Xbox 360 Getting Video Ads?

Kotaku writes:

"Last Friday, Microsoft released a the comprehensive listing of changes in the newest Xbox 360 update (hit the link below for all of the technical dorkdom you can stand). Gaygamer skimmed the massive list and noticed something peculiar:

'Added support for Audio Mute/Unmute for video ads.'

Hmm...it looks like Microsoft will be stepping up their advertising a bit. Hopefully it won't become too obnoxious, and thankfully there's a mute option. But I'm thinking that the standard setting should be to "unmute" as opposed to "mute," if you know what I mean."

[riqued]

People have to pay for Live and still get ads!?

WTF is this M$?

[chasegamez]

lol

[UnblessedSoul]

Wow unlucky for Live players

[sak500]

I'm paying 80$ and i'm about to get pi$$d.

[BestGamerAlive]

Stop paying 4 online and buy a PS3 i did and it was the best thing that ever happend 2 me free online wifi built in bluray remote play stop adding on and PLAY BEYOND

[razer]

or you wouldn't sound so puzzled about this.

The ad's on the 360 dashboard are all game or movie related. There are several sections of the dashboard so this could be in-dash trailers of games or movies(if your on the Video Marketplace). The picture for this article is completely missing the mark. It's not like they are making us watch commercials like on TV.

And it's easy to turn the ad's off if you don't want them and they are giving you the option to mute them so it's not like they are forcing it down peoples throats.

I think it could be cool if they keep it game/movie/music related.

[The Wood]

he's just being honest. Being marketed at should be something the silver members should have to endure if anybody does. The saying is 'if you want to disable this add pay xx amount', not the other way round. Why you would feel that all 360 fans would accept this without issue is baffling. I'm not saying game adds are a bad thing but you pay for a service that is getting extra revenue from advertisers. If they do go ahead then they should consider lowering the price or something.

[MvC Xtrm]

I bought a PS3 last night and I was amazed by no ads on PSN. I thought for a free service it would be clustered with ads. In the case of Xbox Live, there's ads on every blade which takes up almost 25% of the page. What's even worse is I pay for XBL. Hahaha

[toughNAME]

an ad on every blade?

25% of the blade?

You pay for LIVE...and then you laugh at others who also pay?

and you just happened to pick up a PS3 last night?

-------------------

busted.. Sony B!tch

[AllroundGamer]

don't worry XBL GOLD members, MS loves you... not.

[power of Green]

You can turn ads off on the 360 move along trolls.

So what if Sony was willing to lose money to make PSN's multiplayer free while they Make sure Home The greatest Ad fest in history gets on its feet(PS3-HOME).

Everybody will see ads everybody will pay in some fashion(A company will fail in such a market MSFT created without support, it couldn't grow with out it).

[games4fun]

i cant resist, you would think with the ridiculous amount of ads you wouldn't each have to pay 50 bucks a year, it should be more like maybe five to ten dollars its not like they have dedicated servers to run its just a p2p service that takes a lot less work and a lot less money i cant help but think they make a huge profit and laugh in your faces.

[aggh im on fire]

Xbox live already has static ads advertising forthcoming games and movie downloads so having them in video format isnt much of a difference. I personnaly don't mind them as its good to know the release dates of forthcoming releases. None of this coming out in America on the 15th and europe a few weeks later rubbish.

[rayc0013]

what is going to suck if they start showing ads right before you load you game like going to the movies and sitting through previews that would suck hard if they ever started that

[v1c1ous]

there's no such thing going on on any system.

[power of Green]

Dam you fanboy PS3 trolls like to fight. You come in here so your worthless opinions can be heard lol.

Why are you dissagreeing? do you have a 360 is the AD ON & OFF feature too hard to find?(Ads will no longer appear in the news windows when turned off).

[v1c1ous]

1) there are 2 ad spaces in xbox live in 2 blades. the greeting blade and marketplace. they have been there since the beginning. this aint nothing new.

2) these 2 ad places give everything from small promotions for music, game releases, contests or free stuff

3) the ads are pictures, so the update would only make it viable to have small movie ads. in the same ad space.

4) these two ad places are about 2.5x3 inches. taking up at most 15-20% of the screen. it is literally a small box in the corner that 99% of everyone overlooks anyways since its on the 2 less used blades of all.

so stop with the "lol you pay for ads" BS because it shows you have not tried xbox live at all. if you did have xbl you would know this ain't nothing new, other than the fact instead of pics there are also going to be moving ads.

