Ads in Xbox Live: Do You Care?

Written by Marc DeAngelis

Wednesday, 01 July 2009 20:22

Tired of advertisements populating the city streets, the airwaves, and you computer screen? Well open up for more, because it looks like Microsoft will be unlocking the floodgates for ads on Xbox Live. Personally, I'm a bit pissed. Hit the link for my argument.

My first point has to do with Live's pricing. If anyone should be seeking ad revenue, it's Sony or Nintendo, who charge $0.00 USD for their online services. Sure, Live is seen as a better service than PSN and Nintendo's barely-there online play, but it costs at least $50 per year. Most services offer to block ads if the user pays a fee. We've already paid a fee and this is what we get in return?

And hasn't Microsoft got enough cross-marketing to glean even more profits from Live? "Hey there! Buy Windows Media Center Edition so you can stream your movies all around your house! And get a Zune while you're at it - you can purchase songs right from the Live Marketplace! Oh and you better go download MSN Messenger so you can chat with your friends while you play."

All this and they won't even provide shipping boxes for defective 360s anymore.

Some may say, "Ads are no big deal. I just ignore them." The truth is, you do pay attention to them. Advertisements are glanced at for less than a second, yet they still manage to sell you an iPod, sandwich, or bottle of Johnny Walker. I may sound like I need a tin-foil hat, but believe me, ads have powerful effects, from convincing you to purchase something to, over the long term, affecting ideals and behaviors.

Plus, it's getting harder and harder to ignore ads, not exactly because of their content, but because of the amount of them and their presentation. Consciously count how many advertisements and commercials you see in a day and you'll be amazed. Do you really want to see more ads through one of the mediums that have remained relatively ad-free?

Not only that, but advertisers are finding new ways to force or trick you into viewing the ad. Many video streaming sites have begun showing un-skippable ad clips before the video you really want to see. In print, advertisers have disguised themselves by formatting ads as if they are articles written by the magazine or paper, only padding the "advertisement" fine print to the bottom of the page. Basically, you're being hacked.

There are already some ads and product placement in games, but publishers tend to keep it to a minimum. And that's where it should be kept. As the current trendsetter of online gaming, if Microsoft begins to support ads, one can only assume what Live, PSN, and any other online platform will look like in a few years. And people wonder why Microsoft has such a bad reputation. Ayn Rand fans are sure to disagree, but this seems like pure greed to me. Keep the ads out of Live, Microsoft.

Comments (2) Add Comment

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written by SuicideNinja.com, July 02, 2009

Even though I've never paid full price for a year of XBL, this is a bit annoying. Unfortunately, advertising is where money is in entertainment and media. We buy DVD's or overpriced BD's and are still subjected to previews and advertisements before the flick. Sure, you can skip them most of the time, but I'd rather just get to the movie I paid for. Professional sports is littered with sponsers and ads as well. It seems like we can't really escape it. I rarely watch television but when I do, I certainly am not a fan of advertisments in any form.

Gold members should get the option to turn off the ads if they are going to pay the money. However, I might be willing to have ads if I didn't have to make the decision every year about whether I was going to continue my member fees.

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written by Utopaline, July 03, 2009

Meh, doesn't really bother me. The press release from MS just said that to use last.fm that you either need to pay or deal with ads...no different than the real radio unless you get satellite radio, and that is a paid subscription. Not really a big deal to me.