So I own WipeOut HD on the PS3 and I read on Joystiq that Sony has just injected this futuristic racer with advertising after a recent patch. Let it be said that I haven’t played it recently and don’t want to check for ads. Instead I want to briefly discuss the bane on video game advertising coming from a person who works in the marketing industry. That explosion in the picture is Sony’s potential profits from the game taking a dip due to reduced consumer confidence.
First watch the video proof that ads were added to WipeOut Hd. Video Embedding is disabled and it seems to be the only good video currently so I’ll add the link : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kX4f9zts6JM
Once you have watched the video, then you can see where the rage comes from. I am angry that ads were added to an already complete game through either a patch of the online service. I am angry that people out there paid money for the privilege to see advertising. I am angry most of all that the loading ads hurt game performance.
Performance. This is the factor of playing games that I highly prize. A fast, responsive game is much much better than a poor performing game. WipeOut HD actually loses performance from the ads in the form of longer loading times. To make this absolutely clear, it means that the load time was INCREASED in order to finish the ad or to render the ad. The video makes shows the extra time that could be spent racing instead of watching ads which make no sense in the future. The game already has made up future advertising on the cars.
I am going to prevent my copy of WipeOut HD from being patched. I do not care about playing the game online. It is only a matter of time before Sony has to deal with the backlash from gamers. I am glad Joystiq wrote about this story because seeing ads really fires me up. This move sets a bad precedent where any game developer could slip in advertising a month or two after they have collected the $60 from consumers.
UPDATE: Blog sources are saying that Sony has removed the loading ads so they can make sure that they are not hurting performance. This is a hallow victory since this just means that the ads will be back in the future. I think that free games are the only ones that can get away with advertising
