Metal Gear Solid 4's Protagonist to Sport iPod

iSnake, anyone? Metal Gear Solid 4's release will be accompanied with much fanfare - and apparently, heavy in-game advertising.

Snake will have access to an in-game iPod to change the game's background music to selections found in the game and downloaded from the web.

Also planned for inclusion, at least for the Japanese version, are: Regain energy drinks, a Sony Ericsson cell phone and Triumph motorcycles. The drinks will also be sold in stores in special bottles leading up to the game's June release.

Other collaborations include T-shirt and cell phone game deals.

Konami itself will launch novels and a 47-track soundtrack of the game, as well a digital comic.

Source: IGN.com

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hooray! Who needs artistic integrity when we can have cynical cash-grabbing scams?

More like "Hooray, who needs 90 dollar games due to millions spent in production costs, when we can offset that with some in game advertising of real world items that would be seen in the game world anyhow."

Im a consumer whore... only because im in Japan right now... I want that stuff...

am i shallow??

what about calorie mate!? there better be CALORIE MATEs in this game!

PxDn Ninja:
More like "Hooray, who needs 90 dollar games due to millions spent in production costs, when we can offset that with some in game advertising of real world items that would be seen in the game world anyhow."

More like "Hooray, I'm a Sony Fanboy and I'll defend Teh Killa-app Game no matter how absurd it feels".

This idea is just plain stupid or should I simply say: Fucked Up.Period.

No way! MGS has always been a rather insane series and adding out of place marketing would fit right in.

Maybe a ironic Lexus ad in the middle?

JakubK666:

PxDn Ninja:
More like "Hooray, who needs 90 dollar games due to millions spent in production costs, when we can offset that with some in game advertising of real world items that would be seen in the game world anyhow."

More like "Hooray, I'm a Sony Fanboy and I'll defend Teh Killa-app Game no matter how absurd it feels".

This idea is just plain stupid or should I simply say: Fucked Up.Period.

Would you heap the same scorn on someone defending product placement in the James Bond films? Product placement does make perfect business sense, especially if you're working with money-spilling blockbusters like MGS4. But I suppose there's no reason EVER trying to explain it, seeing as you hurled abuse at PxDn Ninja the moment an explanation was offered. Learn to listen to others' arguments or jog on.

With that aside, the product placement doesn't particularly bother me. I'm not expecting much subtlety, bearing in mind this is a big-bucks title looking for advertisers (that sort of reminds me of the hilariously blatant ads in EA titles like Burnout), but in the film industry they're very opportunistic with it - James Bond being the finest example - and it'll be interesting to see how many ways Konami can slip brands to the viewer. Will it be like the McDonalds outlet in Fifth Element, or a bit subtler like... er... the sequined Coca Cola billboard in Strictly Ballroom? ;)

From a business sense, it makes sense. From an artistic sense, it's horrible.

j-e-f-f-e-r-s:
From a business sense, it makes sense. From an artistic sense, it's horrible.

..and suddenly, I'm reminded of the phrase "starving artist".

j-e-f-f-e-r-s:
From a business sense, it makes sense. From an artistic sense, it's horrible.

From a real world sense, art doesn't get put out there without business.

NotPigeon:

j-e-f-f-e-r-s:
From a business sense, it makes sense. From an artistic sense, it's horrible.

From a real world sense, art doesn't get put out there without business.

Depends. In the world of music, people are making steps to getting their art out there without having to sell their integrity. Who knows where we'll be in five or ten years time.

PxDn Ninja:
More like "Hooray, who needs 90 dollar games due to millions spent in production costs, when we can offset that with some in game advertising of real world items that would be seen in the game world anyhow."

Ah yes. Of course, I forgot how generous big businesses are in handing back revenues to us, the consumer. Even when they could probably get away with not doing on such a big title as this. [/sarcasm]

This stuff makes me sick. I can't play Battlefield 2142 anymore (and I used to love it) ever since I saw adverts for Jay-Z's album in it. Inserting adverts in a game sets a dangerous precedent. What happens if games actually become cheaper? All games would have to feature advertising for their prices to remain competitive. Then designers would have to be careful not to offend the sponsors. All the life would be crushed out of them, eventually.

at least I might actually use an ipod now...

