DeadJonas190
24-Oct-2006, 07:19 AM
Apparently they are using spyware to target which in-game advertisements should be put on in-game billboards. Here is the article from 1up.com
http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3154522
Gamers Wary of Battlefield 2142's 'Spyware'
Mechanism for tracking in-game ads causing a backlash.
by Patrick Klepek, 10/19/2006
31 of 31 users recommend this story.
Battlefield gamers beware: by opening a copy of Battlefield 2142 and participating in a game requiring Internet access, you're agreeing to have Electronic Arts and one of their in-game advertising associates, IGA Worldwide, study you. A printed disclaimer provided with the game states the game will be monitoring "advertising data" to determine what ads are serviced to individual players.
What if you don't want to become part of EA's little lab experiment? The publisher recommends you "do not install or play the software on any platform that is used to connect to the Internet." Kind of defeats the purpose of playing Battlefield 2124 in the first place, thought, doesn't it? And there doesn't appear to be an alternative solution.
Once word spread to the Internet, gamers -- mostly due to not having enough information -- labeled the software 'spyware' and EA went into damage control mode. Their public relations department passed along a company clarification that states Battlefield 2142's advertising data "does not access any files which are not directly related to the game" and "does not capture personal data such as cookies, account login detail, or surfing history." So, no, surfing a bunch of car websites doesn't mean Ford ads will start appearing, but if you watch one already in the game long enough, that's a different story.
Gamers might be upset with EA's approach, but does their practice fit the definition of spyware? According to Wikipedia:
"In the field of computing, the term spyware refers to a broad category of malicious software designed to intercept or take partial control of a computer's operation without the informed consent of that machine's owner or legitimate user. While the term taken literally suggests software that surreptitiously monitors the user, it has come to refer more broadly to software that subverts the computer's operation for the benefit of a third party."
The key terms here are "malicious," "subvert" and "informed consent." EA says monitoring is needed to provide the correct in-game advertising to gamers based on the region their IP address is located and "impression data" related to location of a billboard in the game, brand advertised, the amount of time the gamer viewed the advertisment and other factors to help their paying advertisers understand how their ads are being viewed in Battlefield 2142.
We still have questions about how this system works, though, but EA could not provide 1UP with answers on-the-spot. We should have answers sometime today or tomorrow. In the meantime, however, gamers are livid. You don't have to look past the 1UP boards to understand the backlash this move has received from gamers:
"This has nothing to do with Demos or Pirating. This is LIVE spyware, OWNED BY EA that is going to be included in the final release of the game. They are doing this because they want to have targeted ads for you in game. This is going to bite them in the ass so hard." -- Omega_X, 1UP boards
"I doubted some people when they said EA was bad a while ago, I'm really believing it now. This is getting ridiculous..." -- kungfu_zombie, 1UP boards
"Why the hell would they do this?" -- MAXX, 1UP boards
"&something like this is more than enough reason for me to not buy a product." -- Dj_Lushious, Futuremark boards
"i was on the fence on whether to get this or not. now i'm definitely not gonna pick it up. this is heinous." -- shpankey, NeoGAF "Not like it will matter, but I am now personally boycotting EA. This is just complete crap, anyway you slice it." -- moku, NeoGAF
And let's not forget this quote from the original announcement declaring EA had signed with IGA:
"The agreement with Massive is a first step in a detailed strategy for serving advertising in a seamless format that doesn't disrupt game play," said Chip Lange, EA's VP of Online Commerce, in the announcement release.
So, the question remains: is this spyware, or are EA simply keeping their advertisers informed? Is there a difference between the two?
I don't think I will buy this, especially since I saw it in the store earlier today with a sticker that said "Online registration required to play."
http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3154522
Gamers Wary of Battlefield 2142's 'Spyware'
Mechanism for tracking in-game ads causing a backlash.
by Patrick Klepek, 10/19/2006
31 of 31 users recommend this story.
Battlefield gamers beware: by opening a copy of Battlefield 2142 and participating in a game requiring Internet access, you're agreeing to have Electronic Arts and one of their in-game advertising associates, IGA Worldwide, study you. A printed disclaimer provided with the game states the game will be monitoring "advertising data" to determine what ads are serviced to individual players.
What if you don't want to become part of EA's little lab experiment? The publisher recommends you "do not install or play the software on any platform that is used to connect to the Internet." Kind of defeats the purpose of playing Battlefield 2124 in the first place, thought, doesn't it? And there doesn't appear to be an alternative solution.
Once word spread to the Internet, gamers -- mostly due to not having enough information -- labeled the software 'spyware' and EA went into damage control mode. Their public relations department passed along a company clarification that states Battlefield 2142's advertising data "does not access any files which are not directly related to the game" and "does not capture personal data such as cookies, account login detail, or surfing history." So, no, surfing a bunch of car websites doesn't mean Ford ads will start appearing, but if you watch one already in the game long enough, that's a different story.
Gamers might be upset with EA's approach, but does their practice fit the definition of spyware? According to Wikipedia:
"In the field of computing, the term spyware refers to a broad category of malicious software designed to intercept or take partial control of a computer's operation without the informed consent of that machine's owner or legitimate user. While the term taken literally suggests software that surreptitiously monitors the user, it has come to refer more broadly to software that subverts the computer's operation for the benefit of a third party."
The key terms here are "malicious," "subvert" and "informed consent." EA says monitoring is needed to provide the correct in-game advertising to gamers based on the region their IP address is located and "impression data" related to location of a billboard in the game, brand advertised, the amount of time the gamer viewed the advertisment and other factors to help their paying advertisers understand how their ads are being viewed in Battlefield 2142.
We still have questions about how this system works, though, but EA could not provide 1UP with answers on-the-spot. We should have answers sometime today or tomorrow. In the meantime, however, gamers are livid. You don't have to look past the 1UP boards to understand the backlash this move has received from gamers:
"This has nothing to do with Demos or Pirating. This is LIVE spyware, OWNED BY EA that is going to be included in the final release of the game. They are doing this because they want to have targeted ads for you in game. This is going to bite them in the ass so hard." -- Omega_X, 1UP boards
"I doubted some people when they said EA was bad a while ago, I'm really believing it now. This is getting ridiculous..." -- kungfu_zombie, 1UP boards
"Why the hell would they do this?" -- MAXX, 1UP boards
"&something like this is more than enough reason for me to not buy a product." -- Dj_Lushious, Futuremark boards
"i was on the fence on whether to get this or not. now i'm definitely not gonna pick it up. this is heinous." -- shpankey, NeoGAF "Not like it will matter, but I am now personally boycotting EA. This is just complete crap, anyway you slice it." -- moku, NeoGAF
And let's not forget this quote from the original announcement declaring EA had signed with IGA:
"The agreement with Massive is a first step in a detailed strategy for serving advertising in a seamless format that doesn't disrupt game play," said Chip Lange, EA's VP of Online Commerce, in the announcement release.
So, the question remains: is this spyware, or are EA simply keeping their advertisers informed? Is there a difference between the two?
I don't think I will buy this, especially since I saw it in the store earlier today with a sticker that said "Online registration required to play."