THIS IS NO DIFFERENT THAN SONY PUTTING ADS FOR SONY MOVIES/GAMES IN HOME TV SCREENS

[rofldings]

Attention Xbot:

We have no Ads.
We also have dedicated servers. You pay for P2P? That's just like Microsoft ... make you PAY for using your own bandwidth. Nice. 100% profit.

[iceice123]

Grats on that free online, too bad you have no good games to play on it. Honestly, your games are a joke and your online is even worse. If PSN was on par, or even close to XBL they'd make it free too. But Sony is to incompetent to know how to make a good online service, XBL may be 50 a year but you get what you pay for.

[Daxx]

On my 360 I have the ads turned off.

[Valin]

The amount of free stuff I get off thoughs ads is massive few month ago FREE HD southpark! The loads of theme and gamer pics I really don't mind them.

[Chris_GTR1]

damn it! theres already ads on the marketplace, now i see there putting actual video ads. damn it ms just keeps getting gayer every update.

[aaquib5]

Come on Microsoft, since you're shoving video ads down our throat, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE give us dedicated servers. It's embarrassing when 8 player halo 3 lags and 40 player resistance doesn't. I don't mind ads, as a matter of fact I really like them because they offer a lot of free stuff on the Marketplace and they are all related to XBOX, but I NEED dedicated servers.

[Snukadaman]

why bother?

[razer]

Don't give me this 40 player lag free.. Are you on some magical internet connection?? Because I see lag on PSN all the time. Also, the number of players is not only a BW thing but also a game balancing issue. The size of the maps on Halo 3 and Gears DO NOT work with 40 freakin players.. Allow me to save your comment when Huxley launches which is 100 players.

EDIT: Rubbish?? Ok so when I am playing RFOM and I see a target in front of me and then all of sudden I see them either out of site or moved one direction or another is just my eyes? Or when I am deep in a firefight and everything freezes for a quick second I guess it must be my imagination. Even PC gamers are not stupid enough to claim lag free even with dedicated servers. I will say that yes, I've had lag free experiences on PSN as well as XBL but %100 lag free, NO and that is what the original poster was implying.. and yes I took the bait hook line and sinker! LOL

[The Wood]

most of the time you get baited into talking rubbish that makes you look like the people you loath and complain about. Anybody who says that PSN lags all the time is a LIAR. How would you know anyway. The dude may be talking rubbish but you adding rubbish to it just makes a bigger pile. Resistance is lag free. Its run on dedicated servers that we paid for with the high price of the ps3 (maybe, lol) 40 people online with no lag was achieved on RfoM and 32 on warhawk which is groundbreaking for console games. If on the other hand you said Tekken online then id say yep, it can get laggy depending on the host which is how it is for 99% of xbox games (host bit NOT laggy bit).

On the main topic I'll take a step back and say that if the adds can actually be disabled then this topic is a non issue. Just switch it off. And to the guy above that said that people are complaining about something on a console they don't own, WELCOME TO N4G. Id go into that a bit further but im on away turf so ill just say that it goes BOTH ways.

[Sayai jin]

There are slots for nerw movies and games, this is not knew and I really do not ever notice it. They are random, meaning sometimes they are just info on XBL updates, or games, or upcoming movies, etc. I have had XBL for for 4 years plus and have watched it grow to a really nice service. It is one reason why I am still having fun with older games. People comment that XBL cost and that you ha ve to pay for it and things of this matter, but it's $49 USD a year, $4 a month, most people spend that much on one value meal at Mcdonalds. To get a large library of demos and classic/exclusive XBLA games, availability to download movies, TV shows, music videos, private chat, in game chat, friends list, the abilty to play one game while a buddy is playing another and still chat to another, video chating, the abilty to recieve mesages (voice and text)and reading them while playing a game, the abilty to receive or to send a a game invite and accept one and be in the game within a minute or two max, be able to review or receive game reps - compare games of a possible future friend list individual, being able to se what your buddy is doing before you send him an invite and interupt his or her movie, being able to see what my friends are doing and sending messages from the xbox website, the abilty of feeling connected to everyone in the world, the list goers on and on.

Hmmm. a disagree and you did not even say why?

