As pro-corporate shills continue to defend corporations who don’t care about them, gamers continue to lament gaming going away in favor of more mechanisms designed around monetization than actual gameplay. A perfect example of this is the pushback the community is giving Capcom over their new decision to implement in-game ads for Street Fighter V starting December 11th.
The news was rolled out over on the Capcom blog, where community manager Andy Wong explained that the in-game ads will be available through the costumes, the loading screens, and the stages.
Wong writes…
“Sponsored Content will be introduced into Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition on December 11. Sponsored content will be displayed in several locations in-game to remind you about costumes, bundles, and the Capcom Pro Tour. When Sponsored Content is enabled, players can obtain additional Fight Money in Ranked and Casual Matches – these bonuses come with an upper limit.”
So yes, you can turn on the in-game ads to earn fight money, which can then be used to purchase in-game items.
Obviously gamers who weren’t ensconced into the corporate soothsaying openly derided the decision by challenging Capcom for adding in-game advertising to a $60 game that already has microtransactions and DLC packs.
Many pro-corporatists keep defending that due to the myth of rising development costs that publishers need to scale back on making fun games and focus entirely on how to rape your wallet of every dime, dollar, and cent you have.
That’s not to mention that Street Fighter V at this point is already two years old, so it’s not like adding monetization on top of the existing monetization is to recoup development costs.
On the upside, gamers are at least given the option to turn off the in-game ads by going into the Battle Settings and disabling the sponsored content settings, sponsored content display, and the loading and stage ads.
As reported by Eurogamer, the /r/StreetFighter/ sub-reddit has been mocking Capcom for their decision to add in-game ads to an already premium priced game. They made the mock-up above featuring ads from various other corporations that fill up the screen with their logos.
Most gamers are okay with in-game advertising for freemium games or free-to-play titles. However, adding microtransactions to $60 games is already frowned upon, but adding in-game advertising along with microtransactions to a $60 game is a huge slap in the face.
For everyone who uses the “but development costs” excuse, you need to recognize that if a developer is wasting that much money on making a mediocre game that needs ads on top of ads just to break even, then they either need to scale back on production, or get out of the game-making business if they’re mismanaging funds that badly, especially where the games they’re making aren’t as feature-rich or as fun as games made 20 years ago.
(Thanks for the news tip ThyPancakeConsumed)
