw one I thought was funny, but a bit surprising given the current climate.

 

It was a flash banner add that started with an image of beautiful midwestern american countryside, and a nice looking farming family. The words were "Visit the wonders of America" or something.

 

Then a Saladin-style warrior comes in, hacks the words the pieces with his sword and then bashes the family off screen.

Final text reads "Expand your Empire!". I think it was an age of empires ad.

 

---

 

I'm not that bothered by those ads personally, you should see the ones you get in the UK gaming mags... tend to involve mostly naked girls or huge amounts of carnage... thats the sort of thing that gives games companies a bad name, and makes them vunerable to the claim that they market these violent games at kids.

I remember one add that had a girl in a leather bikini on all fours with a leash on.. can't remember what game it was for though....

 

You should have seen the ads they tried for Carmageddon back in the day...

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"John Lennon sang, "Imagine all the people, living life in peace (uuuh uh oh-oh-oh)", but Pops was right. The man was a hippy and a damned fool. War gives people purpose and a sense of identity. It's good for the economy and, more importantly, it makes for great, high-impact, hard-hitting entertainment news."

*shock*dies*...

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Somehow I doubt that very much. I doubt that the words "click2kill" would frenzy anyone into such an idiotic accusation as to say "Dear Lord, they're sending messages to my son/daughter/wife." The point of these games is basically, shoot to kill. What would you prefer it say? "Click to recieve free rabbits?" There is no "bad image" given to gaming by this ad, nor by the blog.

 

You're taking this a mighty bit too seriously.

 

And I don't even play BF2...

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Heres a quote from the "reporter's" blog

 

"John Lennon sang, "Imagine all the people, living life in peace (uuuh uh oh-oh-oh)", but Pops was right. The man was a hippy and a damned fool. War gives people purpose and a sense of identity. It's good for the economy and, more importantly, it makes for great, high-impact, hard-hitting entertainment news."

whoever said that must die! John Lennon was the greatest artist ever! :tsk:

 

good for the economy? if burning off 500 gallons of fuel for some planes to get to Iraq is good for the economy, then i must be missing something. and that hundreds of people die is good for the economy, i dont think so..."high-impact, hard-hitting entertainment"...sounds like the press! :tsk:

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Yet they lack sufficient evidence now don't they. This is no different than claims against gaming made by Jack Thompson.

 

Well, they do lack evidence but they can use these various ads for their propaganda machine. Jack Thompson makes stupid claims about things he barely knows about, in most cases, the content of the video games themselves.

A bunch of sociologists and psychologists do complain about the ads themselves. Can we blame them when such stupid ads are made?

 

Except the weird thing is now gamers are complaining that ads are giving them a bad image?

 

Of course. When non-gamers, who think that games are just about mindless killing, see these ads, their opinion that games are intelligent entertainment won't change.

Add to that the media's obsession about showing footage from only the most violent video games, showing only the violence in your own ads doesn't help your cause.

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That is all fine and dandy, but BF2 is meant for killing. Any way you look at it. It's a good FPS I'm sure, with a story and stuff, but when it comes down to it... you're shooting Nazis. :p

 

Yeah, I'm aware that the media has an obsession with games like GTA and Manhunt and stuff. It really doesn't matter. I would compare it to a high school rumor that has been spread around about you or something along those lines. All you have to do is say "I don't give a f***." and be done with it. So imagewise, gamers have nothing to worry about. What are they going to do? Censor us? :| And why does the opinion of non-gamers matter? What makes us want their acceptance so? *** em. They want to think it's mindless entertainment; let them think that. Same thing goes for these ads. So they appeal to people. The devil lived in rock and roll, rap, and now video games I guess. I don't think any of us gave a damn about what other people thought about our musical preference.

 

When you want to prove that gaming is not all about mindless barbarians shooting and killing each other, you don't hand them more ammo. This definitely doesn't help the industry's credibility.

 

Yet the game is about shooting and killing in WWII. You can't put it any other way. I have yet to see how blogs about violence advertising for a violent video game give the industry a bad rap. If violence is a good part of your game, why hide it? Does someone who is looking at a BF2 ad need to be looking at kittens invading Normandy?

 

If anything, we aren't helping the industry's credibility when we hide and wish things toned down for a better reputation. Why? Cause only a few are standing up to the media. Rockstar takes a hell of a lot of flak for its games, yet it keeps on trucking.

 

That's all we need.

 

post scriptum: that was a really long post

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