Why should I or any other rational gamer expect more ads? This will be the last year I ever have to deal with those morons that lost touch with everyone but themselves. Sony is finally back and I am so excited for this new generation!
Expect more Xbox Live ads
By
Eddie Makuch, News Editor
Microsoft says first wave of NUads for online platform have been highly successful, "more investment" planned.
Gamers should expect to see more advertisements on Xbox Live in the time ahead. Microsoft announced this week that its first wave of NUads (short for "natural user-interface ads"), which rolled out during fall 2012, have been highly successful and additional investment in this space is planned.
According to Microsoft, 37 percent of viewers engaged in some way with NUads when prompted with the option to vote. Out of this 37 percent, 71 percent actually voted in a poll. Additionally, 97 percent of those participants saw their vote included in a final tally of votes.
Microsoft general manager of Xbox Live entertainment and advertising Ross Honey claimed the company's NUads have "redefined the 30-second spot." He said that though traditional TV's 30-second spot has not changed much since the 1930s, NUads offer an unprecedented level of consumer engagement.
"These results show that NUads is a real breakthrough in TV advertising, and you can expect more investment from us when it comes to this new ad format and video advertising in general," Honey said in a statement.
Microsoft's NUads launched last year featuring ads from major companies like Subway and Toyota.
By
Eddie Makuch, News Editor
Eddie Makuch (Mack-ooh) is a News Editor at GameSpot. He works out of the company's Boston office in Somerville, Mass., and loves extra chunky peanut butter.
401 comments
1 Like Ads on cable TV are completely different. The producers behind the television shows produce the ads to earn money for their shows. That's about the only way they earn profits. Now when you have a channel like HBO that charges you extra monthly, then, what do you know, there are no ads for the most part. Microsoft is really being greedy on this one, there is no excuse. They are making you pay for their service, which for most people actually offers NOTHING (you're seriously willing to pay a monthly fee because you think it looks a little better and is better organized than PS3? Nice way to justify throwing your money away), while at the same time throwing ads in your face, which they're making even more money off of. Ads on TV would be somewhat equivalent to developers throwing ads in their games, and then giving their games away for free. Kind of like the cell phone games. But what Microsoft is doing is equivalent to HBO charging you monthly and then spamming ads, and then reporting that they're going to add more ads because it's just so damn profitable. I'm no PS3 fanboy, I actually play PC games more than anything, but it's really obvious that Microsoft is exploiting the popularity of their console.
Hmm, to continue paying for ads on my Xbox or to play on my PC for free, ad free. Tough choice M$.
I myself have both systems. DLC is offered on both systems, can't complaining about one without complaining about the other. XBL is much more organized. I'm compairing XBL Gold to PSN Plus, not the free version.
I'm so glad I've made the decision not to buy the next Xbox or PS4. Between $ony making tech to kill used games and some truly terrifying Big Brother tech Xbox has planned, I want nothing more to do with them. I'm going back to PC gaming (Oculus Rift) and will give Android gaming a shot. Innovation does not happen in walled gardens which is what consoles have become. Enough!
1 Like I just dug my ps3 out of the closet, gave it a good dusting, and thoroughly apologized to it for that whole embarrassing xbox...thing.
5 Like I can understand ads on PSN as it's a free service, but on a paid-for service?
No thanks.
2 Like "Highly successful"... funny choice of words. Normally, when you hear words like that, you assume that it's a scenario in which everyone wins.
Nope.
1 Like Xbox live membership owners try to get a point when they respond the claims that "Live should be free" with "you're just envious because I can pay gold and you don't" (shit you not, check article on this site). Trying to defend this with the same point will be the equivalent of "you're envious that I banged my shins on a coffee table and you didn't". Seriously, this better be the previous stage to "Live going free" or some kind of plan that treat consumers with respect.
Um /shurg. I pay to watch Hulu and still see commercials and they DO interrupt my shows often. Til everyone plays by PSN's rules I could care less at 'this' point. When they interupt my games or show previews before I am allowed to play I will most assuredly be ticked off.
2 Like let me get this straight. I pay you a subscription fee only so you can give me more ads? X box live GOLD is such a waste of money...
1 Like No kidding! I have the Surface RT and I'm seeing 30 seconds of the Cadillac advert every time I play a game of Solitaire!
