News

Sony files patent to have ads interrupt games
Posted: 25.05.2012 17:27 by JonahFalcon Comments: 12
Sony has filed a new patent that's bound to create an angry outcry from gamers that will allow ads to actually interrupt games.

 
The patent shows the sequence of what would happen in, say, a racing game. The player will get all sorts of warning flashes and sounds, then the ad would break in. After that, play would continue.

Before gamers raise objections, it must be noted that PC and iOS gamers are already familiar with ad-supported games, and that some gamers might not mind paying, say, 50% the normal cost of a game if all it means is that once every two hours, for instance, they have to watch an ad.

Furthermore, Sony and other companies patent a lot of things. Sony, for instance, patented an anti-rental tech that never came to fruition.

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Comments

By djole381 (SI Elite) on May 25, 2012
djole381
Somehow I don't see this becoming a reality. I would never buy a game that interrupts me with ads while I'm having fun. I have TV for that XD
By JonahFalcon (SI Elite) on May 25, 2012
JonahFalcon
And if you could buy a new game for the fraction of the cost?
By djole381 (SI Elite) on May 25, 2012
djole381
Just not worth it. I buy games to enjoy them. If I wanted to watch ads, I'd simply turn on the TV.
By danfreeman (SI Core) on May 25, 2012
danfreeman
OH MY GOOOOOOOOOOOOOODDDD!!!!!!Really sony?Why would you think we would buy this?One of the many reasons why people play videogames is because you can constantly have fun playing and not be interrupted like on tv,this is also why youtube is so popular,it`s ads are barely there most of the time.Besides there`s already ads in videogames,bionic commando was chock full of pepsi and shit.This sort of thing will kill any immersion you may have in the game,imagine finally defeating a powerful boss and instead of savoring your win you get a commercial for some shit product that you don`t care about.This is beyond stupid,the guy who came up with this should be exiled from humanity itself.
By JonahFalcon (SI Elite) on May 25, 2012
JonahFalcon
Again, most patents are almost never used. And even if Sony did, this could be for special versions of games that cost less. The regular version costs $10 as a PSN game, the ad-supported version costs $5.
By obiwanmccartney (SI Veteran Newbie) on May 26, 2012
obiwanmccartney
Thats funny. Sony is going to try and drive gamers back to the PC they were trying to kill in the first place :P
By SirRoderick (SI Elite) on May 26, 2012
SirRoderick
Well FUCK YOU TOO!

Seriously, they cannot be that out of touch, no way is this going in to use.
By nocutius (SI Elite) on May 26, 2012
nocutius
I'll rather wait 2 years for the game to become practically free than tolerate ads that interrupt you. Ads in the background or on loading screen are one thing but this is simply too much.

This might be ok for games that you only play to waste time and not to actually enjoy. I can appreciate that many people are OK with stuff like this but i'm going to avoid games with this system.
By JonahFalcon (SI Elite) on May 26, 2012
JonahFalcon
Once again, if you were given the CHOICE, what does it matter to you?
By nocutius (SI Elite) on May 26, 2012
nocutius
It doesn't really since I don't plan to ever expose myself to that thing :)

It just adds another layer of things that can potentionaly go wrong: "The ad server can not be reached, try again later..."
By FoolWolf (SI Elite) on May 29, 2012
FoolWolf
I don't like this and I wouldn't buy a game that has this option even if it should be cheaper for me.
As with having a choice - it is mostly made up for you anyway. The game has it or it doesn't - seldom they have a game that is either you see commercials and pay 5€ or you don't see commercials you pay 10€ - unless of course you take Android games where they all are like this...

As long as the ads in the game don't mess anything up - I wouldn't mind it terribly - but as this is usually hand in hand with streaming ad servers, collecting data etc - I am more against it on an ethical level.
By HenoKutus (SI Core) on Aug 23, 2012
HenoKutus
Maybe for The PS6 in the year 2073!