There's a difference between in-game/movie product placement and in-game/movie advertising. Having the beverage your character drinks in the game have a real world label on it, or seeing a Doritos billboard in the game is one thing, but having an actual advertisement for that product is completely different. There's also a question of relevance to the subject matter.

To use the James Bond example, you have Q (or R, if you're a toddler and have only seen the pitiful recent films like Die Another Day) going out of his way to introduce the new BMW ZX-blahblah with satellite radio, individual passenger air conditioning, and an electronic penis measurer that grossly overestimates the real value, and then audibly informs you of the results via a sultry female electronic voice. That is in-game/movie advertising.

The Battlefield 2142 example is another sad example, because if we're really to feel immersed in this demented future of robots and laser death, then we really wouldn't give a shit about the latest hip hop album, now would we. For that matter, Jay'Z's latest album would be about 150 years out of date, to boot. That is also in-game/movie advertising.

Now, if the motorcycle you happen to be using in a relatively modern setting game like MGS happens to have a real world company's logo on it, and that logo is the normal size and whatnot, and not smeared all over the side of the bike in bright white letters, that's fine. If you're walking down yet another sandy, brown, Arab street, which seem to be all the rage in games these days, and you happen to see a billboard with the McDonald's arches but the ad is clearly written in Arabic, or a Coca-Cola vending machine with "Taste the Real Thing" slapped on it in Farsi, that's fine, too.

What would NOT be fine would be something like this:

- BEGIN CODEC TRANSMISSION -

Snake: Otacon! I somehow am the world's greatest soldier and yet I don't even know how to use the equipment I've been given before being sent in on a mission. What's this strange white device clipped to my belt?

Otacon: That's an Apple(tm) iPod(tm), Snake. You can use it to change what music you're listening to while on the mission.

Snake: This thing plays music?!

Otacon: Yes, Snake. (I have to repeat your name, just so you know that I am, in fact, talking to you) You change tracks with the press of a finger using the iPod(tm)'s patented touchscreen technology. You can even download new music off of the internet.

Snake: I see...

Otacon: You can also store pictures and video on it to share with your friends, and it has a built-in web browser so it can access the internet from any wifi hotspot.

Snake: This little thing can do all that?

Otacon: Yes, Snake. The people over at Apple(tm) have really revolutionized the portable music industry.

Snake: Hmmm...

THAT would be bad. Considering it's Hideo Kojima and this is MGS we're talking about, the above scenario would not be in the least bit surprising, since Kojima loves A- referring to himself as much as possible, B- making horrible puns and ill-conceived self-referential jokes, and C- jarringly breaking your immersion to remind you that you are, in fact, playing a game. You know, because that controller in your hand and your dry, bleary eyes from staring at the TV for too long weren't enough of a reminder.

Yeah.

DrFuzz:
There's a difference between in-game/movie product placement and in-game/movie advertising. Having the beverage your character drinks in the game have a real world label on it, or seeing a Doritos billboard in the game is one thing, but having an actual advertisement for that product is completely different. There's also a question of relevance to the subject matter.

To use the James Bond example, you have Q (or R, if you're a toddler and have only seen the pitiful recent films like Die Another Day) going out of his way to introduce the new BMW ZX-blahblah with satellite radio, individual passenger air conditioning, and an electronic penis measurer that grossly overestimates the real value, and then audibly informs you of the results via a sultry female electronic voice. That is in-game/movie advertising.

The Battlefield 2142 example is another sad example, because if we're really to feel immersed in this demented future of robots and laser death, then we really wouldn't give a shit about the latest hip hop album, now would we. For that matter, Jay'Z's latest album would be about 150 years out of date, to boot. That is also in-game/movie advertising.

Now, if the motorcycle you happen to be using in a relatively modern setting game like MGS happens to have a real world company's logo on it, and that logo is the normal size and whatnot, and not smeared all over the side of the bike in bright white letters, that's fine. If you're walking down yet another sandy, brown, Arab street, which seem to be all the rage in games these days, and you happen to see a billboard with the McDonald's arches but the ad is clearly written in Arabic, or a Coca-Cola vending machine with "Taste the Real Thing" slapped on it in Farsi, that's fine, too.

