Share this article:
 Digg.com Facebook Google Bookmarks N4G Gamerblips del.icio.us Reddit Slashdot.org StumbleUpon Ooh, this is going to annoy a LOT of people (myself included).
We paid money for the console, we pay money for the games, we even pay money for XBL access. Why do we still need to put up with ads?
And more importantly, since we already got little ads on-screen with the old interface (that I didn't really mind), what sort of intrusion can we expect from this? Popups when we load a game? That'll kill off sales.
At least in a browser you can block them. Does that mean the can stop charging us for xbl now they are gonna get xtra income from making us watch stupid pop up's every time we log ROLL!! No, No, No, No and yet again No.
I bloody hate advertising especially on a paid service.
Make it free and maybe, but not if I am already paying for gold. All the more reason for me not to connect my Xbox 360 to LIVE, and instead just play on it as a stand alone single or co-op games machine.
Unless the added revenue results in lower RRP for Xbox 360 games and hardware, I see no reason why to get excited about this as a customer.
P.S. As others have pointed out, if you are paying for a Gold subscription then this is a kick in the teeth. My advice? Cancel your subscription if this goes ahead (which it looks like it will). GREAT............ more crap to slow down xbox live and loading times on the dashboard.
This mean that we won't have to pay for xbox live anymore (like the BBC/ITV thing)? We only pay a tv license because bbc doesn't fund itself with adverts where ITV does. so hold on a second...
so we're paying £40 a year for a gold service... that will STILL have adverts on?
I'm sorry, but I thought us paying for the service provided them with money? why would they need sponsorships and adverts to further fund xbox live?
Christ in heaven, paying for adverts... whatever next? Because in a capitalistic model "more", where it pertains to profit, is better than what you have at present. Thisw better not be for gold members. I already pay enough, I will not keep my Xbox if they put advertisments on the menus. haha, bloodsuckers.
the subscriptions are supposed to pay costs.
could see the point if silver was adverted AND you could play online... but you cant, and silver will definately have ads.
having to pay to play online AND get ads plastered everywhere. :o shameless.
the *******s are taking liberties... time to jump ship people. sony welcome you with free, clutter free network. Just another example of Ms cavalier attitude to users and customers, they are all as bad as each other nowadays,I ponder on whether Big bill gates an the major sit an compare notes with our mister brown to find new ways to screw money from every possible orifice.....
none of these gains will filter through to the end user, we will just be subjected to endless, pop up's and "do you want to take a survey" "click here to win 5 squillion bucks and come in Pammy andersons face" etc etc etc..
Its a real shame that the console I love so much is supported by such a bunch of money grabbing, chicken screwing knob jockeys...... Have to agree with everyone so far, this is ******** if adverts are forced onto gamers for what is a paid for premium service.
If you start getting greedy Microsoft, you'll piss-off a whole lot of people and lose subscriptions, short sighted and totally unnecessary. If this turns out to be true, I won't be best pleased as we already pay a decent amount for the service. If ads slow it down (and the guide is already super slow following the NXE update) I will be one very unhappy bunny.
If this meant xbl prices came down, or we get free content I could handle that just abouts. But that's very unlikely.
Even if it doesn't effect the speed, I am opposed to being inundated with ads at every corner I turn, especially if I'm a paid up member. Would anybody put up with all annoying ads that this site rams down our throats if we paid to join up?? I very much doubt it. It's a great idea if this is the first step towards a free Live service. The missing Gold subscriber revenue will be generated through advertising I presume. :?: More importantly, Kodu is now up for download. Only 400 MS too.
http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-GB/games/media/66acd000-77fe-1000-9115-d8025855024c/ Hmm, I read that as "Aids coming to Xbox Live", first. Some people pay £40 per month for a service stuffed with adverts. (see Sky TV)
Doesn't make it right, but I'm just saying. Wow, thanks mate....brilliant news (cheap too)! :D This probably won't be that big a deal in the US as there is add breaks every ten minutes on US tv, they are used to seeing adverts plastered absolutely everywhere, however they might get a bit of a shock if they pull that stunt over here,especially if they still charge for gold membership. I could see them losing a lot of subscribers. They kinda sprang that on us without any warning, didn't they?
