Blizzard's next-gen MMOG Titan to include in-game ads?

If this article is accurate then In-game ads = F2P game. My guess is that they are looking at the strategy F2P games like GW2 are using and see potential, but still want to generate money in case the game generates little income.

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Just by reading the full text from the job listing at Blizzard site you can realize the whole story. I don't know from where GS came with this "in-game ads"... Get views by writing such news (where you can quickly see that a trainee guy wrote such guessing) is not a good way to keep reliable.

@gveiga Oh yeah, there is a ton of rampant speculation going on in these comments. That or trolling.

Man... looks that they misread it, isn`t it a product placement from the next-gen MMO to other medias?.... "-Be the key evangelist for producing products which expand the next-gen MMO brand outside of the gaming industry"... (edit to remove strange characters from the text copied from blizz site)

Maybe they decide to go F2P? Or at least pay once for the game, no subscription.

@PDTECRJ Yep, spot on. I very much doubt there'd be pop-ups and banners as that would completely kill any atmosphere, but billboards in the background and small details on objects would be fine. At least we can play without being arsed anyway :P

Should i use Flyng mount ,rocket Or redbull? :D

@ghostXzero you are one of player who were said that swtor will end wow ye? sadly there's nothing new in swtor neither will be GW 2 yet, even Raiderz from perfect world looks similar Gw 2 with some new variations For MMORPG.

I can see where they could put ads in the game that would not be annoying in terms of placing them in the GUI and more but as for items in the game well this will only work if the mmorpg is based off modern times. Is this the hint it will be ?

Meh, don't care. Stopped being interested in Blizzard products a long while ago.

if the adds fit in the game then im fine with it, but if it's pepsi world (bionic commando) like advertisement, it's ugly and a slap in the face for gamers

What would Chuck be without Subway sandwiches and negative references to Zunes? What would Fringe's Observers be without Tabasco sauce? The "let me Bing it" line in Vampire Diaries inspired memes! I say bring the product placement on!

@megakick Really? First of all I put quotations around the word mount. That means that there may not be traditional mounts in this game. For all we know it could work more like GTA where you just find a car on the side of the road and steal it...there's your "mount." In that case, yes...seeing the Toyata symbol on the vehicle somewhere is very subtle. Second of all, even if it were a traditional mount, no one says there's going to be a salesman pitching you the benefits of choosing a Toyota (though in fairness, there could be). That doesn't sound like it's enhancing gameplay very much at all. It likely would simply be a list of vehicles to choose from, taken from real world cars. @Kooken58 Where in this article did they say anything about in-game ads? If the basis of your argument comes from equating product placement with in game ads, then why should we pay to watch any movie or play any game that has product placement? Aren't they making all of their money from the deals they made with those companies? Good luck getting that to happen.

sounds like titan is going to be a free-to-play mmo with the upcoming guild wars 2 being a full fledged mmo that's subscription free, i wouldn't be surprised if blizzard comes up with their own free-to-play mmo

Toyato Tocamo mounts YEAH! Thats' SUBTLE!

If they are going to have ads in this game, it better have no d*mn Monthly fee!!!! Considering how much money they steal from us already, they can easily afford Supporting WoW and titan without a sub fee. Sub fees were needed for games like EQ back when servers and such were expensive and for Indi companies who need to get their foot in the door and dont have nearly as much resources. But considering they are grouped with Activision, they want to horde as much money as possible.

The key words of their quote being, "that enhances the gameplay experience." Say what you will about the company, but there's no way they're going to think static ads on your game screen or absurd branded-item names are going to enhance the gameplay experience.

Did most people writing comments even read the quotes from the story? "Work with major consumer brands to facilitate product placement and licensing within the world of Blizzard Entertainment's next-gen MMO that enhances the gameplay experience." Does anyone really think items like the "Microsoft Sword of Death" or the "Lowes Bow of Courage" would be placed in this game? As someone else already said, product placement is typically subtle. It's seeing a vending machine filled with recognizable items instead of fictional items. It's seeing a Craftsman brand circular saw at a construction site instead of a generic one. Likely at worst you could see a "mount" that is an actual Ford or Toyota vehicle, or drinks you pick up like Coke would give you an energy boost instead of it just being an "energy potion." Some people may not want to see things like that in their video games due to the fact that they want to get as far away from reality as possible, but if the game is set in our world and in a time that makes sense, product placement is another layer of immersion that many people are actually going to appreciate. Until they actually state that this game will be set in some medieval time, or in some other galaxy or world, this should fairly obviously point to this game's setting being our world/universe--or perhaps an alternate timeline in our world (similar to Watchmen). People assuming otherwise are jumping to some pretty ridiculous conclusions.

well now they just dont want all the players money, now they also want other companys money. this feels realy low blizzard you've lost all self respect, along with my respect

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so titan is probably not going to be a medieval game if theres ad placement.. maybe modern time?

WE ARE TITANS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Idiots! Do you even know what "product placement" is? Hint: It's not advertisement in games.

I doubt this would be in the form of in-your-face billboards. Product placement in movies is almost always nearly subliminal. It can be something as simple as having a bottle of Budweiser on a bar in the game. Any item with a recognizable brand appearing in the game would not be out of place. I think the problem with Activi$ion is going to be charges for minor updates, like $5.00 for a new raid or $10.00 for a new zone. And of course the raid will have the item every min-maxxer thinks they HAVE TO HAVE.