What would NOT be fine would be something like this:

- BEGIN CODEC TRANSMISSION -

Snake: Otacon! I somehow am the world's greatest soldier and yet I don't even know how to use the equipment I've been given before being sent in on a mission. What's this strange white device clipped to my belt?

Otacon: That's an Apple(tm) iPod(tm), Snake. You can use it to change what music you're listening to while on the mission.

Snake: This thing plays music?!

Otacon: Yes, Snake. (I have to repeat your name, just so you know that I am, in fact, talking to you) You change tracks with the press of a finger using the iPod(tm)'s patented touchscreen technology. You can even download new music off of the internet.

Snake: I see...

Otacon: You can also store pictures and video on it to share with your friends, and it has a built-in web browser so it can access the internet from any wifi hotspot.

Snake: This little thing can do all that?

Otacon: Yes, Snake. The people over at Apple(tm) have really revolutionized the portable music industry.

Snake: Hmmm...

THAT would be bad. Considering it's Hideo Kojima and this is MGS we're talking about, the above scenario would not be in the least bit surprising, since Kojima loves A- referring to himself as much as possible, B- making horrible puns and ill-conceived self-referential jokes, and C- jarringly breaking your immersion to remind you that you are, in fact, playing a game. You know, because that controller in your hand and your dry, bleary eyes from staring at the TV for too long weren't enough of a reminder.

Yeah.

Well, if you remember, Otacon claimed that his little Camera on Wheels thing (The name of which I can't remember) has a CELL PROCESSOR. Snake had no idea what that was, and then we saw that Otacon's Computer has a "Zone of Enders" background, and he starts to explain the Cell Processor to Snake. It was pretty funny.

Anyway, the Regain Energy drink commercial is actually pretty funny. It reminds me of the Japanese Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Energy drink/Potion commercials.

Neato!

I can't wait to don some Nikes in the game as well. Just helps you escape from those pesky guards in a much easier.

Oh, and in a tight situation, Snake can take some Gatorade to get in the game.

Actually, i always found the fourth wall breaking to be abstracted pretty well. I think Kojima's one of the few to realize that it only really exists to be broken with a passive experience like a movie or TV show, and not in a directly interactive thing like a videogame.

As far as the whole ad thing goes, i don't think it'll be anywhere near what companies like EA try to pull for the simple reason that Kojima seems to actually care about what he's doing. He loves to dick around with concepts like nobody's business, but there's no reason to believe that he'd sell out his own project out of base avarice.

To put it into perspective, having an iPod is not all that different from any of the weapons in previous games. You know, the FA-MAS, SOCOM, and other recognizable real-world weapons the series has seen? Those are brand names too. And in Kojima's hands, i wonder if having an iPod wouldn't be a better way of blurring the lines of reality and, thus, be less jarring than some wacky nanomachine receiver that lets you hear songs by stimulating the small bones in your ea...

Aw. Fuck.

Gahars:
Neato!

I can't wait to don some Nikes in the game as well. Just helps you escape from those pesky guards in a much easier.

Oh, and in a tight situation, Snake can take some Gatorade to get in the game.

hehe maybe there can be a cutscene where solid snake cuts the neck of a soldier and the blood is replaced with gatorade and then one of the comercial slogans appear.

i know now, a viagra comercial when snake drags the corpses.

or a shooting where the sweat of snake is replaced with gatorade too

JakubK666:

PxDn Ninja:
More like "Hooray, who needs 90 dollar games due to millions spent in production costs, when we can offset that with some in game advertising of real world items that would be seen in the game world anyhow."

More like "Hooray, I'm a Sony Fanboy and I'll defend Teh Killa-app Game no matter how absurd it feels".

This idea is just plain stupid or should I simply say: Fucked Up.Period.