If they keep it up with gems like this at a low cost, then they can stick up adverts if they want. Really not bothered. Typical M$hite ******** behaviour. They're ruining the crappy service even more so! It even annoys me everytime I log into Live that in defaults to Spotlight. I don't give a shit what's coming out but they just love to shove it in your face I am only a Silver live member but if they put in ads and then make Silver the new Gold, thereby making paid for memberships ad free - Platinum if you will - then that would not bother me. It bothers me that when I buy a game on 360 I can't access 50% of the content on it unless I pay Microsoft a fee, so maybe ads will get rid of this? Oh yay. Adverts. It'll be just like those Google ads on the interweb, say for example when you're logging in to CVG, and on your right will be an advertisement for an auto-sign in program. See what I mean? Everytime you do something there will be an ad showing off a more technologically advanced (eg. expensive)way of doing it. If you stand back and consider it, while we're watching a programme on British telly, there's an ad break every 15 minutes. That's a lot of advertising, do we really need any more? This is to be expected, I also wouldnt start throwing any toys out of any prams until we know how this is going to be implemented.
Its Sunny people!!! Can we quit the moaning and griping for one day? Christ. One of the last few refuges now gotten but the marketing people. As if advertisments are not already intrusive enough, I now have to put up with it on a service I already pay for?
I think it may be time to get a good PC, and just play all the games I play on Live on computer. Any other games I could play offline. Come on, this is really pissy. Seriously Microsoft, you aren't already making enough money? This news is pretty depressing, but after a while, it will just become a norm and we won't notice it. One day, I swear we will have to put up with adverts in our own home and never be able to switch off from it all. I second this! Hang on, hang on, hang on, HANG ON.
Now I am not 100% sure, but I have the feeling that this is being mis-reported.
Ok, so this technology is being added to the XBL dashboard, however, I am not convinced it will be a "general" thing.
Last.fm was today announced for XBL, and that has a pricing level where gold users can choose a free last.fm subscribtion WITH ad support.
I reckon that the ads are for this ONLY, and not anything else.
If I am wrong, MS can stick there XBL gold sub up their ass, because it will be a cold day in hell before pay for gold AND have ads. This is the internet. Most people are miserable if it's sunny because they have to think of excuses not to go outside. Surely it will mean a free service?
Im sure it will annoy the hell out of people though. Xbox Live will never be free, I dont want anymore retards then there already is. And the fact that we are already paying for the servers (high quality ones may I add), If xbox live goes free, they'll downgrade the servers to the same shitty things that PSN use. And that, I do not want either.
Not happy about the Adverts, But if this means they get even more money to put back into it, i am all for it. It isnt as though I purposely look at them for the fun of it. I just go from "sign on to xbox live", "to game" from popup dashboard into friends games. No biggy. not sure that even makes sense.
but in reality, most people are miserable if its sunny cause they are trapped in an office of some sort. »
I am currently trapped in an office until 5:30 today and all I can see out my window is sunshine and blue skys. I look at my computer screen and all it is is moan moan grumble moan whine.
Lets all get behind a certain Mr Murray whose going to be hitting a little yellow ball around a grass court in a few hours? Or we could continue to keep the 'War' going on here?
We all choose!!! You only pay for online gaming, all the other stuff(other than the stuff you pay to download) is free with silver membership. So why not have a few ads running in the background? As long as they fit in with the overall feel of things what's the problem? :? Silverlight isn't just for ads though, it's 1 application for it, but not the only one. I'm sure there will be other things using it, perhaps this could be the beginning of a web browser. Just an out of the box thought.
