Valve and IGA Settle Legal Dispute

[-smash-]

Remember when we first brought you news of in-game advertising being used throughout some Counter-Strike game servers? Well, IGA, the company responsible for these actions, has settled the case with Valve and a PR sheet has been released from both companies:

"Bellevue, WA and New York, NY - February 16, 2006 - Valve® Corporation, a leading content and technology developer, and IGA Worldwide Inc., a leading in-game advertising firm, today announced an amicable resolution of differences regarding in-game advertising in Counter-StrikeTM, the number 1 online action game in the world. This amicable resolution also absolves IGA's advertisers and IGA's advertising agencies from any liability.[br]Advertising in games (also known as "in-game advertising") represents one of the fastest growing segments of the gaming and advertising industries.[br]Last year, IGA arranged for the placement of advertising in Counter-Strike for certain advertisers and their agencies. Like all commercial advertisements, ads in games such as Counter-Strike require permission from the intellectual property (IP) owner. IGA has always sought to honor the intellectual property rights of the owners of games in which its advertising is inserted. IGA takes its responsibility to obtain such permission very seriously.[br]Valve and IGA have announced that they are pleased to have reached a swift and professional resolution of any issues that may have existed between them, IGA's advertisers and IGA's advertising agencies. Valve and IGA look forward to discussing mutually beneficial opportunities in the future."

[br]
This information also seems to be hinting at the possibility that the two will be working along side each other for other future projects. What will they be? Guess you’ll have to stay tuned![br]Thanks, nvrmor!

 

[JNightshade]

Shit, they'd better not be working together in the future! I'd like my CS:S to remain ad-free, thankyawverymuch.

 

[RoGuE_TacT-X]

This information also seems to be hinting at the possibility that the two will be working along side each other for other future projects. What will they be? Guess you’ll have to stay tuned!

What the future will be? If there is a future (hopefully not) it would obviously be advertising in Valve games brought to you courtesy of IGA.

 

[rAdIOhEaD]

Gab-urgers!!! Hmmmmm!

 

[Sui]

Valve: "Stop ****ing advertising in CS. It's annoying."
IGA: "But--"
Valve: "Look, I don't care what you have to say, our customers don't like it and that means we don't like it..."
IGA: "But--"
Valve: "Advertising in games is distracting for the player and it detracts from the gaming experience. Get out."
IGA: "But we're making shitloads of miney!"
Valve: "Hot-diggity, sign us up."

 

[CodeFire]

I bet ppl will love to be playing a really cool sp or mp game killing things with great graphics only to see a big huge ad infront of you for most of the game. Why not add pop ups as well? Each person you kill, you get a ad? :upstare: The best game company, some of the best games, are now going to be stupid. Well we all know how HL2:Aftermath will end, with a big Subway ad that covers the whole screen after the game blacks out like hl2. Only this time, Gman is the one holding the sandwhich.

 

[Sui]

Do you like killing people?

Do you like eating?

WOULDN'T IT BE GREAT TO EAT WHILE KILLING PEOPLE AT THE SAME TIME?

We know how busy all you gamers are, so we've set up a special hotline to call, where you can rent a personal slave to feed you during those long gaming hours! For those of you too lazy to walk over to the phone, we even have a website! IN GAME! just type "/commandslave" in the console to bring up our great selection of slaves. Click one and the cash will be taken straight from your Steam account!

SlaveBurger. It's the only choice for gamers.

 

[nagual7]

Valve is considering working with an advertising company to get us publicity in-game ? Wow, sounds exciting ! I'll be sure to "stay tuned". :thumbs:

 

[Maxey]

Maybe they are considering putting ads on maps in the form of placards, posters or even modelled representations of the real sites. Imagine a CS map with a MacDonalds restaurant in it.

 

[Qhartb]

Advertising in games (also known as "in-game advertising") ...

Glad they clarified that...

 

[Teta_Bonita]

First they signed our souls over to EA, then they changed Aftermath to "episode 1", and now this?
WHY VALVE, WHY!?
D: D: D:

 

[nutcrackr]

Does sound very much like they want in on some of the IGA pie.

 

[Yogibbear]

Do you like killing people?

Do you like eating?

WOULDN'T IT BE GREAT TO EAT WHILE KILLING PEOPLE AT THE SAME TIME?

We know how busy all you gamers are, so we've set up a special hotline to call, where you can rent a personal slave to feed you during those long gaming hours! For those of you too lazy to walk over to the phone, we even have a website! IN GAME! just type "/commandslave" in the console to bring up our great selection of slaves. Click one and the cash will be taken straight from your Steam account!

SlaveBurger. It's the only choice for gamers.

Sounds a bit like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory to Me...