Bullshit, idiot. Anyone who feels that the realism of a game is destroyed by integration of actual items and products is just idiotic. Stocking the world with products is gonna make it seem that much more realistic, and thus that much more chilling - it makes you think "This is not some fake parody world, this sounds like it would happen in my own".

I like the idea of control over the soundtrack, it sounds like it could be an interesting concept. This way I can set all battles to Snake Eater. Glee.

Ain't that bad, I learned if you play Crackdown connected to XBL you'll see up to date advertisements.

I wonder if Mountain Dew Game Fuel will feature in Halo 4 as a +health pickup.

Okay, here's the Regain Commercial.

http://www.gametrailers.com/player/33852.html

Also, on the GT page for MGS4, are all of the trailers, one of which has the Cell Processor comment (Can't remember which).

Indigo_Dingo:

JakubK666:

PxDn Ninja:
More like "Hooray, who needs 90 dollar games due to millions spent in production costs, when we can offset that with some in game advertising of real world items that would be seen in the game world anyhow."

More like "Hooray, I'm a Sony Fanboy and I'll defend Teh Killa-app Game no matter how absurd it feels".

This idea is just plain stupid or should I simply say: Fucked Up.Period.

Bullshit, idiot. Anyone who feels that the realism of a game is destroyed by integration of actual items and products is just idiotic. Stocking the world with products is gonna make it seem that much more realistic, and thus that much more chilling - it makes you think "This is not some fake parody world, this sounds like it would happen in my own".

You don't have to have real world products to make a game world seem realistic. Look at GTA. It has its own in-game companies and corporate brands, but they don't make the game any less immersive. Indeed, the game uses them to parody their real life counterparts. Now, I'm not saying MGS should start taking the piss out of McDonalds or Pepsi. But the idea that Snake using a Sony Ericcson rather than a generic phone helps the game's immersion is silly.

I'm a huge MGS fan, but to be honest this wouldn't seem in place with the world of MGS.
Calorie Mate was ok, as it was reminiscent of the 60s.

But MGS isn't about product placement. And it shouldn't be either.
As long as there isn't an overabundance of brand names being thrown everywhere, and the references are subtle, then there shouldn't be a problem.

But the idea of Snake using an iPod for whatever reason in the middle of a war situation sounds like an extremely desperate way to get product placement in

Indigo_Dingo:

JakubK666:

PxDn Ninja:
More like "Hooray, who needs 90 dollar games due to millions spent in production costs, when we can offset that with some in game advertising of real world items that would be seen in the game world anyhow."

More like "Hooray, I'm a Sony Fanboy and I'll defend Teh Killa-app Game no matter how absurd it feels".

This idea is just plain stupid or should I simply say: Fucked Up.Period.

Bullshit, idiot. Anyone who feels that the realism of a game is destroyed by integration of actual items and products is just idiotic. Stocking the world with products is gonna make it seem that much more realistic, and thus that much more chilling - it makes you think "This is not some fake parody world, this sounds like it would happen in my own".

I like the idea of control over the soundtrack, it sounds like it could be an interesting concept. This way I can set all battles to Snake Eater. Glee.

Oooh, Ima sowy I was a leetle bit too hash;

Let me reiterate my reply to PxDn Ninja:

Considering that it's a must-buy title for 8/10 of US & EU PS3 owners and even homeless tramps in Japan will have a copy of MGS4,not to mention very heavy "exclusivity support" from Sony, could it somehow be possible that the game would cover it's production costs solely through it's sales, without forcing Snake call Otacon with his Sony Ericsson and using McDonald's as a checkpoint?

I'm sorry but I can't imagine Solid Snake, who judging by the moustache fought back in WW1, running around listening to bloody Ipod while shooting terrorists in the middle of a fucking 3rd world country.

And sorry for my behaviour in my first post but considering the amount of criticism Halo 3 drew due to the Mountain Dew Game Fuel(Yes I know it's not exactly like in MGS4's case but it's still Halo 3 Product Placement, just outside of the game.), it really pisses me off when people* are trying to make it look like a "good" aspect of the game.

*I decided to limit my use of "fanboy" since that usually makes the author look like a fanboy too.

