You know when you wake up and you’re half asleep and you see a story and think ‘no, that’s ridiculous’ and ignore it? And then it’s still there an hour later? Yeah, so this is one of those stories. Are you ready?
A few months ago Sony filed a patent application to allow their systems to stop play and show you adverts. In the middle of playing. By stopping it. It’s an application, so hopefully it won’t be granted and even if it is it doesn’t mean that they’ll ever use it. They won’t. Ever.
Right? I mean, I’ll drink Mtn Dew until the cows come home, but stop my run on Tony Hawk HD to show me an advert for that fizzy green toxic juice and I’ll be throwing my console through the nearest window.
It talks about slowing down the game, showing a flashing light, pausing it and then running the advert before rewinding the game back a bit and then kicking off again. It’s like all my nightmares in one application.
This won’t happen. It can’t happen. If this is Sony’s big E3 thing they can stick their Play B3yond well b3yond where the sun doesn’t shine. Oh well, at least it wasn’t Microsoft, but then they’ve got more than enough ads going on.
Unless… Oh, no, it couldn’t be.
Read the application. It’ll make your skin crawl. I’m going back to sleep.
Thanks, GAF.
Jim Hargreaves
I could deal with ads during otherwise-blank loading screens (say, via a banner at the bottom) but stopping a game would be criminal.
bmg_123
I don’t even know about -that-. I would at least want the game to be subsidized/cheap for this to happen, otherwise I’m paying £40 for an advert every chapter. Although a loading-screen advert could be a good substitute for the online pass system.
stueeeee
If remember rightly they did this on WipeOut HD during loading and people were saying the game was waiting for the advert instead of the other way round. Didn’t last long.
gideon1451
Advertising everywhere has ruined so many things.
Youles
Indeed, silly advertising and programs having sponsors.
“Pampers. The official nappy of the 2012 Euros”.
Forrest_01
Haha!
Or “Tampax – It’s what the olympians use”
jikomanzoku
I saw one t’other day that began with the words “As a nurse blah blah” (or summat to that effect) whilst the small print at the bottom of the screen said “representation of a nurse”. She then went to see her dentist who scanned her face for plaque with a tricorder, but of course thats not real, so the small print said “representation”. So an actor, goes to see another actor in a fake dental surgery where he uses make believe equipment to point out her teeth are fucked unless she buys this particular brand of toothpaste – it’s ace.
KeRaSh
All non-Plus subscribers will have to watch an ad during online play every 3 minutes while Plus subscribers can pretend they are at the shooting range killing frozen targets. ;)
Zephyre
Oddly I don’t mind real advertising in games as long as it’s in context – billboards in racing games, branded vending machines in offices, that kind of thing.
This kind of thing is another level of evil. If they release a game for free and support it with this type of advertising then OK, I can make a choice to avoid that game. If it finds its way into existing games I’ve paid for then I won’t be a happy bunny.
bmg_123
This is living.
gernboes
Ooohhh, so the big new feature for PSN Plus will be that we dont have to endure this? :)
nofi
That’s possible, yes.
bmg_123
Well, guess I’ll just leave this brick suspended above my PS3, and my Xbox too if Microsoft don’t get their stuff together…
Crocadillian
Don’t suggest that o___o.
bigbaldwolf
This is pure madness. They can’t do this. Well they can but it would be commercial suicide for them to stop your game and show an advert. I think this is too crazy for even Sony to do
Youles
This won’t happen. Developers would not want their product and subsequent experience interrupted with an add which would leave Sony out of favour with them.
psychobudgie
If the game in question is free then fine. If they however just charged £40 for the game they can blow it out their arse (sponsored by Super Lax)
TSBonyman
It’s the future of gaming.. :/