The whole chocolate in the television

 

[Cobra_UK]

This news has really pissed me off. First the partnership with EA. It's not enough that EA bought (hostile take-over more like it) DICE and completely messed up the BF games. BF2 is nothing but a money making machine now, with no regard for players feelings or wishes. They may at some point in the near future take over Valve also and mess up the CS games. EA bought the Desert Combat team to ensure the success of BF2 and the end of DC, fed them bullshit, then discarded them as soon as BF2 was released and sold enough copies, oh and people forgot about DC. EA would charge eskimos for ice if they could. And these are the people Valve is in partnership with. It may not be long before any new map or model on CS:S will have to be purchased.:angry:

And now this shit with IGA. If I start seeing advertising boards or posters on CS:S maps I won't play the bloody game anymore.:flame:

 

[Kirkburn]

Er, EA has not bought VALVe and has no creative control over VALVe. Calm down!
Valve won't start charging for such additions to existing games, only for large expansion packs. Why? Because they aren't that stupid.

Edit: I bet you will still play anyway It might be annoying if t'were to occur, but it's not gonna destroy the game. It's based in reality anyway!
(I still don't want it myself)

 

[Crispy]

And now this shit with IGA. If I start seeing advertising boards or posters on CS:S maps I won't play the bloody game anymore.:flame:

I'll make it my mission to make and make available special mods that counter any sprites or textures. If it comes to it, I want to make sure a simple download is available to gamers that will negate any obscene in-game advertising. I'd probably go to every effort not to pay for Valve games if I did want to play them and I'd also stop modding for Valve games and move onto Doom, Quake and Unreal variants etc.

I'm sad to say it but I'd probably leave this community, too. I don't like being force-fed publicity within a game environment and I'd go to great lengths to avoid it.

 

[DiSTuRbEd]

Oh god an advertisement, end of the world....You people are rather tits about anything in a game.

"EA would charge eskimos for ice if they could. And these are the people Valve is in partnership with. It may not be long before any new map or model on CS:S will have to be purchased."

Good job at working yourself up and getting all mad, truely shows who pay attention to any real news announcement. EA just boxes up VALVe's product in a box and sells them on the shelves, EA does nothing else, VALVe is an LLC(go look it up if you don't know what it means) and thus EA doesn't control any of their development and how they release new content.

So once again good job for pissing yourself over a little issue.

 

[Dr. Freeman]

Do you like killing people?

Do you like eating?

WOULDN'T IT BE GREAT TO EAT WHILE KILLING PEOPLE AT THE SAME TIME?

We know how busy all you gamers are, so we've set up a special hotline to call, where you can rent a personal slave to feed you during those long gaming hours! For those of you too lazy to walk over to the phone, we even have a website! IN GAME! just type "/commandslave" in the console to bring up our great selection of slaves. Click one and the cash will be taken straight from your Steam account!

SlaveBurger. It's the only choice for gamers.

rehearsing i see
good work :thumbs:
Valve should hire you for their marketing department.

 

[longshanks]

The average male sees over 3000 advertisements a day.

Valve: What's one more! We can make a load of cash off the deal!

Seriously Valve, with each passing day you continue to lose my respect.

 

[etzel90]

Im definitly against this, but i have to say this is gonna happen no matter what we say. The internet is one big ad! The freeways have tons of billboards. Most magazines have more ads then articals. Online gaming is the only place left where we dont see ads. Valve would be stupid not to buy into this! There is money to be made!!

 

[Cobra_UK]

So once again good job for pissing yourself over a little issue.

Hey genius, "EA boxes the Valve software in a box...", THAT IS A BUSINESS PARTNERSHIP!

At the beginning of BF EA only boxed the DICE software, now it owns DICE, I said I predict EA will one day, sooner than later, own Valve. It's just a prediction and I'm entitled to it.:thumbs:

The second thing I said was that if I see the same customer support for CS:S like I'm seeing fro BF2 and stupid adverts in form of placards and posters in-game I'm not playing it. My opinion, my choice.

 

[CookieCuttah]

I think you guys are over-reacting, I am sure it will be something like the coke machines in CS will just be real coke machines. It's funny how people before this complained that many times games cant use real brands, now that they are everyone doesn't like it. Word.

 

[Pi Mu Rho]

Hey genius, "EA boxes the Valve software in a box...", THAT IS A BUSINESS PARTNERSHIP!

At the beginning of BF EA only boxed the DICE software, now it owns DICE, I said I predict EA will one day, sooner than later, own Valve. It's just a prediction and I'm entitled to it.:thumbs:

The second thing I said was that if I see the same customer support for CS:S like I'm seeing fro BF2 and stupid adverts in form of placards and posters in-game I'm not playing it. My opinion, my choice.

EA bought DICE because DICE were available to be bought. The same doesn't apply to Valve. They already have slave girls to feed them peeled grapes off platters made of money. They have a swimming pool each, all filled with money. Their clothes are all made out of money. It's unlikely that EA would be able to make them an offer they can't refuse.