"It?s all about the money, money, money We need your money, money, money We just wanna make you dance, Forget about the Price Tag"

I'm afraid we're inviting the devil by saying "i'm ok with ads". Billboard advertising will only be the beginning, soon enough it''ll be advertising movies ingame, links to company websites and even ads becoming part of the actual gameplay....don't be so effin' naiv, ppl !! Aren't we getting bombarded enough with that crap IRL, you wanna invite it into your gaming ? If THAT'S the sort of "realism" gaming is gonna be about i'll be done with it for good.

Tba in 2018 or tba 2022 or 2026 you say it blizzarf

Blizzard making a new IP is certainly interesting. I think last time was Starcraft released in 98.

What gear should I equip for this raid? I have my Ford Staff of Reincarnation, and my Black and Decker Ring of Fire. Or maybe I should use my Kellogg's Mace of Destruction?

"Congratulations warrior! You just got this Great Shadow Sword as a reward! (sponsored by Huggies diapers)." Yeah, makes perfect sense.

Typical, I'm really disliking how Blizzard have become. They've sold out with Pandaria and they'll sell out with Titan, I hope to see them either crash and burn or at least lose enough players to seriously re-think the way they're doing things.

They are going to better advertise the relaese of pandas into their next MMO.

See, I don't mind in-game ads if they're done in a way that makes the world feel more realistic. For instance, if they replaced Burger Town with Burger King, or had Coca Cola Machines and signs for instance. It'd be extremely annoying however if you got them in say... a medieval setting, or a sci-fi post-apocalypse for instance.

Product placement isn't exactly a bad thing. It actually adds to the game world when you see real life movie posters in-game. It adds to the game world if your character is drinking a Coca-Cola or a Pepsi. These things add to a game world... only if the game world is supposed to represent real life. Racing games are all about this with logos all over tracks, and nobody complains because it fits. If anything this should give an indication on the setting of the game, because I doubt we're going to see Coca-Cola logos within a medieval setting. Blizzard isn't -that- retarded.

@warhawk-geeby I agree completely. As long as the advertisements aren't something like an advertising banner that is always running along the bottom of your screen, constantly changing, I don't see what all the anger is about. If you're playing a game set in our world, and people in the background pick up a drink, would you rather it be a Coke, or some random thing called a Zoke? Having real items in the game most definitely adds to the immersion--again, as long as it's set in a world where it makes perfect sense to have it.

Well as the positive guy, I think Blizzard are still one of the best out there at story-telling and one of the best with the cinematics. Things might change, also the ads. Be positive, cause I. still haven't lost MY hope for Blizzard, though only time will tell.

To be honest I don't see what's wrong with product placement, as long as it's subtle and not in your face what's the problem? It would however mean an end to hilarious alternatives such as 'Sprunk' on GTA.. Instead they'd just advertise Sprite.. :(

of course. I wouldn't be surprised if they make us watch a commercial before every cut scene.

New quest: approach the guy with a big gold "!" above his head. "please, can you help me?! A band of wild succulent butterball turkeys designed for the perfect family get together just raided my home! They stole my intensely refreshing coca-cola, the perfect ice cold drink! If you help me, I'll reward you with this gift card from Walmart, with low low prices, always." anyone else think Blizzard is seeing how far they can go and still make money off their name from 10 years ago? Gotta say, not gonna support their games anymore. Pandas, needlessly drawn out and expensive re-makes, and in game ads? Oh my!

Well i got used to ads in game with PS home so this don't really bother me but pshome is f2p. If Blizzard have intention to sell the games,every expansion and make us pay monthly like WOW and after that they want to add ads in game then FY Blizzard

people might not know it but "product placement" isnt normally -blunt- advertising,. it is typically advertising that sortof blends in with the expierience and some may not notice it - it depends. product placement could be anything from the clothes the charecters wear,. to the cars they drive,. things that blend into the experience... if there is going to be product placement hopefully it doesnt distract from the immersion and game itself while playing it. blizzard knows a TON of people are probably going to buy the game and can convince other companies to advertise,. if they can make an extra few $$$ in the process why not,.. but i am hoping for a good game :) -- im not going to hold this againts blizzard. the game isnt out so im not gunna judge if its a good or a bad game yet LOLZ

I cant believe it. Blizzard one of the coolest companies few years ago, now only looks how to make more money like half billion dollar profit last year is not enough.... On the other hand we are still waiting for games announced 2 years ago (SC2, D3..).. :S

@bizuit That is a gross oversimplification of how business works. Yes, it is prudent to hold certain financial reserves when you're running a business, but the rule of thumb when doing anything in this way is that anything designed to increase short-term profits will inevitably impair long-term growth. Blizzard/Activision may be able to ramp up their profits in the short-term by including ads, but there will be enough gamers rebelling against this to cause a dent in their subscription fees and dilute the value of the IP - assuming, of course, that Titan will have subscription fees and not go down the F2P road.

at this rate I won't be gaming soon after +20 years of being an avid fan. The bull**** of games is getting out of control, especially after EA. I miss just "games"..... *sigh*

Isnt the reason we play games is to get away from all this crap? i dont need to see some useless ad of a razor blade in a game i am trying to enjoy, i really do miss the 90s gaming era

@Gelugon_baat, how much do you think it costs to make these games and pay the bills? It doesn't take long for the money to dry up unless companies are always finding new ways to make it, just ask Acclaim. So no, a company can never have enough money because they never know when it will run out.

Guys we are talking about a company here that is still in the process of making diablo 3. This game is so far away from release that this post is going to be ancient by the time the game actually comes out. Hell, you'll all be having your mid life crises by the time this game comes out kids.

If there's going to be ad's they better make it free to play and not both. I remember there being an ad bar on top of the old Battlenet lobby screen and im sure there's one for this new battlenet 2.0 as well... Idk I may get back into Starcraft just to find out.