News
Obama Appears in Burnout: Paradise
Sadly, Not As Playable Character.
by 00.19
Burnout: Paradise fans still playing the game on Xbox Live are being treated to political propaganda courtesy of Barack Obama. According to a report on GamePolitics, the ads for the Presidential nominee appear in-game as billboards. When asked for comment on the not-so-subliminal messages, EA’s director of corporate communications, Holly Rockwood, “I can confirm that the Obama campaign has paid for in-game advertising in Burnout. Like most television, radio and print outlets, we accept advertising from credible political candidates. Like political spots on the television networks, these ads do not reflect the political policies of EA or the opinions of its development teams.” Of course they don’t. Interesting how a candidate with no interest in gaming decided to pay for in-game ads after winning Xbox Live’s Rock the Vote poll.
I guess it’s not really that big a deal seeing as how ads already appear on television, radio (remember those), and on various locations across the internet, but I’m certainly a little put off by this. I’ve never been a big fan of ads in games to start with, and I’m certainly no fan of political agendas being spread in my games. The last thing I need is for the half-time show in Madden being brought to me by the Democratic or Republican parties. I wonder how long it will be until these ads spread to the virtual televisions in a game like the Sims, and what kind of message it will send when the game has several virtual people watching that ad on virtual TV. My head hurts. Oh well, at least they’re not dropping pamphlets from the sky anymore.
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Comments
worlds are colliding! i'm pretty sure that mixing gaming and politics is NOT a good idea.
agreed.
i really dont see the big issue with this.. i am going to be so busy speeding through the level that I won't even notice or pay attention to the sign, similar to the signs like that in real life.
Also, think its funny how no one had an issue with microsoft and the 360 running a rock the vote over xbox live, but they somehow have an issue with an ad in game.
@Voyou: The difference is that Rock the Vote is purportedly an organization that exists to get people to vote without advancing one political philosophy over another. This article speaks to directly tying one candidate with one game (or one system). It just seems... I don't know if "sinister" is the right word for it, but it certainly doesn't smell great.
i still see no issue, you drive by the ad, it is not plastered up at the login screen. Now if it was something you had to click past during the game, that might raise a flag, but you just simply drive past it, if it bugs you that much close yer eyes.
it's just a new frontier of ad real estate that, like the internet, we have yet to understand the boundaries of what is appropriate or not. while i don't want to be advertised to at all via gaming, i find it very interesting that it wasthe obama campaign that is taking advantage of it. im curious how many other portals of campaigning will open up by the 2012 presidential election, ethical or not.
I think it is interesting that at least one party sees gamers as potential voters.