I don't think it's a brilliant idea to have adds, but it would depend on how they are implemented, if they take up a lot of room I'll have an issue, a new ribbon, not too bothered as it's easily skipped over.
If it's for games (similar to what it already on there) but it doesn't require you to click anything just hover over, I'm ok with that aswell. »»
both please.
andy murray is cousins with one of my mates (affectionately known as "uncle pete") - he signs his christmas cards like an autograph. true celebrity. ok so you pay for a service but then bombarded by ads. hmmmmmm
id expect this on smthg like psn where it makes more sense. Live already basically covered in ads for new dlc and games anyway. So whats a Mcdonalds add going to effect. Nothing.
Be good if htey only came up if yoiu had a silver account. maybe that why MS are doing it.
Make it so that if you have a gold account you go add free. And give silver accounts online play but ads.
That'd be my strategy. it'd kick sonys whole Online gaming is free on PSN campain right in the nuts. I'll be cancelling Gold and removing my Xbox off of my router if this goes ahead, unless there's an option to disable all ads. a true fanboy. trying to make out ads are either good or neutral - they're bad!
difference is, the DLC ads are relevant, you can click on it and buy it right there.
a happy meal advert isnt relevant whatsoever, and is only to line microsofts pockets even further.
PSN has nothing to fear even if silver and gold went free - both not going to happen. keep dreaming. it burns my eyes You tell em Mr Ballmer! this will only affect the people that actually use the dashboard, and these people are usually the ones who like to play dress ups with their avatars and would probably appreciate an add showing the new seasons dresses.
The people complaining are the ps3 fanboys who are grasping at anything they can at the moment.
I'm sure that playstation home would be filled with advertising if more than 5 people use it.
It's the same thing with the xbox dash. Most people would not give a toss. **** OFF SVD NO ONE LIKES YOU Are you stark raving mad?! :shock: Please don't scare me with such upbeat comments...
As for ads in general, I would like to see legislation passed that outlaws the mass bombardment of people's mailboxes without prior written consent (as opposed to the way it is now whereby you have to take the initiative to contact the powers that be and ask to be removed from their mailing lists). Not only is it an irritation, it's also a huge environmental waste. The people who enjoy reading over the ads don't lose out either since they can happily subscribe if that's their thing.
P.S. TV ads time in the country I live in lasts for ca. 8 minutes! It takes so long that sometimes I forget what I was watching! :shock: :evil: I remember when Valves Steam announced this and started implementing Ads in game. People where very wary and often negative towards the idea of it happening, but once they saw the suppose 'damage' in game it didn't matter whats so ever. The ads didn't cause lag or choke to the game and didn't effect the overall experience of the game.
The same will happen here, a lot of pointless bickering until people realize it doesn't effect the service or experience overall. The main point is that these WON'T be in game as the article reads, they'll be inserted into the dash board, hardly worth spitting the dummies out over.
If this is another marketing ploy by MS to make money then God bless them, they're a company and there sole purpose is to make a profit anyway it can. The money made from this may even be put back into Xbox Live in various ways, just don't dismiss something until you've seen the final outcome. sad *******.
its people like you who live online and think they are in the company of "friends".
and to the blind **** who says only ps3 fanboys are complaining about this - open your eyes ya loser. even gold members are saying they will cancel if they get hit with ads.
****in fanboys - you cant say anything "negative" about their system, even when it is negative.
so you cant tell the truth anymore. never mind opinion. and also SVD, you biased cockring, PS3 home has had ad's in it, and will continue to when more than a dozen people use the service. Red Bull did some gay air race thing if i remember. In fact, Sony has its own affiliate company which is going to be releasing in game ad's in the next year or so. At least MS keep it on the dashboard. ALL COMPANIES ARE GOING TO BE DOING THIS SORT OF THING. Get used to it or go hang yourself. i hope its the latter. ****ing *****
http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article4066426.ece
http://www.businessinsider.com/2008/12/sony-tries-virtual-world-advertising-on-ps3-unlike-second-life-it-even-might-work-sne
http://www.doublefusion.com/press/html/Sony_7_10_08.html Fair enough, as long as you don't heap praise upon something that hasn't been implemented yet...As for making a profit by any means possible, thankfully there are laws against that and people in uniform with weapons to help enforce them. and i hope you are being ironic with that lolcomment loser. waste of time linking that. noone is gonna click it, least of all me.
