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[hemmingjay]

So Gamersgate is making a game platform, like Steam but the idea is letting you play for free by having you watch or interact with advertisements, etc first. Anyone have any thoughts on this one way or another?
http://www.gamersgate.com/void

http://imprettygood.com/gamersgate-launches-void/

[Levi]

Hate the idea.  I despise being manipulated and I dislike adverts.

[Chattox]

Hate the idea.  I despise being manipulated and I dislike adverts.

+1

[nenjin]

I'm all about alternative models. But like the others I hate ads. To me it will rest heavily on the quality of games they're offering for free play. If it's the $2.99 and under selection that Steam has, I probably won't try it out.

[lordcooper]

I've been keeping an eye on this for a while.  It seems like a potentially great deal for gamers, providing they don't go too OTT with the ads.  I'm a little sceptical about this being particularly profitable for them though.  IGN prime is offering members a beta key for this at present and I'd be very interested in anyone's initial impressions.

[Girlinhat]

Day 1: Upgrade to Pro to remove ads today!  Only $30 a month!

Non-pro - doesn't pause your game while it interjects ads over the screen, consuming 0:30-2:45 of non-interuptable video ad, likely on a low-priority network such that it takes 5 minutes to actually download and view the shaky, smiling face offering you the newest brand of laundry detergent.  FPS and RTS games plummet within the first hours, and the only games still played are turn-based strategy and half of the collectable card type games - the half that doesn't have a turn timer.

Gonna call it now.  QTF watch if it turns up right or wrong.

[Dariush]

I don't think it'll be that bad. IMO the ads will be presented at times such as loading/saving the game, maybe in menus and so forth. The developers will get torn apart if the ads interrupt the gameplay.

Actually, who cares. With the hilariously giant list of supported countries I doubt it'll reach by backwaterish Ukraine any time soon. And by 'any time soon' I mean 'ever'.

[Aoi]

I've got nothing against having advertising as long as they're up-front about it and it somehow benefits me. In this case, I get to watch an ad go to the bathroom and get a drink before playing, and, in return, I don't have to pay for it. Even doing the banner ad across the bottom model would be acceptable (though, given how most systems nowadays are widescreen, a column on the side would probably be better).

I question the profitability (and therefore, longevity and quality of releases) of this model though.

[Rilder]

http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2011/06/14/gamesgate-explain-freegames/#more-62176

Here's a bit more details about it.

Notably:
 

RPS: Do you have to view an advert each time you play? Are there any other adverts displayed during playing the game?

Bergquist: No advertising when you play, only before. We’re gamers too, and who would like to watch ads when playing? That would really mess up the experience.

It might actually work depending on how insidious the drm is to keep people from like manipulating the service so they can access their "Free games" without having to watch the ads.

[Johuotar]

How on earth is that supposed to be profitable? I have a feeling you gotta watch way too many ads or this thing will just crash and burn in its impossibility.

[lordcooper]

After mulling it over a little more, I think I might get it.

1. Adverts can be tailored very well based upon what games you're playing.  If I've played three Total War games and they flash up an ad for a new one, chances are pretty high I'm gonna click on it/buy it.  If I've played CoD and Battlefield, I'll very likely be planning to buy omgmassiveexplosionsandguns 27 anyway and will quite possibly click their link when reminded of it's existence.

2. I'll likely use this to test out games I'm unsure about buying.  If I like one, I'll probably buy it to free up a slot so I can 'demo' another game next month.  Depending on the quality and variety of games, this could result in me purchasing anywhere between one and thirty extra games a year.  If they add a 'buy it now' ad at the end of each play section, GG will probably be getting a percentage of that money.

[Cthulhu]

It's gonna depend on what games they're offering.  If it's shitty stuff, no deal.  If it's AAA definitely a deal, and if it's a mix of good old and new games like GameTap (Before it got bought out and fucked up) then probably deal.

GameTap was rad as hell before they fucked it up.

[BigD145]

Hate the idea.  I despise being manipulated and I dislike adverts.

+1

[freeformschooler]

Agreed with everything Cthulhu says. If it's cool games I'd like to try then yes I'll sign up.

[Jervous]

I really don't mind ads at all. Not on Youtube, not on TV, not anywhere. So it seems like an okay idea to me