Waiting for Battlefield 2142? Don't bother

[DeeBye]

Even though I'm not much of a FPS gamer, I know that the Battlefield series is incredibly popular. The latest installment, Battlefield 2142, is due out this week.

There is something you should know about BF 2142 before you buy it.

http://uk.gamespot.com/pc/action/battlefie...=6159893&page=2

On a peculiar note, even though the world is ending in 2142, it appears that advertising will still be around. Battlefield 2142 features in-game ads, though we didn't get to see them firsthand during our testing. Still, there is a printed disclaimer that comes with the game telling you that Battlefield 2142 will analyze certain "advertising data" on your machine to determine what ads to display to you. Ironically, EA says that if you don't want your data shared with its advertising partner then "do not install or play the software on any platform that is used to connect to the Internet." But that would pretty much defeat the purpose of playing Battlefield 2142, wouldn't it?

In a nutshell, BF 2142 installs spyware on your computer and sends the information it gathers to ad companies, who then determine what in-game ads are displayed. EA is giving you the opportunity to pay full retail price for this awesome feature. What the hell is wrong with EA? Do they actually think their customers will appreciate this "feature"?

[Alram]

Despicable.
I have reposted this on another forum I frequent. The more negative reactions there are to this on the net, the better. I certainly hope it is not a harbinger of things to come. Can you imagine a Barbarian using Dial Soap or a Sorceress who requires antiperspirant!

You ought to post this on the AB too.

[kandrathe]

Even though I'm not much of a FPS gamer, I know that the Battlefield series is incredibly popular. The latest installment, Battlefield 2142, is due out this week.

There is something you should know about BF 2142 before you buy it.

http://uk.gamespot.com/pc/action/battlefie...=6159893&page=2
In a nutshell, BF 2142 installs spyware on your computer and sends the information it gathers to ad companies, who then determine what in-game ads are displayed. EA is giving you the opportunity to pay full retail price for this awesome feature. What the hell is wrong with EA? Do they actually think their customers will appreciate this "feature"?

This is when a game begs "Hack me!" and normally rule following people set aside their morality since the company has as well. I will vote with my wallet and defer purchase until the product is acceptable.

[Concillian]

Even aside from that, I found the demo unimpressive.

I had BF1942 and BFV. Both were great concepts that were plagued by poor release code and slow fixes. They worked the bugs out eventually but by then it was too late. I waited on BF2 and it had the same pattern. Buggy at first and the people who bought it that I've talked with have said it took 1 - 1.5 years before the game got to the point it should've been at release.

They aren't fooling me again. I'm going to wait to see how Quake Wars is. Several people I've spoken to who I played BFV with and who bought BF2 are doing the same. Quake Wars isn't due out until March '07, but I'll wait.

[NiteFox]

Actually, I'm probably the only person conflicted by the news.

I've always liked the Battlefield games, but the major problem I've had with BF2 is the netcode (mucho disconnecto, and when you're spending seven minutes connecting to a lowping server and getting booted straight away, that sort of thing chafes) and that abysmal server browser, the demo of 2142 at least proving to be vastly superior in both respects. As far as Quake Wars supposedly being the superior product, all I can say is that ID have disappointed me more in the past than DICE have, and from what I've seen of ETQW it's been a vast triumph of style over substance.

About the only thing that (previously) I was leery of regarding 2142 was the fact that everything useful (Like the medic's defribilator) is an unlock, meaning you're going to have to put some time in to actually be any use to the squad. Unlike BF2's unlocks (Which, aside from the medic's special weapon, were pretty unspectacular and near-useless) this pretty much means that you're going to have to adapt to the game early to stand any real chance once the game hits its peak. This means that late adapters (after any potential scenarios where EA admit that this spyware thing is a huge mistake and removes it, and the chances of them doing that before they've milked as much cash out of it are slim) who pick the game up some several months down the line are going to be pretty much stranded as the community moves onto different games.

The truth in my mind is this: Hell, yeah it's sleazy business practice on EA's part, but I can honestly say that I can ignore the in-game adverising billboards (however illusion shattering that may be, I've long since accepted the fact that you'll see things in games that aren't entirely in-character) and while I'm uncomfortable with the fact that EA are harvesting my consumer idendity and selling them on to their "partners", that's also another fact of Internet life I've long been accustomed to.

What I am worried about is what is very obviously an abusable hole in a system's security, opened by EA in the attempt to make another quick buck to stack atop their large pile.

[Munkay]

Even though I'm not much of a FPS gamer, I know that the Battlefield series is incredibly popular. The latest installment, Battlefield 2142, is due out this week.

There is something you should know about BF 2142 before you buy it.

http://uk.gamespot.com/pc/action/battlefie...=6159893&page=2
In a nutshell, BF 2142 installs spyware on your computer and sends the information it gathers to ad companies, who then determine what in-game ads are displayed. EA is giving you the opportunity to pay full retail price for this awesome feature. What the hell is wrong with EA? Do they actually think their customers will appreciate this "feature"?

