I would also suggest that TTAC also do more articles on driving video games. The trademark snark could prove extremely useful when EA craps out another NFS game this fall. NFS ranks alongside Sonic the Hedgehog on the “game franchises that got run into the ground” scale.

One more thing. The song in that trailer is called “Royal Gregory”. The band name includes a four-letter word, so I’m not going to say it. It’s on iTunes, though, so search for it there.

“No driving games have matched the perfection of the circa-2000 release of “Need for Speed: Porsche Unleashed”.”

Absolutely, that was a great game. Much more a game than a simulator, like the entire Need for Speed series. The last EA game I would ever spend so much time playing.

In the case of Midnight Club, I think Rockstar is using the right opportunity to use in-game advertising. The Midnight Club series use an “open-world” environment in which a realistic atmosphere is key to feeling immersed while cruising the streets, discovering races and other gameplay elements. For me, a realistic Los Angeles without realistic advertising would seem strange. Conversely, Rockstar did an amazing job with all the faux ads that you’ll find in GTA IV, but the whole style of the game is based around that tongue-in-cheek humor. It probably costs a lot to hire writers, graphic designers, etc. to create compelling fake ads; maybe as much as to create real ones. It’s when advertising shows up in a game where it doesn’t belong, like on load screens for example, that it becomes annoying. It’s a fine line, but I don’t think Rockstar deserves to be singled out. At least they are still making great games with their money. (Looking at you, EA)

Racing games have had ads in them for quite some time. In case you missed it, real racing has been drenched in advertising for quite a while longer.

But back to Midnight Club. Now that Soulcalibur IV is out, this is my most anticipated game for the rest of the year. Open world racing with insane sensations of speed and the makings of a great community… what’s not to like? October can’t come soon enough…

To elaborate – I think game designers have been willing to whore out for years – it’s just most mainstream businesses didn’t see any value in paying.

Now that there are quite a few 30-something “players”(living in mom’s basement with disposable income (from there job at GameStop) it makes sense that Zaxby’s and the like have noticed them.

As an aside – I own a Mac as well – I keeping all my gaming to the Wii and Atari.

B) The real world is Festooned with Ads.

That said, it’s back to Soul Calibr IV for me. Which admittedly has an unnatural ad for the next star wars game and Clone Wars movie in it. But slicing & dicing with the apprentice & Darth Vader are cool.

Still, if Pizza Hut is so concerned with sales, maybe they should focus less on videogame advertising, and more on making food that doesn’t require nine consecutive hours spent hovering over the toilet.

–chuck

I will add that I was so pissed off about the ads in the EA NCAA football game demo that I didn’t buy it. It was absolutely stupid.

But Pizza Hut in a game? I’ll take a bleeder from Burger Shot, drive home in my Shyster Minivan and dine on fast food and Pißwasser beer on my Swedish Krapea dining table before I endorse that lowbrow product placement.

Next you’ll be telling me girls have eyes.

I don’t understand that statement, since Rockstar created GTA.

I think adverts in those games can be cool when placed cleverly, but Pizza Hut seems kinda family-ish to me.

The only cool thing about dealer pimping badges and license plate holders are when it’s a dealer that’s been out of business or renamed for 10 years, or one from out of state. I have some out in the garage from cars my parents bought 50’s- 70’s, and they’re neat. And none of the dealers have the same name anymore, or exist at all.