adverts in home is different to adverts in yer face everytime you sign on - i dont even have home installed.
companies will be doing this sort of thing - classic fanboy reasoning. bend over and take it then!!
the BBC gets a bung so it doesnt need ads.
ITV has ads because it doesnt get a bung.
its the same idea as freeware.
greedy MS will probably go down the route of both ads and subscriptions. rip-off merchants. Personally as a 360 owner i see no need for advertisement but i doubt MS want to make there millions of online subscribers want to cancel there subscriptions based on a minor annoyance that can easily be skipped over.
As for praise, well no, for me it's not a question of praise, good or bad, it' seeing that Microsoft implement this in way that benefits both the consumer and the company.
Guess we'll just have to wait and see. so you won't read the links i provided that prove that PS3 is planning in game ad's, and then you say your not a fanboy, and then you say that Ad's being in your face are worse than when you sign onto the system? Seriously your even more retarded than usual today.
In game ad's aren't in your face?
You hate people who won't say anything negative about their console, but you can't even read anything?
As i said, just **** off mate I find it pretty ****ing hilarious that CVG's most notorious fanboy, when presented with stonewall evidence that Sony are doing the same thing as Microsoft, albeit in a slightly different fashion, buries his head in the sand and refuses to acknowledge it, while calling people fanboys. For the record i think excess ad's on dashboard are bad, and in game ad's are bad also. Your a ****ing joke. »
where did i claim the ps3 wasnt getting ads? nowhere.
did i claim i wasnt a fanboy? NO!
is PSN paid-for? NO! so they can stick ads up on it all they like.
as i said thats they way its done. someone has to pay. but paying a subscription, then getting hit with ads is a disgrace. ****, paying to play your games online is a disgrace. so having to put up with ads in the process... :roll:
edit - stonewall evidence, read above - i dont care, i believe you. so what as long as its free. do i expect sony to fund it on their own?! Then you risk looking the fool, Svd. I clicked on all three links and they are pretty convincing in terms of supporting the claim that ads are not something new nor unheard of for Sony. god! im the fool?!
read what i said, idiot.
PSN is getting ads? if you say so, i can quite believe it. its their right since its free, not only that, its common sense!!
plus i never said PSN wasnt getting ads! Paying for an excellent online service is not a bad thing. PSN should be free because the console is extortionate. Calling peoples comments fanboyish in a negative light, implying that they are biased and hence not valid, and then admiting that you are a fanboy. WAY TO GO TEAM COCKHEAD! Enjoy playing/watching your precious metal gear solid 5 when Snake is running around in nikes, calling octacondom on his iphone, getting sent on a dangerous assignment courtesy of easyjet, and eating super noodles. I'm not supporting that pretend-Englishman. Adverts on the 360 ... shame!
Could be worse though ... you could have home like all the ps3 owners (me included!) Thats just a glorified advert diguised as a shopping precinct of the future! Temper, temper. I typed that you "risk looking the fool", not that you are a fool although that may be the case. Must you carry on with that overused moniker "idiot" that you are so fond of using? At least be creative like Suivaloon was earlier today with the "Robspierre of Xbox 360". :lol: loser.
MGS4 is already brand heavy. zippo, playboy, apple etc.
still a better game than anything on the 360. and they arent intrusive in any way.
its product placement, not adverts in yer face.
actually makes the game cooler. hes scottish - and makes no bones about disliking england. This is all getting out of proportion a bit. Anyone who can access the US equivilant of Live will confirm that there is already advertisements for TV shows and whatever promotions are going on. Currently theres some stuff on there about Energizer batteries and some Transformers 2 cross-promo stuff with 7 Eleven (I think).
