Advertising overload: Difference between revisions

Operating systems have been experiencing this decline into advertising, mostly from the large market lead [[Windows]]. [[Activision Blizzard|King]]'s Candy Crush frequently comes pre-installed on [[Windows]] 10 operating systems,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Moscaritolo |first=Angela |date=15 May 2025 |title=Windows 10 Will Come With Candy Crush Saga Pre-Installed |url=https://www.pcmag.com/news/windows-10-will-come-with-candy-crush-saga-pre-installed |url-status=live |access-date=15 Mar 2025 |website=[[PCMag]]}}</ref> without consumer consent, and this game is additionally loaded with ads.<ref>[https://www.clashofgaming.com/en/problems-with-ads-in-candy-crush-saga-solutions-and-tips Problems with ads in Candy Crush Saga - Solutions and tips]</ref> Microsoft Solitaire Collection, a mainstay title for Windows devices, has had unnecessary ads inserted into the software.<ref>{{Cite web |date=25 Feb 2020 |title=Unwanted ads in solitaire collection |url=https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/all/unwanted-ads-in-solitaire-collection/814c97f6-30e5-478d-89f0-dfcad1085485 |url-status=live |access-date=15 Mar 2025 |website=[[Microsoft]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=29 Aug 2024 |title=How to stop ads on Microsoft Solitaire collection? |url=https://www.gameslearningsociety.org/how-to-stop-ads-on-microsoft-solitaire-collection/ |url-status=live |access-date=15 Mar 2025 |website=[[Games Learning Society]]}}</ref> Users who purchased Windows 10+ licenses have reported a progressively increasing number of ads within the software.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hoffman |first=Chris |date=28 Feb 2021 |title=How to Disable All of Windows 10's Built-in Advertising |url=https://www.howtogeek.com/269331/how-to-disable-all-of-windows-10s-built-in-advertising/ |url-status=live |access-date=15 Mar 2025 |website=[[How-To Geek]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=De Leon |first=Nicholas |date=21 Oct 2024 |title=How to Get Rid of the Ads and Other Shortcomings in Windows 11 |url=https://www.consumerreports.org/electronics-computers/computers/windows-11-how-to-get-rid-of-ads-and-other-shortcomings-a7800213441/ |url-status=live |access-date=15 Mar 2025 |website=[[Consumer Reports]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=1 Apr 2023 |title=Every time I login to my PC a screen advertising Game Pass appears. How do I stop this? |url=https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/all/every-time-i-login-to-my-pc-a-screen-advertising/6f83ad8a-3dab-43ef-871e-979b58965f6f |url-status=live |access-date=15 Mar 2025 |website=[[Microsoft]]}}</ref> Windows 10 additionally has pop-ups that frequently advertise legacy users into purchasing Windows 11-supported hardware.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Irwin |first=Kate |date=21 Nov 2024 |title=Microsoft Pushes Copilot+ PCs on Windows 10 Users With Pop-Up Ads |url=https://www.pcmag.com/news/microsoft-pushes-copilot-plus-pcs-on-windows-10-users-with-pop-up-ads |url-status=live |access-date=15 Mar 2024 |website=[[PCMag]]}}</ref> While it is possible to disable this pop-up via registry editing in Win 10 Pro edition,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Stagg |first=Dave |date=Feb 14, 2022 |title=How to disable the Windows 11 Upgrade prompt |url=https://endpointfocus.com/how-to-disable-the-windows-11-upgrade-prompt/ |access-date=Mar 15, 2025 |work=Endpoint Focus}}</ref> the registries that are changed with this method are the ones which handle receiving any update, including security updates.

Smart televisions also have been seeing a sharp increase in advertisements within the operating system as well, such as [[Roku]]<ref>[https://advertising.roku.com/ Roku Advertising]</ref> and [[Amazon]] Fire TV.<ref>[https://advertising.amazon.com/resources/ad-specs/fire-tv Amazon Advertising]</ref> [[Roku]] has faced criticism for its plans to introduce ads that appear whenever users pause a game they are playing.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Zwiezen |first=Zack |date=4 Apr 2024 |title=Roku’s New HDMI Tech Could Show Ads When You Pause Your Game |url=https://kotaku.com/roku-patent-hdmi-tech-tv-ads-game-console-pause-screen-1851388976 |url-status=live |access-date=15 Mar 2025 |website=[[Kotaku]]}}</ref> This introduces privacy concerns since these detection systems depend on constant spying on consumer's activities.

