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All of the latest Mists of Pandaria newsBlizzard looking to hire "product placement" producer for next-gen MMO
by Mathew McCurley 
Jan 24th 2012 at 2:00PM
What does this mean for the next-gen MMO currently roasting slowly at Blizzard's complex? We don't really know. If we look at other games that have had advertising, it's usually in the form of billboards or sponsorships, featuring products that you and I know of. The possibilities for where ads could go within the game world of an MMO are endless, but it does preclude some settings and time periods. Intriguing, no? Something to freak out about? Definitely not.
Filed under: Blizzard, News items
Reader Comments (Page 3 of 3)
necro Jan 24th 2012 3:47PM
It's about time Hooters opened up a franchise in Silvermoon City!
malaika Jan 24th 2012 4:04PM
Blood elves? No.
Draenei? YES!
Race Banyon Jan 24th 2012 3:55PM
Perhaps they are doing this so the game can be commercially sponsored, in whole or part, thereby eliminating or at least reducing monthly fees and increasing the overall number of players. I would be more than happy to a certain level of branding in trade for not playing a monthly subscription. However, if they intend on charging a subscription then they should keep the ads out of MY DAMN game! LOL ;)
Edymnion Jan 24th 2012 4:31PM
Well, Blizz already announced that it would be aiming the new MMO at the "casual market", so something Zynga like where there is no subscription fee to play, but that has ads and microtransactions everywhere is probably a safe bet at this point.
RetPallyJil Jan 24th 2012 4:26PM
World of Rock n Roll Racing ?
Amaxe Jan 24th 2012 5:03PM
Hmm, perhaps Blizz will accidentally sell ad space to gold sellers and leveling services? I seem to recall that happened on their website once.
lividmonkey Jan 24th 2012 5:44PM
Mists of Panda Express? The boat leading to Pandaria is called the Wanchai Ferry? Cooking trainer there is P.F. Chang? Do they brew Tsingtao? I don't care as long as the first quest is called Enter the Dragon and the last one is The Last Dragon.
Rassilon Jan 24th 2012 5:44PM
Can't help but wonder if Paul Christoforo has applied for the job.
omedon666 Jan 24th 2012 5:49PM
Some excerpts from my friends and I discussing this on facebook:
"I've seen the rise and fall of empires...from my scenic room at the Holiday Inn! Government discounts available!"
"The chill you feel is the herald of Dairy queen's two for one blizzard bargain!"
"Tha'Ronja sees all! And you can too, in just one hour at your local lenscrafters!"
"Stay... Enjoy your final moments... At Shady Pines retirement home, affordable rates for your precious elder loved ones!"
"Death is all that you will find here... if you wait too long to capitalize on the Brick's furniture clearance, act now!"
"Eternal agony awaits you, unless you take extra strength Tylenol, available at your local drugstore!"
"You are not prepared... for these savings!"
And, from the "what if it spread beyond Blizzard" bonus file...
"Soon you will fight. For now, you must get a great tasting 5 layer burrito from Taco Bell! Open late!"
Cyno01 Jan 24th 2012 5:52PM
Blizzard should have merged with Valve, not Activision. WoW needs more hats damnit!
That would be pretty sweet, steam and battle.net as one, cross game trading for everything. Although I have traded wow stuff for steam stuff, but only with people I know.
Drakkenfyre Jan 25th 2012 3:14AM
No, with the way Valve became a money-grubbing company, we would get every single kind of novelty item with a ridiculous price tag.
Launching Portal 2 with almost $90 of DLC on day 1, including emotes for the characters, was beyond low. And patches to TF2 where the new, rare items cost $17 if you don't want to wait weeks for it to drop is equally as low.
Cyno01 Jan 25th 2012 11:54AM
Vanity items /= DLC. Theres been one DLC pack for Portal 2 so far and it was free. Aside from L4D2, valve really doesn't make you pay for content. Plus none of the stuff they sell really impacts gameplay. I find all the tf2 weapons to be pretty balanced.
And at least allmost everything has a chance to drop in game for free, that's better than the pet store and TCG.
darksky Jan 24th 2012 6:03PM
I used to joke with guildies that I was exalted with Pizza Hut because my cooking skill was too low. Who knows, maybe in Titan it actually will be!
(I can see it now... Exalted rep with your favorite store/restaurant faction automatically gives you a 10% discount on purchases from the store in real life... I'm starting to like this!)
Hob Jan 24th 2012 8:10PM
In the film, "Total Recall", there's a newspaper called "Mars Today", with the exact font and typography as "USA Today".
Just about every other episode of Seinfeld has characters enjoying some named product, such as Yoo-Hoo, Chunky candy bars, Junior Mints, and so on. You can often see signs in the background, such as a classic "Coca-Cola" sign with a few letters faded out. It could be that I don't get out much, but I've never heard serious complaints about product-placement in Seinfeld.
Would "Portal" suck if it turned out that the Twinkie was a lie, instead of the cake?
Hmmm...
Drakkenfyre Jan 25th 2012 3:14AM
Go watch "The Island", I lost count at 26 product placements.
Things that didn't even make sense. It's supposed to be 2025 yet the clones were playing a virtual reality game with the original XBox logo? They thought they were the last people alive on Earth, yet they didn't question why EVERYTHING they wore was branded with popular brands? They had health "bars" with Aquafina water, WHEN THE ENTIRE WORLD WAS SUPPOSED TO BE IN A POST-APOCOLYPTIC STATE? The movie begins with the main character holding up a Puma shoe, and asking "Where's my other shoe?"
And slow camera shots where the camera focuses on a product, while the star drinks it?
There's realistic product placement, then "f!@# me like I'm a commercial, and whore me out to every company who will buy a piece of me."
Hob Jan 25th 2012 3:29PM
Yes, there's realistic product placement, and lousy product placement.
If they're hiring a specialist for product placement, it makes me think it won't be shoehorned by meddling execs. Could I be wrong? Sure. But the idea of a specialist makes me think otherwise.
undeadgoat Jan 24th 2012 11:20PM
If it makes the game cheaper, I'm all for it, but if it kills the gameplay experience, I'm right out. However, I am one of those people who is more distracted by fake brands and label-hiding than "promotional consideration," so if there's a modern/near future component to this game I will probably be super fine with it.
detailbear Jan 25th 2012 10:51PM
When I first read that, images from City of Heroes, Doom and Sims came to mind. If they have in-game bill boards, I could see actual advertising on them. They could even have an area like Times Square or (formerly?) the Ginza district in Tokyo showing commercials. As long as it's not the equivalent of the square between the AH and the bank.