Reality is, until we know a bit more about, it could simply be a case of instead of seeing "Knothole Island - 33% off" in some minute window, we could see "Buy Nikes - They're made with the blood of asian orphans" instead, just in a bigger flashier window.
Why don't we all wait and see eh? Product placement and in game ad's are 2 different things. You are talking absolute shit and have done all through this thread. Read some of your comments, and read the links i posted. If you got the balls, admit that Sony are just as bad as MS when it comes to wanting $$$. You make sony sound like they are a ****ing charity organisation Why are you all kicking off about ads on LIVE. It really is laughable, I'm on my dashboard for no longer than a couple of minutes, checking content and joining a party, so ads wouldn't bother me, because I'll be playing a game.
Some of you willing to cancel your gold and such are pathetic, just because of an ad. You won't do it.
Ads will generate money for Microsoft in which they can pump more into LIVE.
Sony should do it too, so they can improve their service. links have nothing to do with PSN, they are about in game ads. but seen as your such a biased muppet dont worry about it While I have to disagree with the flamebait "better game than anything on the 360" comment, product placement is without doubt a far better way to go as long as it doesn't go too far.
But when you get stuff like "Drink Coke for super abilities!" or "You must equip your Nike armour to defeat this boss!" it's just stupid.
But in-game advertising revenue goes to the developer, not the hardware manufacturer so it's a moot point. Think I'll reserve judgement until I know exactly how this will be implemented... Lest I end up as a fist shaking teeth gnasher with high blood pressure whose understanding of all events never pass reading a headline... Aye, fight and you may die. Run and you'll live -- at least a while. And dying in your beds many years from now, would you be willing to trade all the days from this day to that for one chance, just one chance to come back here and tell our enemies that they may take our lives, but they'll never take our freedom!!!
Come on the Sconny Botland :D :wink: ! »
Bless you, you really take everything to heart don't you? It must be tough being you. It was a joke about Scotland not being a real country - just a bit of land tacked onto the proper bit. A JOKE.
The general concensus amongst the media and public is that if he wins, he's British; if he loses, he's Scottish. So as far as I'm concerned, he's not English and I'm not supporting him.
Back on topic - I'd rather they put adverts on than increasing the annual cost of Live. It will give them more money to give you more features and continually improve the service. They won't let it impede the functionality of the dashboard. We practically get adverts for games and movies in spotlight and what's new anyway so just get over it. He made some comments about being scottish and not british but he backtracked on them as soon as people started to round on him. He won't beat Federer, different league. Look at how he is destroying Karlovic right now. Hope he gets to the final though, he deserves it. Feel free to save this threads url for future reference. Name it SVD GOT OWNED and post in any threads when he is talking shit Can't be arsed to read all the previous threads, particularly as they are mostly SVD bashing (not that I am defending him, btw).
I think Microsoft may well restructure the Live accounts, probably adding a Platinum level that will remove ads. Just a thought. Uhh is this supposed to be a good thing? Ahh the good old days when TV was free over the air and paid for by ads. Now WE pay to get broadband, cable and yes even LIVE and they fill them with ads also! SVD gets owned every day...they just happen not to give a damn. Something people should learn to respect. At least the arguments however biased are logical compared to most of the rest of the forum.
I was rather hoping this would lead to xbl becoming free..then that might scare Sony into actually doing something with PSN. The amount of weeks that go by, like last week, where Europe gets bugger all on PSN is too many.
As it is, i think its bollocks that 360 owners should have to pay for something Ps3 owners get, to a lesser extent to be fair, for free.
Sort it out MS The point, I think for some of those people whom you are so quick to bash, is that precisely because they are already paying for LIVE they don't feel inclined to be inconvenienced any further by ads which will not benefit them as a customer directly. If it will only serve to pad MS's already copious coffers more and they are going to play by the capitalist corporate playbook then you can't just expect others to switch to the "Oh-be-a-good-samaritan" mode when it suits the company coffers.