Users of [[Xbox]] One/Series<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gach |first=Ethan |date=26 Jul 2023 |title=New Xbox Dashboard Looks Great, Still Has Too Many Ads |url=https://kotaku.com/xbox-series-x-s-dashboard-update-game-pass-ui-1850679127 |url-status=live |access-date=15 Mar 2025 |website=[[Kotaku]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Micheals |first=Steve |date=22 Jan 2024 |title=Xbox Gamers Not Happy About Full-Screen Ads |url=https://gamerant.com/xbox-full-screen-ads/ |url-status=live |access-date=15 Mar 2025 |website=[[GameRant]]}}</ref> and [[PlayStation]] 4/5 consoles,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Yin-Poole |first=Wesley |date=30 Sep 2024 |title=PS5 Homescreen Now Replaces Unique Video Game Art With Annoying Ads You Can’t Turn Off |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/ps5-homescreen-now-replaces-unique-video-game-art-with-annoying-ads-you-cant-turn-off |url-status=live |access-date=15 Mar 2025 |website=[[IGN]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Bevan |first=Rhiannon |date=1 Oct 2024 |title=PlayStation Blames PS5 Dashboard Ads On "Tech Error" |url=https://www.thegamer.com/ps5-dashboard-ads-were-a-bug-tech-issue-removed/ |url-status=live |access-date=15 Mar 2025 |website=[[The Gamer]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Co |first=Alex |date=29 Sep 2024 |title=PS5 New UI Update Also Brought Ads You Can’t Turn Off and Unwanted Forced News Feed to Select Titles |url=https://mp1st.com/news/ps5-new-ui-update-also-brought-unwanted-forced-news-feed-and-ads-to-select-titles |url-status=live |access-date=15 Mar 2025 |website=[[MP1ST]]}}</ref> have been receiving ads on the home screens of their systems for over a decade.<ref>[https://ar.inspiredpencil.com/pictures-2023/xbox-one-dashboard-ads Archive of dashboard ads for Xbox consoles]</ref> This practice dates back to the 7th console generation, such as on the [[Xbox]] 360.<ref>[https://www.neogaf.com/threads/the-ads-finally-were-removed-from-the-xbox-360-dashboard.1549854/ The ads finally were removed from the Xbox 360 dashboard]</ref>

===Traditional Gaming <!-- Something to read later on: https://ijbssnet.com/journals/Vol_13_No_1_March_2022/9.pdf -->===

While not on par with its Mobile gaming counterpart, traditional video games have also been experiencing this heavy increase in advertising. This has especially been seen and documented from titles such as [[Call of Duty]] and [[Fortnite]]. The home screen and launch screen experience for these games often aim to direct players toward the storefront, encouraging them to purchase the products that are being promoted that day.<ref>{{Cite news |last=u/Character-Acrobatic |date=Jun 16, 2024 |title=Stop advertising inside the game |url=https://www.reddit.com/r/ModernWarfareIII/comments/1dgvt12/stop_advertising_inside_the_game/ |access-date=Mar 15, 2025 |work=Reddit}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Makuch |first=Eddie |date=Nov 3, 2023 |title=Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Has A Full-Screen Ad That Some People Don't Like |url=https://www.gamespot.com/articles/call-of-duty-modern-warfare-3-has-a-full-screen-ad-that-some-people-dont-like/1100-6518890/ |access-date=Mar 15, 2025 |work=Gamespot}}</ref> Additionally, killcams in Call of Duty have seen ads as well.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Aguilar |first=Jorge A. |date=Feb 25, 2025 |title=Call of Duty Brings Advertisements to Player Killcams |url=https://www.howtogeek.com/call-of-duty-advertisements-player-killcams/ |access-date=Mar 15, 2025 |work=How to Geek}}</ref> <!-- For the advertising pile whenever we get a dedicated COD page:

Additionally, [[Activision Blizzard]] has a dedicated advertising division for companies to advertise their products inside their games.<ref>https://www.activisionblizzardmedia.com/</ref> [[Epic Games, Inc.|Epic Games]] has done a similar thing.<ref>{{Cite web |first=Joey |date=24 Jul 2024 |title=Fortnite Ads |url=https://gomediashark.com/fortnite-ads/ |url-status=live |access-date=15 Mar 2025 |website=[[Media Shark]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Lattin |first=Pesach |date=27 Jan 2023 |title=Fortnite In-Game Advertising. How does it Work? |url=https://www.adotat.com/2023/01/fortnite-in-game-advertising-how-does-it-work/ |url-status=live |access-date=15 Mar 2025 |website=[[aDOtat]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Byrd |first=Matthew |date=Dec 2, 2020 |title=How Fortnite Became Gaming’s Great Shameless Marketing Tool |url=https://www.denofgeek.com/games/fortnite-marketing-tool-epic-games-events-star-wars-marvel/ |access-date=Mar 15, 2025 |work=Den of Geek}}</ref> It is expected that legitimate ads may be progressively more pervasive within the media that users pay for.<ref>{{Cite web |first=Olivia |date=11 Oct 2023 |title=In-Game Advertising: How it Works and Why it Works |url=https://abiosgaming.com/press/in-game-adverting-fortnite/ |url-status=live |access-date=15 Mar 2025 |website=[[Abios]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=15 Mar 2025 |title=In-game advertising |url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In-game_advertising |url-status=live |website=[[Wikipedia]]}}</ref> Advertising agencies in general are also trying to integrate billboard ads for legitimate products inside games, such as Trackmania.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Vargas |first=Anthony |date=2 Mar 2022 |title=NBCU Adds In-Game Ads To Its Sales Roster Through Partnership With Anzu |url=https://www.adexchanger.com/gaming/nbcu-adds-in-game-ads-to-its-sales-roster-through-partnership-with-anzu/ |url-status=live |access-date=15 Mar 2025 |website=[[Ad Exchanger]]}}</ref>