But we all need advertising in our games to make them feel "more realistic"!

Nothing paints the picture in a fictional world more than advertisments for companies that couldn't possibly exist outside of our specific time, setting, and cultural/political/economic factors. Post-apocolyptic world? Slap that advertisement for Gillete razors right on the wall. Cool, shaving is definitely a priority between killing people! It already feels more real.

Cheers,

Munk

[Doc]

But we all need advertising in our games to make them feel "more realistic"!

Nothing paints the picture in a fictional world more than advertisments for companies that couldn't possibly exist outside of our specific time, setting, and cultural/political/economic factors. Post-apocolyptic world? Slap that advertisement for Gillete razors right on the wall. Cool, shaving is definitely a priority between killing people! It already feels more real.

Cheers,

Munk

No razor formed against me shall prosper.

:lol:

[GhastMaster]

But we all need advertising in our games to make them feel "more realistic"!

Nothing paints the picture in a fictional world more than advertisments for companies that couldn't possibly exist outside of our specific time, setting, and cultural/political/economic factors. Post-apocolyptic world? Slap that advertisement for Gillete razors right on the wall. Cool, shaving is definitely a priority between killing people! It already feels more real.

Cheers,

Munk

I've always hated the fake ads in games. I wish they were real. From an economic standpoint I'm suprised ads were not inserted a long time ago(or were they?). However, I take an extreme dislike to any spyware. Sure I would have the choice to not play, but I think it would be better to get a reduced monthly fee(for online games) if I chose to allow the spyware that runs the ads. They can always keep the ads in the game that were originally in the game in the case that I choose not to accept the spyware(a default ad). I do not know if that would be possible to run seperate ads for different people, on a server that runs the game. I would say, "Advertisements will reduce the cost of the game for the end user!" However, we all know, that is most likely not going to be the case in the short run of things. For now I am going to stick to Diablo and CS:S.

[Luminon]

From penny arcade:

Battlefield 2142 does not collect any personally identifiable information. (or so they say)

[NiteFox]

From penny arcade:

Battlefield 2142 does not collect any personally identifiable information. (or so they say)

Damn your fast fingers, I was just about to post that.

So instead, I'll just finish up with the line that I would have ended on:

As the bird said, "O rly?"

[Luminon]

Damn your fast fingers, I was just about to post that.

So instead, I'll just finish up with the line that I would have ended on:

As the bird said, "O rly?"

I was just thinking actualy, they might not be collecting personally identifiable information now, but with the way they worded it in the disclaimer they could change it to do so at a later date without notification.

Edit: oh, and IIRC, sony online entertainment is putting this in their mmorpg's as well, but lowering the subsription cost in return.

Edit 2: By the way, ads in videogames can work if done right. In splinter cell: chaos theory's penthouse level for instance, you rapell past an AXE billboard, which really fit the environment, and wasn't actually visible unless you looked back at it.

[NiteFox]

But the rest of the product placement in SCCT was just clumsy. Like Sam Fisher proudly displaying a pack of Airwaves™ to the camera before taking a pellet, or the two guards discussing the latest PoP game.

[Mithrandir]

Am I the only one who thinks that this isn't that big of a deal? If it's the same system they used in that SWAT game previously, then all they do is analyze which in-game adds the player stares at the longest. So basically if you go AFK while standing in front of a poster you really throw their research off:)

Obvisouly it is pretty stupid. But the White Sox accepted 500k from 7-11 to change the start of their game times to 7:11. Is it lame for sponsorship to affect baseball this much? Yes. Is it even lamer to turn the 500k down? Oh hell yes.

[Munkay]

Am I the only one who thinks that this isn't that big of a deal? If it's the same system they used in that SWAT game previously, then all they do is analyze which in-game adds the player stares at the longest. So basically if you go AFK while standing in front of a poster you really throw their research off:)

It's another step towards the wrong direction. The idea data mining for in game ads would be looked at as absurd just a few years ago. Think about it, would you have found it odd to have your armor imbued by Charsi using a Stanely Heavy Hammer© Available at your local ACE Hardware ©? Furthermore, does this add anything to the game? Is it a good thing?

Perhaps ads in game by themselves aren't such a bad thing. I'll conceed that argument [though I personally disagree with it - it doesn't add "realism" to the game, no matter what "expert" croney a company highers to tell me otherwise]. The fact that they've opened the door to data mining for the sake of ads is the scarier part. What puts the nail in the "big deal" coffin for me is the inability to turn any of this off.

Obvisouly it is pretty stupid. But the White Sox accepted 500k from 7-11 to change the start of their game times to 7:11. Is it lame for sponsorship to affect baseball this much? Yes. Is it even lamer to turn the 500k down? Oh hell yes.

Eh? Maybe if the money gained by these advertising companies somehow made the game much better (and I do mean much, not marginally) you'd have a valid argument. But there doesn't seem to be any correlation between the game quality and this new income. Just looks like the slave drivers over at EA got their wallets a bit fatter.

Cheers,

Munk