I actaully like the product placment, mgs has been doing it for a long time in its games, as an easter egg and inside joke. Its not "selling out" if your having fun with it and thats what generally happens, have you seen the "energy drink commercial" thats over the top on purpose, it fits mgs's comedy style.

JakubK666:

Indigo_Dingo:

JakubK666:

PxDn Ninja:
More like "Hooray, who needs 90 dollar games due to millions spent in production costs, when we can offset that with some in game advertising of real world items that would be seen in the game world anyhow."

More like "Hooray, I'm a Sony Fanboy and I'll defend Teh Killa-app Game no matter how absurd it feels".

This idea is just plain stupid or should I simply say: Fucked Up.Period.

Bullshit, idiot. Anyone who feels that the realism of a game is destroyed by integration of actual items and products is just idiotic. Stocking the world with products is gonna make it seem that much more realistic, and thus that much more chilling - it makes you think "This is not some fake parody world, this sounds like it would happen in my own".

I like the idea of control over the soundtrack, it sounds like it could be an interesting concept. This way I can set all battles to Snake Eater. Glee.

Oooh, Ima sowy I was a leetle bit too hash;

Let me reiterate my reply to PxDn Ninja:

Considering that it's a must-buy title for 8/10 of US & EU PS3 owners and even homeless tramps in Japan will have a copy of MGS4,not to mention very heavy "exclusivity support" from Sony, could it somehow be possible that the game would cover it's production costs solely through it's sales, without forcing Snake call Otacon with his Sony Ericsson and using McDonald's as a checkpoint?

I'm sorry but I can't imagine Solid Snake, who judging by the moustache fought back in WW1, running around listening to bloody Ipod while shooting terrorists in the middle of a fucking 3rd world country.

And sorry for my behaviour in my first post but considering the amount of criticism Halo 3 drew due to the Mountain Dew Game Fuel(Yes I know it's not exactly like in MGS4's case but it's still Halo 3 Product Placement, just outside of the game.), it really pisses me off when people* are trying to make it look like a "good" aspect of the game.

*I decided to limit my use of "fanboy" since that usually makes the author look like a fanboy too.

Damn, I had a reply all set in my head to you from your first post, but you got to this one faster. Nonetheless, I'll go ahead and give my rebuttal.

The first thing is, I agree. Most of their money will probably be recovered in sales revenue from the release of the title. However I can assure you that the business heads at Konami want more reliable income sources than the estimate of how much they will make from sales. Any time they can reduce to cost, they have to consider taking it, and in this case it was deemed fitting. At the studio I work at we have to do the same thing, with the same arguements from different engineering and design team personnel.

I don't have a problem with product placement or minor ads (billboards and such) in games taking place in a real world environment, but some people do. The company has to weigh out how these two different consumers will view it, and choose their target market to follow.

As for the Fanboy comment, I didn't have a PS3 myself until about 7 months ago, but got my 360 and my Wii at launch, so I doubt I am a PS3 fanboy. I prefer my 360 for the controller and online aspect. Plus I use a 360 more than the PS3, which is a pain in the ass to work with, at work.

Well, to cut this wall of text short, basically they had to chose a target consumer to market to, as well as decide from the business standpoint what would be the most secure path, and took it.

j-e-f-f-e-r-s:

Indigo_Dingo:

JakubK666:

PxDn Ninja:
More like "Hooray, who needs 90 dollar games due to millions spent in production costs, when we can offset that with some in game advertising of real world items that would be seen in the game world anyhow."

More like "Hooray, I'm a Sony Fanboy and I'll defend Teh Killa-app Game no matter how absurd it feels".

This idea is just plain stupid or should I simply say: Fucked Up.Period.

Bullshit, idiot. Anyone who feels that the realism of a game is destroyed by integration of actual items and products is just idiotic. Stocking the world with products is gonna make it seem that much more realistic, and thus that much more chilling - it makes you think "This is not some fake parody world, this sounds like it would happen in my own".

