Steve Parsons, writing on Weblogs, Inc. website, Joystiq, is angered over gaming maker Funcom’s insertion of ads into its MMORPG Anarchy Online. Granting the ad-supported game is free and a subscription version is ad-free, Parsons claims the company responsible for the advertising is “delusional” quoting Massive, “Through our own research we know that most gamers want in-game advertisement to heighten the sense of realism.” To which, Parsons chimes, “Yes, ram advertising down our throats. Make sure we have no avenue of escape. After all, nothing quite adds to the realism of an RPG set in a futuristic world like an advert for an online casino.”
It’s true that ad creep has pervaded every corner of life and is showing no signs of slowing. It’s all over people’s bodies now, in urinals, at ski areas. It won’t be long before a crafty marketer implants a targeted message inside the bowels of a surgical patient simply to sell the latest cancer drug to the surgeons performing the operation.
