Tighter control

[Drakkenmensch]

And I'm not talking about joysticks here.

If sponsored contents is to be allowed in future games, then SL should have the final veto as to what makes it in or not to avoid another trainwreck like the Coke-Iridia track.

Seriously. I removed ALL my japanese sponsored packs in protest of the repulsive look of that track. Even my Continue pack.

Yes, it's actually headache inducing. And I mean LITTERALLY, not just figuratively. My head was actually pounding by the time I was done with the ONLY race I did on that track.

(EDIT: Corrected the track name. Thanks to Hellfire for pointing out my error)

[bakkufu]

I'm leaving delta on, but from the screenies I've seen I won't be installing any coke related packs at all - renaming the track banner to coke, is a bit lame!

[Hellfire_WZ]

That pack was downright offensive to the eyes. Just doing one lap and all you could see was cokecokecokecokecokecokecoke..... I hadn't even touched a can of the stuff and I was on a caffiene high after that. I mean even if they stuck to the billboards it would still have been perhaps a little OTT, but the red crap all over the track and actually changing the NAME of the track was just too much. After racing on the unbranded version as well you can really see how badly the poor thing had been slaughtered. Unfortunately, duty binds me to use these packs for the FAQ, but I certainly wouldn't otherwise.

If companies honestly want people to use their packs, they need to be a lot more subtle about it. I haven't seen one person yet who has even exuded the mere possibility that they might find that Coke pack remotely attractive. The Puma and WIRE05 ones actually didn't look all that bad, and were practically unnoticeable when compared with the latest abomination. Hopefully any later sponsored packs will look at what Coke have done and realise exactly where the line is.

(BTW Drak, it was Iridia, not Koltiwa. :wink:)

[Drakkenmensch]

Ah, thanks for the correction Hellfire, I was seeing so much red (both from the track and the subsequent anger) that I didn't see the difference. The nam eof the track being excised didn't help none either.

I would suggest that you do include the info in your guide, but with a clearly labelled warning indicating that these packs are included only for the sake of accuracy and completion, and to "use at your own risk, may induce frustration, rage, blindness and stress."

The Puma branding looks tame and tasteful all of a sudden, doesn't it?

[Seek100]

I'm going to regret this I know but: 'anyone got pics?'

I thoroughly agree SL should have creative veto over sponsorship but I doubt it'll ever happen as Sony owns their collective arse, and Sony clearly don't give much thought to artistic integrity, I'm almost expecting them to do a Gay-Fuel sponsorship at some point. 8O

[bakeded]

WTF is Gay-Fuel??? 8O

[Mobius]

http://uk.geocities.com/ce_hellfire/coke1.jpg
http://uk.geocities.com/ce_hellfire/coke2.jpg
http://uk.geocities.com/ce_hellfire/coke3.jpg

these are in another thread also.

Oh and gay-fuel? I aint got a clue but if it what i thin it is it could mean PEGI might need to re-rate the game...

[Seek100]

Gyah!!! It's worse than I'd thought!. That stripy crap on the track might look good if it were actually on a proper track, and not so garish, a more subdued colour, thanks for the pics.

Gay-Fuel for those who've never visited ytmnd.com is an energy drink very similar to Red Bull, except it's coloured pink and contains various additional nasty chemicals which it's creators claim are 'sexual stimulant herbs and immune system boosters'.

Wikipedia entry on the subject:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gay_Fuel

An exceedingly hilarious (sarcasm) example of the Gay-Fuel fad on YTMND insinuating about the Duke. Nukem that is:
http://dukegayfuel.ytmnd.com/

Another mixing the Gay-Fuel theme song (chosen by the YTMND people) with Vader's lame 'Noooooooooooo!!!!!1one1eleven' speech from the end of Episode III:
http://gaaayfuuuel.ytmnd.com/

[atika]

We don't have the coke pack in Australia yet. :(

[Hellfire_WZ]

That's because it's a Japanese exclusive set.

[Dogg Thang]

Yeah I agree with you Drak. I mean, I had issue right from the start with sponsered content, before it was even announced. I mellowed considerably on it firstly because it turned out to be just rebranded stuff we already had and, secondly, because I'd have loved a branded track from my own projects - it would just be cool.

But the Coke packs are an abomination. Like you, I don't have any of those on my memory stick (although I kept the Continue pack). That's just personal taste.

I have serious issue with the EU Delta pack because it has not been offered unbranded. I think that's quite unfair on the owners of the EU version and hope at some stage that they get an unbranded Delta pack. I have removed the Delat from my EU version simply because I don't like having the two Puma ships turn up in races all over the place.

So I totally agree with you.

The problem, on tighter controls, is who actually has that control. I'd be willing to bet that many people in SL don't like the Coke packs (I can't speak for them of course but it's a guess). Unfortunately they wouldn't be the ones making the decisions as to what content goes out and what doesn't. It's going to be the suits - the marketing people. As much as it doesn't seem like it, I reckon they probably put a lot of thought into what happens - as Egg pointed out, the JP owners would most likely not react as negatively to the Coke packs as we have. They seem to like their branded specials (as the Coke Hot Shots Golf would seem to suggest). I suppose they thought that Puma, being a sports brand, would be cool enough for the EU audience - not far off Red Bull in their minds. For many people, they are probably right.

So, although I don't like it, I can actually see their reasoning so far in the branding.

What I do find baffling is why there has been no US branding yet. I would have thought that there is serious money to be made in that territory by doing a similar deal to the Puma stuff and I honestly can't understand how that hasn't happened yet.

But SL having tighter control is unlikely. Ultimately it will always be the money men making those sorts of calls. It's unfortunate at times but true. I think for now the solution is simply don't have it on your memory stick. Don't download it. That's not so easy with EU Pure and the Delta pack though. What I do hope that Sony realise in the future is that branded content can be very off-putting if not done subtely and tastefully - it can reduce the value of the product in the eyes of the customers.

If we start to wonder if a game has been designed simply as a vehicle for advertising then they'll have a problem on their hands.

[Drakkenmensch]

I don't like having the two Puma ships turn up in races all over the place.

Thumbs up for the Omega pack offering separate download files for the tracks and the ships. It allows people to not use the branded ships if they want just the tracks and nothing else (or vive versa)

[Distrupto]

The Omega ships r branded? With wat?

[Drakkenmensch]

There is one ship whose color scheme matches each of the tracks.

Turboweevel => Burgertown
Cardracer => Cardcity Run
Haironaut => Parishair
Klor => 123Klan

[Distrupto]

THAT'S branding? What brand does that sponser? If u look at it that way, Goteki45 is like the CardRacer, advertising its place of origin.

However, the Coke, Puma, Stealth and Medevil ships r real branded ships, advertising Coca-Cola, Puma, the movie Stealth and the game Medevil Resurrection.

[Drakkenmensch]

Well, there's only TWO variations of form in the four new racers, so what's the only difference between those two pairs? Hull colorings, thus branding. It brands the artist who did those, so that qualifies ;) It's still sponsorship, but much less aggressive since it promotes talented artists instead of soulless corporations.

[Lance]

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concerning why it's not been done in North America yet: America is fed up with advertising, particularly the internet generation who have grown up with getting things free that have no advertising on them. just as an example, look at the resistance my favourite browser ran into by making a free browser that had an advert banner on it. many FireFox fanatics complained that one should never download even a free browser if it had dreaded adverts on it. this seems to be an attitude particularly characteristic of American users as contrasted to Japanese users.

then again, maybe i'm full of it, and Sony just has not got round to the commercials yet, but will as soon as they can.
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