You don't have to have real world products to make a game world seem realistic. Look at GTA. It has its own in-game companies and corporate brands, but they don't make the game any less immersive. Indeed, the game uses them to parody their real life counterparts. Now, I'm not saying MGS should start taking the piss out of McDonalds or Pepsi. But the idea that Snake using a Sony Ericcson rather than a generic phone helps the game's immersion is silly.

Mixed feelings. If the virtual world in question was actually exactly like ours, absolutely filled with recognizable brands, then one more or one less wouldn't make a difference, and the whole would seem to give some reality++ credit.

Now, just one ad/placement that sticks out while the rest of the world of the game is devoid of advertising means that anytime some of the stuff will pop up, it will be like a beam of pure blinding shame striating a perfectly dark sky.

I'm not really familiar with the series, but doesn't Solid Snake have better things to do than fuck around with an iPod while he's out saving the world?

Malygris:
I'm not really familiar with the series, but doesn't Solid Snake have better things to do than fuck around with an iPod while he's out saving the world?

He just recently discovered that there were cool tracks during boss battles.
He's addicted now.

It's a way to...
A: Give the company a bit of money. Gaming is a business, live with it.
and MORE IMPORTANTLY TO US..B: Give us a way to select and listen to what music we want while playing, and an incentive to look in out of place places for more in-game music.

A might be a bad thing. I am as of yet completely unable to comprehend how B is a bad thing at all.
I rolled my eyes at Halo's "Gaming Fuel", but it didn't influence my view on the game at all.
The iPod doesn't change how I view MGS4. It features real world weapons, real world electronics, real world organizations... And now a real world music player for us to select our own game music...
And people are BITCHING about it? What the hell?!

My wife finds this hard to comprehend as well, and asks this to all who bitch...
"If it was just called a Music Player, would you still whine about it?"

They need this game to make mucho lucre. Advertising is a given.

I'm more interested in how you get the Altair costume anyway.

well i know this game is a high budget proyect, and the ps3 isnt the most succesful console right now, i know this game will boost sales but even like that i dont think is a bad idea try to win a bit of money in case the sales itself dont be enough.

maybe with clever stuff like ruined burger king restaurants with letters of that region, or stupid and funny stuff made on purpose like the comercial that was posted here before.

another example would be the transmision posted by Drfuzz, the end of it can something like this.

Snake: You needed to say all that?

Otacon: Sorry Snake but, we dont have much budget for all this operation.

Arbre:

j-e-f-f-e-r-s:

Indigo_Dingo:

JakubK666:

PxDn Ninja:
More like "Hooray, who needs 90 dollar games due to millions spent in production costs, when we can offset that with some in game advertising of real world items that would be seen in the game world anyhow."

More like "Hooray, I'm a Sony Fanboy and I'll defend Teh Killa-app Game no matter how absurd it feels".

This idea is just plain stupid or should I simply say: Fucked Up.Period.

Bullshit, idiot. Anyone who feels that the realism of a game is destroyed by integration of actual items and products is just idiotic. Stocking the world with products is gonna make it seem that much more realistic, and thus that much more chilling - it makes you think "This is not some fake parody world, this sounds like it would happen in my own".

You don't have to have real world products to make a game world seem realistic. Look at GTA. It has its own in-game companies and corporate brands, but they don't make the game any less immersive. Indeed, the game uses them to parody their real life counterparts. Now, I'm not saying MGS should start taking the piss out of McDonalds or Pepsi. But the idea that Snake using a Sony Ericcson rather than a generic phone helps the game's immersion is silly.

Mixed feelings. If the virtual world in question was actually exactly like ours, absolutely filled with recognizable brands, then one more or one less wouldn't make a difference, and the whole would seem to give some reality++ credit.

Now, just one ad/placement that sticks out while the rest of the world of the game is devoid of advertising means that anytime some of the stuff will pop up, it will be like a beam of pure blinding shame striating a perfectly dark sky.

Considering they are not limitting it to just the iPod, I doubt it will be the latter.

But its not like they're shoehorning products in. An mp3 player and a mobile phone are both things that fans wanted (I thought trolling for the damn frequencies was a bitch, and I wanted to listen to certain songs at any one time. Plus, this may even allow us to have some epic battles to Dethkloks Better Metal Snake.