Coming to a game near you...
Sept 1, 2009 6:51:55 GMT
Post by CharlieChomper on Sept 1, 2009 6:51:55 GMT
For those who have noticed in-game adverts in various games (which has become a fairly standard practice), it seems a company recently acquired by Microsoft (mostly for this reason...) has developed something new with respect to them.
Namely, they gather information regarding the user/player (acquired without the user's knowledge or consent, often through your IP address) and then sends that information to a database which then "customizes" adverts shown in the game based upon that information (officially, the user is considered anonymous with only the IP address supposedly being shown as the destination and source, however the fact that such information is even gathered in the way that it has been and then delivered for such a purpose is what has been raising a number of eyebrows and complaints from people over privacy-related matters)--again, without the user either being informed their information has been gathered or what sort of it has been, or without even asking for consent from them.
There also remains some question into how, precisely, this "service" actually obtains the information about the user/player and from what sources--and concerns with respect to it.
It also will take to downloading items off the site to display these ads--again, without the user often being aware of this happening or without asking them.
This company has already inked deals with a number of well-known publishers ranging from EA to Blizzard to THQ to Ubisoft, and Activision, amongst others--with Microsoft now controlling the reigns of the situation (as they now own the company, you can expect their own titles to reflect this).
It's also not limited to computer game titles (regardless of whether one is using a PC or a Mac), as Microsoft is already working on ways of implementing this technology into use with their Xbox360s.
It also does not appear limited to upcoming titles either, as there has been one title from last year (Far Cry2 released by Ubisoft Montreal), which has been confirmed as making use of this technology retroactively.
Amongst the currently confirmed, upcoming titles which will be making use of this new deal are:
-DJ Hero (Activision)
-Band Hero (Activision)
-Guitar Hero 5 (Activision)
-Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen DLC (Activision)
-Madden's NFL 10 (EA)
-Need for Speed Shift (EA)
-UFC 2009 Undisputed (THQ)
-Starcraft II (Blizzard)
~Anything which relies upon Blizzard's Battle.net service.
So far, there does not appear to be a "work around" for this (other than possibly disabling internet access, if applicable and depending upon the game) and it's already being labeled as a form of "adware" to the point where it has generated a number of complaints just from within the tech/techie community when it came to light.
However, in light of how most software licenses/EULAs are written, it doesn't appear there is much the user can do to avoid this (short of, again, disabling internet access prior to playing if it's even possible, depending upon the game).
Namely, they gather information regarding the user/player (acquired without the user's knowledge or consent, often through your IP address) and then sends that information to a database which then "customizes" adverts shown in the game based upon that information (officially, the user is considered anonymous with only the IP address supposedly being shown as the destination and source, however the fact that such information is even gathered in the way that it has been and then delivered for such a purpose is what has been raising a number of eyebrows and complaints from people over privacy-related matters)--again, without the user either being informed their information has been gathered or what sort of it has been, or without even asking for consent from them.
There also remains some question into how, precisely, this "service" actually obtains the information about the user/player and from what sources--and concerns with respect to it.
It also will take to downloading items off the site to display these ads--again, without the user often being aware of this happening or without asking them.
This company has already inked deals with a number of well-known publishers ranging from EA to Blizzard to THQ to Ubisoft, and Activision, amongst others--with Microsoft now controlling the reigns of the situation (as they now own the company, you can expect their own titles to reflect this).
It's also not limited to computer game titles (regardless of whether one is using a PC or a Mac), as Microsoft is already working on ways of implementing this technology into use with their Xbox360s.
It also does not appear limited to upcoming titles either, as there has been one title from last year (Far Cry2 released by Ubisoft Montreal), which has been confirmed as making use of this technology retroactively.
Amongst the currently confirmed, upcoming titles which will be making use of this new deal are:
-DJ Hero (Activision)
-Band Hero (Activision)
-Guitar Hero 5 (Activision)
-Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen DLC (Activision)
-Madden's NFL 10 (EA)
-Need for Speed Shift (EA)
-UFC 2009 Undisputed (THQ)
-Starcraft II (Blizzard)
~Anything which relies upon Blizzard's Battle.net service.
So far, there does not appear to be a "work around" for this (other than possibly disabling internet access, if applicable and depending upon the game) and it's already being labeled as a form of "adware" to the point where it has generated a number of complaints just from within the tech/techie community when it came to light.
However, in light of how most software licenses/EULAs are written, it doesn't appear there is much the user can do to avoid this (short of, again, disabling internet access prior to playing if it's even possible, depending upon the game).