4 Like Thank god!
I was just thinking you know what the xbox UI needs? More rectangles. Then we got more rectangles, after which I thought, I want it to be harder to find what I am looking for. That happened too, actually, at the same time as we got more rectangles.
Then, I thought, I keep getting everything I want. I should just go for the gold and ask for what I really want, more ads. I want obtrusive, large ads. I want ads that suddenly get really loud when I accidentally scroll across them to get to a different rectangle. I want ads that are bigger than any of the other rectangles on the screen. I want ads that do no appeal to me in any way. Like gayburu ads that don't even address the product they are selling.
The only thing left is to raise the subscription cost to $60 a year- oh wait, they did that too. Okay, how about M$ adds 40 useless apps, reduces functionality, includes hardware that no one uses(kinect) and then makes it harder to find the games we bought to use on the xbox.
I guess Microsoft has done what we all wanted.
1 Like People, you pay for cable and satellite tv, yes? As far as I know, they haves ads, and ones you cannot ignore if you're watching a live broadcast. Live's ads can be ignored. I don't like this anymore than you do, but let's not single out MS here and claim them greedy when everyone does this and has been for many years now.
@MirkoS77 Umm its being singled out because its two different things, cable vs home console. Exit stage left fanboy.
1 Like @IamTheBesteva Not a fanboy, really. I'm open to hearing how they're different that it's OK for cable TV to do it yet not game consoles? Ads are and always have been there even if paying. Yes, the platforms are different, but the principle the same.
If I'm wrong on this, then explain to me how the platform makes it different in practice.
@IamTheBesteva @MirkoS77 now i want to put out there first that im not necessarily a fan of the ads but i have to point out that your logic in this example is faulty. in this particular scenario the live /service/ IS comparable to cable or satellite tv in that you /choose/ to subscribe to it. leave your xbox offline for a day and watch the ads disappear. the xbox you own doesnt contain the ads the live service you subscribe to does. also to address the tv/home stereo comment, no, those items do not come with ads but the service you use them for does. what good is a tv or home stereo if youre not going to turn them on and watch tv or listen to the radio which, you guessed it, has ads. so unless you buy those things to just enjoy staring at your shiny new electronics sitting on a shelf in your entertainment center that argument is invalid as well.
@MirkoS77 @IamTheBesteva i apologize for calling you something you allege your not. the difference is this, when you ORDER (you dont buy) cable you dont own cable, you dont own the tv shows your basically paying to be entertained..but with a home video game console you OWN it, its yours to do whatever you want with it..so the fact that xbox throws ads all over it is pretty disgusting and i for one will not support them in the future (not that it makes a difference to MS)
@MirkoS77 @IamTheBesteva so you buying tv it come with ads? a home stereo come with ads? an cell phone with ads?
2 Like Coming soon! Xbox Live Platinum membership. All the great services of Gold but with no ads. Only $90 for for 12 months!!!
3 Like You guys make fun of ads, but the interface looks better with them
on. Here's an exclusive picture of the new interface with more ads. This
looks really good, and I for one can't wait for this new interface :
http://i.imgur.com/jPjky.png
2 Like I miss the older, cleaner dashboards. I feel offended by ads. I don't need someone to say to me what am I supposed to buy or like, specially when I'm gaming.
1 Like I don't care about the ads in general except for the stupid 4king ads they slip in for your DLC search results. I mean I'm about to give them money and they put in goddamn ads (for internet explorer of all things) that I have to skip past. What company in their right minds puts in 4king obsticals to keep me from giving them money!?
If we are going to have to see more ads, then Microsoft better make Xbox Live Gold FREE. the money the advertisers pay Microsoft is more than enough to keep the service running. I may cancel my Live account because of this garbage. First Facebook, now this?
Honestly it's all accordign to how much clutter I get in the future. I could care less about the ads and often use them as a screen saver. I could care less because it's nothing I care about right now. Used to paying Hulu for their services and I still get like 3 to 4 commercials in a row before I can watch something. (usually avoidable watching korean dramas)
All I know is gaming consoles are potent enough to be used as PCs so why are they not being used? Sure I might have to add a disk to use this program or that but basic fuctions of a PC is NOT that hard to replicate especially if you got a hard drive for pete's sake.
