Free Games are Great! But the Developers (and retailers like us!) have to eat! So we tolerate that little ad at the start of the game….. Google today is starting a big push into in-game advertising with Adsense for Games and a parallel move into advertising/selling games and music on YouTube through Click-to-Buy .
Again we have nothing against that short unobtrusive relevant ad at the start of the game, or at the very worst occasional ones between levels. But watching the promo video above we are really afraid it is going to be overdone now that Google has landed. We are really not that interested in seeing Big Mac Ads in our games and certainly not multiple ads that really break up game flow.
Going forward we will try to keep an eye on the In-Game ads in the games we showcase on our free games blog and on gamegiants.net. We play every game that we list to sell and we play every game we put on our free games blog. If the ads in a game get out of hand… You won’t see that game here.
Tomorrow our choices for President will be all but decided. For the Democrats the choice is Obama or Clinton, and on the Republican side it looks like Romney or McCain. As a gamer who should get my vote?
On the Democratic side the choice is simple. There is no candidate more hostile to gamer’s interest than Hillary Clinton. Hillary Clinton sponsored the The Family Entertainment Protection Act in 2005 which among other things would allow government to review ratings, investigate gaming companies and their development processes and audit and fine retailers. What does legislation like this this mean for gamers? Simple less choice and higher prices. But does Hillary stop there? No. Hillary has even proposed a high cigarette style tax on Video Games. Just say No to Hillary.
How about Obama? Barack Obama has public stated the effects of video games on children should be studied and has made a point to encourage students to spend time studying as opposed to gaming. He has turned down donations from the ESA, but on the whole has promoted industry self regulation. On the whole if you are a Democrat Obama is by far the most gamer friendly, and that should be considered when placing your vote on Super Tuesday.
On the Republican side neither front runner is video game friendly. Romney has openly attacked video games and the industry in the press. He also has run ads comparing video games to oceans of filth. McCain is not much better. His friendship and support of Joe Lieberman the co-sponsor of Hillary’s Family Entertainment Protection Act may be of great concern. More so if Lieberman lands a spot in McCain’s cabinet. McCain also supports the DMCA in current form, the law that limits your right to making backup copies of media such as DVDs, music or games. Neither of these Republicans are “gamer friendly choices”. So what should a Republican gamer do?
You may have noticed that we have devoted a lot of space on our blog to Ron Paul. We even shut our store for a day to encourage gamers to donate to Paul’s campaign. Now we admit that Ron has very little chance of winning the Republican nomination baring some major upheaval in the world. But if you look into the guys stances on technology issues, no candidate respects an individuals right to personal freedom more than Ron Paul. He has consistently voted for less government intervention into citizens daily lives. And this includes the rights of gamers to choose: What to play, How to Play, and When to Play it. And as opposed to Hillary Ron Paul is the least likely to impose taxes aimed specifically at your games! If you are a Republican and want to cast an ideological vote Paul is your man. We can not recommend the front runners McCain or Romney.
We leave you with a couple of youTube videos to ponder before making your final choice:
Make sure you put down the wiimote tomorrow and get out and vote!