Now it's still somewhat hypothetical, but if MS do start dropping ads in to Gold accounts then they should refund active Gold members. I'm opposed to having to pay to play online asides from paying for the existing internet connection as it is and this only makes it worse. Precisely, and it's why I turn my back on paying extra to play online. Even if it means not getting to play online. I'm not going to budge on this. and thats why i kicked my 360 to the kurb.
or at least sold it for 70 bangers.
the online side of things is often the best side.
excluding all but paying members is crap.
you bought the console, the game, paid the ******* ISP, then MS want more - to possibly display ads in your face. some people are just foolish. Anyone who has coughed up the £30 (which you can find online) for a live subscription, and got the full years use out of it, will tell you that it is a bargain. The service is fantastic. Fast servers, fast downloads, plenty of content and a good UI. Plus you can easily get a month free every now and then with free trails. These ads will be forgettable at best. Like banner ads on websites, after a while you just ignore them. so you didn't know you had to pay for live before you bought the console? riiiiiight. speaking of fools. YOU GOT OWNED spastic, stop talking like a 12 year old american.
i knew about the subscription. i had a 360 before the ps3 was even out. tit.
like The Face, i got it for offline action. but quickly bored of that - especially after playing CoD4 multiplayer on the glorious PSN.
begone. svd grasshopper
"...he didnt do it but.
keep believing... fag."
i took the liberty of taking that from another forum you have posted on today, and im the one that talks like an american 12 year old? better than a homophobic american 12 year old like you?
As for CoD4 on PSN, lol fps on a console for one thing, i play that game on Steam, which pisses on PSN, and my PC would eat your PS3 for a snack. Never played CoD 4 on 360 but from what i heard it was aces. And Left 4 Dead owns that game outright anyday in terms of fun. Funny also how you bang on about having the premium this and high quality that with PS3, yet you bitch about paying for a high quality online service. ****in moron i'll piss in your mouth if you want...
only if your a swallower. Thats abit harsh, then again its typical american. sorry im not lambasting americans, put if you watch american tv, its mostly adverts like every 4-6 minutes! ofcourse thats how money is made these days don't get me wrong but this is gaming! whats gona happen? some kid is gona be kickin it on cod4 or watever and after every game hes bombarded with ads for shit hes probably never heard of! or get Fox tv style pop up tickers at the bottom of the screen while hes playing?! Make Live Free! So.... all logic and reason has escaped you, i've lost count of the amount of times I have owned you in this thread. You make all sorts of ******** claims on a daily basis on cvg, yet you don't have the minerals to back anything up without resorting the likes of that? Stop breaking your PS3 by giving it hugs at night and realise that 360 is a great machine, and deservedly the market leader out of the traditional consoles. Go read up on PS3's in game ad's so you can prepare your u-turn on your comments in this thread in a few months time Whilst we're on the topic...weren't Sony proposing to make HOME a necessary download in order to play future games?
If so, it'd be worse than having to look at an advert when you boot up. I mean, downloading a whole program just for the lobby of a game...? :roll:
What you think of that asshopper? OMG ive been OWNED. lolol.
shut up you faggot. Seriously SVD, make an intelligent comment about some of the main themes i have raised against you in here, and stop crying. You say that PSN is the tits because its free, fair enough. Steam is ad supported but it isn't even noticable apart from one pop up that you get when you log in, and steam is hands down the best thing to happen to gaming in years. And that the ads proposed in this news article are satan because people pay for live? also fair enough, but what are you going to do when you pay £45 for a new PS3 game and it has got ad's all over it in game, like the links i provided prove is likely to happen? Or do you just want to call me a fag and write abuse in bold? I don't even have a 360 anymore and i am going to get a PS3 next year when they are cheaper. you must be the biggest hypocrite in the world or just the typical troll who writes on this website, you give the genepool too much credit.