Next console to me will win if it can act like a PC also imo. If gamers like those tablet games so much then we need ALOT more per console then mere gaming next gen. We need an economical one.
One that allows web browsing (Xbox can now woot)
One that allows a very nice if not professional option word processor.
One that allows external attachments like printers and keyboards/mouse.
One that allows me to easily store my images and videos if they use open source codecs.
Just saying it's time in this economy that we admit to letting the PC fall to the wayside. Too many casuals out there could care less.
@Kinguard73 Why must something always fall to the wayside in order for something else to succeed? You can have to successful things in existence at the same time you know, just in case you were wondering.
Also, consoles will not be able to replace PC's for many years to come, mostly because some jobs and utilities require the high-end processing power of a PC to run, something that consoles would not be able to match without becoming economically nonviable respective to their original target market. Believe me, if it was practical enough to use consoles as pseudo-PC's, it would have been done already, but that is not the case.
Lastly, I can understand that the ads on xbox live don't bother you and that they are easy enough to simply ignore, but I think what gets people is that they have to pay for a service that is already paying for itself through funding from advertising and thus, payment should be unnecessary. This sentiment is further amplified by the fact that the same services that Xbox users have to pay for are offered to other gamers for free on other platforms. To put it simply, microsoft, through the use of advertising on Xbox Live, has lost all excuses for charging their clients for their online service.
Well if too many simular products exist then they will ALL fail. I simply choosing what should continue to thrive. Your correct. Consoles could have started the ball rolling with Dreamcast. We are LONG past due and with mature gamers reaching the age of 40+ of having Console do far more than merely play games and watch movies. It should be 'the' entertainment/information center of a household. I can do without smart phones and tablets. I can do without a lap top but I need a PC and I want a console but ONLY because my console refuses to act closer to that of a PC.
I udnerstand what you are saying. However, if what you say is true? Best pray no company does as I suggested you might find both PC and MACs falling to the wayside for something that can do both. Microsoft is closing the gap. Only certain PC component companies are holding back with a fully invested console at this time but I can see the final sunrise coming for reg PCs. Besides if not the console then tablets will. But PCs will fall to the wayside I predict less than 15 years from now. Maybe 10.
On the second part I completely agree with you. I simply do not see that as a point of contention since ads does not interurpt my enjoyment in the slightest as of yet. It might be in the future and if so I will jump on this bandwagon. I just stated only as of currently it does not. I am not sure if I even NEED Xbox Live 6 months from now with a Hulu/Netflix ready Blue Ray player.
2 Like you pay for a service that is supposed to be a superior to other online networks then you realize its exactly the same as psn but with fuck loads of adds
I don't know, lately it just feels like Microsoft has grown into the habit of shooting themselves in the foot with a rocket launcher. I've already noticed a big trend on sites and forums where people are supporting them less and less and where even so-called Xbox 360 "fanboys" are starting to question their decisions. They aren't creating a good image for themselves at this point and I have a feeling that unless they start making changes soon, these decisions now may adversely affect the popularity and performance of their next console going into the future.
It's so bad that even going through the comments below, I don't see a single commenter bothering to defend Microsoft (at most, saying they don't care). If your own fanboys aren't even defending you, then you know you have a serious problem.
@santinegrete uhm.... what ads in Valve games? if you are referring to private servers where owners of the servers add Ads then its not Valves fault since they aren't getting any money out of it
@Pr0ving4Gr0undz Not long anymore and you will have ads all over the place WHILE you play the game! :D
Sony did try that a few years back with Wipeout HD
http://www.joystiq.com/2009/08/03/double-fusion-slows-down-wipeout-hd-with-ads/
Why in the hell should we be surprised that more ads are going to be shoved down our throat?(Well not mine cause I don't do the 360 thing)
2 Like That's the one sector of exclusiveness that Microsoft really outshines Sony : exclusive ads.
2 Like MS made a big mistake here. Paid subscription plus ads makes no sense.
Really, the entire business model for Live! makes little sense anymore given the alternatives.
No. They're free for silver members like me also! it features a 30 seconds loading screen before you can sign to your profile. Isn't gaming on 360 fucking grand?
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