Additionally, some platforms have gone so far as to send users notifications explicitly promoting these new products available for purchase within the game.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Khan |first=Huzaifa |date=24 Nov 2023 |title=Ubisoft Cites “Technical Error” For Recent In-Game Pop-Up Fiasco |url=https://exputer.com/news/games/ubisoft-technical-error-in-game-ad/ |url-status=live |access-date=15 Mar 2025 |website=[[Exputer]]}}</ref> Most have kept these notifications in-game,<ref>{{Cite web |title=How to get rid of GTA Online ads on loading screens |url=https://www.reddit.com/r/GrandTheftAutoV/comments/l3xthb/how_to_get_rid_of_gta_online_ads_on_loading/ |url-status=live |access-date=15 Mar 2025 |website=[[Reddit]]}}</ref><!-- There isn't a whole lot of documentation on everything advertised in GTAO, but when I used to play it, I remembered it often trying to encourage me to buy Shark Cards. --> but some have been reported to leave notification pop-ups directly on users' devices.<ref>{{Cite web |date=4 Mar 2023 |title=Why am I constantly having game app ads popping up even when I'm not playing games? |url=https://support.google.com/googleplay/thread/204580579/why-am-i-constantly-having-game-app-ads-popping-up-even-when-i-m-not-playing-games?hl=en |url-status=live |access-date=15 Mar 2025 |website=[[Google Play Help]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=12 Oct 2023 |title=Game ads keep popping up every 15-30 seconds! |url=https://www.amazonforum.com/s/question/0D56Q0000CLnjCLSQZ/game-ads-keep-popping-up-every-1530-seconds |url-status=live |access-date=15 Mar 2025 |website=[[Amazon Forum]]}}</ref> It is entirely plausible that these marketplace advertisements will increase in popularity from publishers as time goes on. <gallery>

While not as popular as it once was, companies would pay developers to work on games that exist solely to advertise a product, such as McDonald's McWorld, which also advertised other products inside the game.<ref>https://massivelyop.com/2020/05/23/the-game-archaeologist-mcdonalds-mcworld-mmo-is-a-thing-that-existed/</ref> Sometimes these games would also introduce additional anticonsumer practices, often to the detriment of young kids.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Moran |first=Eric |date=27 Jan 2023 |title=McWorld: What happens when a fast food restaurant create an online virtual world |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6nerFPG-PEQ |url-status=live |access-date=15 Mar 2025 |website=[[YouTube]]}}</ref> <!-- Okay, I actually think McWorld deserves a bit of an article here lol - JamesTDG -->Many of these games were made as shovelware as well, so many of these games are often not meant for an extended period of time to be accessible. Older advergames often only sold for a short period, only up to a few years at best, so if a game held any quality, there is a problem of [[FOMO]], this has been seen with popular titles such as Pepsiman on the PS1 or Cool Spot on the Sega Genesis. In the 2000s, these games often preferred accessing servers, mostly to encourage serving additional ads. Many of these would not last long, and these products people invest into are just taken away from them, such as ToonTown<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kelly |first=Heather |date=23 Aug 2013 |title=Coping with the loss of an online world |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2013/08/23/tech/gaming-gadgets/closing-toontown/index.html |url-status=live |access-date=15 Mar 2025 |website=[[CNN]]}}</ref> or Club Penguin.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Martinelli |first=Marissa |date=3 Apr 2017 |title=Disney’s Beloved Club Penguin Has Shut Down After More Than a Decade. We Documented Its Final Days. |url=https://slate.com/culture/2017/04/what-the-end-of-disneys-mmo-club-penguin-was-like-inside-the-game.html |url-status=live |access-date=15 Mar 2025 |website=[[Slate]]}}</ref>

=== Fortnite ===