 

[Mountain Man]

I'll make it my mission to make and make available special mods that counter any sprites or textures.

It's actually much simplier than that. Just figure out where the ads are coming from and block the IP address. No more in-game advertising. That's what folks did when in-game ads were introduced to SWAT 4.

 

[DiSTuRbEd]

Hey genius, "EA boxes the Valve software in a box...", THAT IS A BUSINESS PARTNERSHIP!

At the beginning of BF EA only boxed the DICE software, now it owns DICE, I said I predict EA will one day, sooner than later, own Valve. It's just a prediction and I'm entitled to it.:thumbs:

The second thing I said was that if I see the same customer support for CS:S like I'm seeing fro BF2 and stupid adverts in form of placards and posters in-game I'm not playing it. My opinion, my choice.

A. All EA does is sell VALVe games on the shelf, thats it.
B. DICE was bought because they were offered a sum of money they couldn't refuse, obviously.
C. Your predictions suck seeing as how Gabe could fund HL2 all by himself.
D. VALVe customer support is different than EA customer support, smaller development company.
E. No one cares if you don't play it.
F. Yet again you are complaining about the dumbest issues and making something big out of nothing.

 

[iaustin]

At the top of this page I see a picture of a woman reclining with an intent look on her face and the caption, "She's waiting for you . . . " This ad to me epitomizes the essence of all ads.

This stuff is ubiquitous in our daily lives. It is understandable that one might want an ad-free environment to escape to when playing a game one has already paid value for. On the other hand, what better way to enhance realism and immersion? A game world without ads, that's not very believable, is it? If the thing is done artfully, it could work out very well. A CS map with a McD's in it? Sure, as long as it's destructible! I'd love to unload some magnum-powered buckshot right into some cardboard cutout Ronald McDonald, then drop a grenade behind the service counter and watch the smouldering milkshake machine and cash registers rattle around the room. Point is, a game world with stuff like this in it would make perfect sense.

On the other hand, ads not integrated into the gameworld would be a real drag. Not to mention that any game not taking place in a present-day environment would be hosed, which is probably the majority. Your right, it's hopeless. Gaming is doomed. She's waiting for you . . .

 

[Crispy]

Oh god an advertisement, end of the world....You people are rather tits about anything in a game.

"EA would charge eskimos for ice if they could. And these are the people Valve is in partnership with. It may not be long before any new map or model on CS:S will have to be purchased."

Good job at working yourself up and getting all mad, truely shows who pay attention to any real news announcement. EA just boxes up VALVe's product in a box and sells them on the shelves, EA does nothing else, VALVe is an LLC(go look it up if you don't know what it means) and thus EA doesn't control any of their development and how they release new content.

So once again good job for pissing yourself over a little issue.

In the UK we pay a mandatory licence for our television. For this licence we receive 5 free channels viewable from a normal television (without cable or a digibox). Two of these free channels, BBC1 and BBC2, have absolutely no breaks for advertising. Can you imagine just how wholesome an experience that is? This is currently the state of games today, why would you not be worried about having it change?

Now, certainly you're going to argue that in-game advertising doesn't stop and start, and cut up the games. It has the potential to be seamless, and that's the problem. When advertising goes unnoticed regardless of how many times the product appears, its subtlety becomes dangerously subliminal, but the effect is nonetheless a powerful one. When you don't notice an advert it doesn't mean your brain won't retain the information, especially if the same information is transmitted to you hundreds of times over the many hours you spend playing a game.

Furthermore, when you start bringing in advertising you bring in politics as well. Games companies (or more likely their publishers) will choose which companies to place in their ads. By including certain manufacturers they're forcing you to make a political statement when you hand over your cash for a game, because some of it will be going to the company which has advertised its product within. Let's take computers, for example (something that will logically interest people playing games on computers). Sites like Ethical Consumer produce reports on how enviromentally friendly companies are, or how well they treat their workers. Contained in the link at the end of this sentence is the buyers' guide they produced for computer manufacturers in the UK [PDF file] (rating process and categories explained here). My point is that in the future when I buy a game I have to decide if the game studio or its publisher should receive my money for allying themselves with a company that has a despicable human rights record, for example.

Many of you simply won't care about that, just as long as you get your game. Now you may agree with the fact that Valve deserve the money you paid for Half-Life, and so you haven't downloaded it from some bit-torrent site. You'd rather your money go to Valve than some criminals. But in my opinion companies that have bad environmental records or which treat workers badly are just as criminal, and I won't allow my money to go to them or any companies associated with them.

If Valve decides to go with in-game advertising (or ads of any form), they'd better choose their associates wisely.