Still, far more classy than wiiboy or xboxrulez. At least the grammar is passable, and that is half the battle. i actually read somewhere that this silverlight was for the movie trailers that you can stream from the dashboard in 1080p,and not actual normal advertisements,like CVG and Kotaku are directing all this info to F-A-I-L. :evil:
cant we just ignore fanboy crap? stick to the point in the article?? look how mad that guys got you all!
:lol:
Anyway back to the subject, im seriously thinking of cancelling my XBL subscription, like some of you said, the amount of cash microsoft get out of us is getting stupid,
i will stick with it tho if -
1) this means XBL becomes free (like microsoft live?? - is it still free??)
or
2) they put XBL content prices down significantly, like 'retro' games for 50 or 100 points - free themes etc - DLC for less,
but hey im dreaming there... it aint going to happen
:x But xboxrulez is so blatantly a windup - he asked KFD to "pls explain baby" the other day while trying to discern if he owned an xbox That was amazing.
Wiigodboy must be too - they normally give it away by saying something that is just too funny.
blueblade - just give it up. You can't win an argument with SVD. There is never a winner - just losers. Me too. LOL. 1st off in this sense its kind of not fair to be comparing consoles with PCs coz the console versions cant match up in any region but hell its funny to tell this to pepl who think consoles are the best.
2nd PSN is actually a very good service, that is if you take the precious 5min it takes to set it up properly. i did one day as i was pissed off with the lag and disconnects and now i havent experienced any problems since then. it will never beat a PCs online infrastructure but to tell you the truth it shows how much MS is ripping people off as the only thing appealing in live is a better friends list. Please Microsoft, just no.
I can understand if the service were free, but Gold members pay and should be exempt from any ads. This is going to p&%£ a lot of people off, myself included. We could possibly just get the same thing as the US XBL accounts get. Just short ads in the Inside Xbox/Spotlight videos (usually before the actual video starts).
Even though the US one has ads their XBL dashboard content is usually a lot better, though we have MrPointyHead and SuperKaylo :wink: This is fakking disgraceful. It's been said a hundred times already but I want to add my voice - Microsoft can **** off putting ads on a paid for service like Xbox Live. You pay subscription fees so you can avoid marketing bollox like this. As long as it doesn't screw loading up and obscure the screen I don't care.
But I do think Gold members should either be able to optout or get atleast a year membership for £30. I've seen a lot of people with Pizza Hut gamer pictures, that's an ad but it's also free content, I have a US live account and there is loads of this type of content offered for free, gamer pictures and themes, we even had the free Doritos game "Dino Dash" it was an ad but it was a free game with gamerscore. Avatars could have adidas clothes and accessories, I know people who would pay for that stuff. Meh I saw this one coming ages ago. M$ are so good at marketing and milking 'sorry making' money of us poor punters. They provide some good games but paying for a gaming account like WTF! It was never heard of before in gaming history prior this gen. And now they are milking us by bombarding our consoles with crap like this. This is deja vu all over again. 360 launches ... cheap as chips, as long as you don't want internet gaming, don't want to use your new shiny new tv for hi-def movies, or need it to store downloadable movies or games, nor interested in wi-fi. Oh well guess we can all be lemmings and just enjoy the 360 experience as long as we got cash to burn needlessly. Seems like what I said was right - they'll just be using the same space as current adverts for games and movies - so it'll be no different than what we've got now, but perhaps a bit more relevant.
http://majornelson.com/archive/2009/07/01/advertising-on-xbox-live.aspx
No need for people to get their knickers in a twist. You've got to be vigilant. Quickly and decisively blasting business practices that can all too easily lead to yet another underhanded scheme intended to leech unsuspecting customers of extra funds is one way to fight "the man", and I approve of taking a pro-active approach towards such scummy practices. :twisted: | 