[Edit] Then there's the problem of game development becoming dependant on advertising. Someone else mentioned 'realistic' games becoming the only ones that ever see any play. This can only serve to stagnate the creative ideas pool that games are in danger of falling into. This is especially dangerous if the advertising is done through the publishers, which would most likely be the case. This would pull the creative decision-making further towards the publishers, as certain game features may come to depend on the publishers negotiation with the advertisers. We shouldn't forget that once this takes off on a certain game a soft drinks company, for instance, could come to have substantial financial sway in any decision-making process.

 

[RakuraiTenjin]

I hope the ads are actually ingame. EG: Say the water machines in office. What if it was a Pepsi Machine, done just as it would look in real life? Definately thumbs up, Pepsi gets advertising and it's realistic, the exact opposite of non intrusive since it is part of the game experience.

 

[Crispy]

I hope the ads are actually ingame. EG: Say the water machines in office. What if it was a Pepsi Machine, done just as it would look in real life? Definately thumbs up, Pepsi gets advertising and it's realistic, the exact opposite of non intrusive since it is part of the game experience.

On the contrary, if I had to have ads, I'd rather them be:

- on the box/in the manual, or failing that
- on the installation screen, or failing that
- on the load screens

If it was something as unobtrusive as "Zodrex proudly sponsors Half-Life 3" then I wouldn't be too upset. It's when ads try to force their way into your brain that I get PO'd.

 

[ríomhaire]

Agreed RakuraiTenjin. If I saw 'Doom 4, brought to you by Coca Cola' I'd probably be liable to punch my computer and fling the case against a wall. How often do you see vending machines in games? A surprising amount. It would only make sense if one happened to be a pepsi machine. That said I would hate it even more if they didn't make sense from a story standpoint, ie 7up rather than Breen's Private Resurve in HL2.

 

[Cobra_UK]

A. All EA does is sell VALVe games on the shelf, thats it.
B. DICE was bought because they were offered a sum of money they couldn't refuse, obviously.
C. Your predictions suck seeing as how Gabe could fund HL2 all by himself.
D. VALVe customer support is different than EA customer support, smaller development company.
E. No one cares if you don't play it.
F. Yet again you are complaining about the dumbest issues and making something big out of nothing.

Listen man, this is the second time you personaly attack me. I don't know what your problem is, apart from the fact that you're obviously disturbed but I've not got on your case so stay off mine!

Internet arguing is not something I'm interestted so find someone else to argue with. I've ignored your post and I will do so in the future.

I'm just posting my opinion and not insulting you or anybody. I have reported your post.:angry:

 

[Crispy]

Agreed RakuraiTenjin. If I saw 'Doom 4, brought to you by Coca Cola' I'd probably be liable to punch my computer and fling the case against a wall. How often do you see vending machines in games? A surprising amount. It would only make sense if one happened to be a pepsi machine. That said I would hate it even more if they didn't make sense from a story standpoint, ie 7up rather than Breen's Private Reserve in HL2.

The vending machine is not too bad, but by your same logic billboard advertising is fine because it's the same shit we have to put up with in our normal lives. By that same logic games with TV screens or public computer terminals could have actual television adverts on them. Do you want to be wasting that extra space on your hard drive for an ad? If advertising is more immersive, I'd rather they just invent brands.

 

[polyguns]

cobra, get use to it. theres som people you can't criticize around here or you feel the vengeful wraith of certain peeps.

 

[Cobra_UK]

Cobra, get use to it. theres some people you can't criticize around here or you feel the vengeful wraith of certain peeps.

I didn't criticise anybody polyguns, I suggest you read my posts. I'm not 6 and I don't have the time for that kind of sad shit.

As for fearing the "vengeful wraith", are you serious? Please tell me you're joking because I'm laughing my ass off over here.

 

[Pi Mu Rho]

polyguns is making things up. Unless he has evidence to the contrary, that is.

 

[^Ben]

Nice to see some of you guys still get worked up over "if's" and "buts" here is a nice little tip about press releases, when companies kiss and make up and don't sue the shit out of each other, they always end it with "we hope we end up working together in the future!"

Usually they don't, but such is the nature of PR.

 

[R.Flagg]

If such a thing were ever to happen, I'd expect the game to be free. That's how it works with my TV and radio (in the States anyway).

If I watch a TV show as it's broadcast over network TV, it was free and so I have to see the ads. But if I then go and buy that show on DVD, I sure as heck don't expect to see the ads there. It's ad-free because I paid for it this time, not the advertisers.

So sure, let the game be "realistic" and with advertising, just don't expect me to pay for it.

 

[^Ben]

Thanks for your valuable contribution to the internet.

 

[Steven]

Glad they clarified that...

QFTE

6char

 

[Crispy]

"Glad they clarified that"

QFTE

6char

Both the quoter and the quotee are pretty short-sighted if they think that that public news is only aimed at gamers. There are the interests of the non lingo-savvy investors to think about, too.