[Chris_GTR1]

yes and we payed 50$ for that. not even the PS XMB or the ps store have ads. when ms has ads plasterd on all the blades and even putting the backround on the marketplace to an ad for ford suvs

[Sayai jin]

Hmmmm. What does this have to do with the PSN. I commented on XBL. I have never seen a Ford advertisment and only notice few other adverts. I also have PSN. I do not compare the two, becuase XBL has been out for 5 years and is leaps and bounds ahead of the PSN and rightfully so. I enjoy the PSN somewhat. There are still a lot of improvements to be made and XBL still needs some improvements as well. Would I pay a small fee for PSN, yes. Would it bother me if PSN had adverts, no, it would me a faster and broadening improvements for the service. I will be glad when more people get mics for the PSN, playing Warhawk with no one saying anything gets annoying. I like to strategize!!!

[razer]

Just go into your Live account and change your age below 18 and you will never have to be bothered by these ad's again.

[power of Green]

Kotaku is always complaining and crying about something MSFT's doing can't even take them serious anymore.

The Attacks on the ad upgrades are really attacks on the the update itself from evnyous Sony fanboys.

[gnothe1]

this is really troubling that these sony boys would go to the extreme to try an deface a service that their god sony themselves would love to have!! is sony not trying to provide all the services of XBL. more than half of these guys dont even have XBL or a 360 for that matter but always have something to say about it!! when I sign on to XBL I FEEL like im ONLINE when I sign in to the PSN unless I go onto the playstation store I dont know if I'm connected or not!! I dont FEEL like im connected!! plus just the amount of content thats available to XBL VS the PSN is just no comparison!! for me I would like XBL to be free but I dont mind paying for it!! I do know if I had to pay for the PSN for what they offer I would not do it even if it was 10 a year!!

[metallbizkit]

I looked on this page and there is no mention:
http://www.xbox.com/en-US/s...

Yet on this page (a blogger from MS it seems like), it is mentioned:
http://blogs.msdn.com/xboxt...

Either way, most of the people in here are blowing this out of proportion. MS doesn't put tasteless ads in right now... they are more visual news as to what has recently been added to Xbox Live. Also, it is just plain ignorant and stupid to jump to conclusions to what this exactly entails, as we have no idea what is really coming.

[DarkSniper]

My initial post on this topic has been reported as spam. I highly disagree with the actions done by N4G. I provided an honest opinion and stated reasons for standing by my opinion.

That is not against the N4G terms and violations. I have noticed that those who provide any negative comments towards the PS3 platform not only never have comments deleted, but never lose their bubbles.

If Firstknight,Powerofgreen,Zhuk, the Mart make such derogatory claims about the PS3, the so-called "abundance" of those partial to Sony would have taken their bubbles away. I'm always up for mature debate on issues so I prefer their bubbles are kept. But I'm almost positive if these comments were made towards Microsoft, they would be shunned immediately.

Someone with moderation capabilities has ensured that anyone who is partial to the XBOX 360 will consistently be able to express their hate towards Sony and their respective console. This has been done by locking bubbles at 5, it doesnt increase, but they dont decrease neither. This isnt directed towards every contributor or moderator at N4G, just those who are abusing their moderation capabilities.

Combine this with random advertisments for Halo 3 "Believe" that are made for this site further proves that my opinions are not allowed to be made because I prefer the Sony system over Microsoft.

This is news for gamers and I am just that. A GAMER. My question to those is why am I being restricted to voice my opinion?

$niper

[razer]

So you come into a 360 article flaming like RuPaul with nothing but a bunch of non-factual garbage and it's everyone elses's problem.?

So now let me guess and I can read your implications in this message that N4G is biased against the PS3?? Or at least some members of it's staff? Well, I've now heard it all and I guess N4G deserves it. They let this fanboy drivel continue over and over and it would eventually lead to them turning against N4G itself. Yes I am being dramatic about it but you are implying that MS is now buying N4G because of some of the ads?? Yet, you completely ignore the PS3 ad's like Heavenly Sword and Drakes Fortune. Funny...

[Bladestar]

Funny... Sony fanboys are just too stupid to know.. that ALL XBox 360 ads are related to games... I see them more as news than ads... for example... when you enter xbox live you see an ad about a new DLC... or new Game... or new Xbox live arcade game... or sometimes even an annoucement about some marketplace free content..

Never I've seen an ranbom add on xbox live.... You are just to studio and ignorant to know that. since you never experience xbox live.

As matter of fact... as an attempt by some companies to add their ads into xbox live, they have being forced to offer something...

* Some companies have created Arcade games for free...
* Doritos created that crap.. about allowing people to make games...
* Some companies have sponsor xbox live for free during a weekend..

That's how companies not related to games are able to put ads on xbox live... but mixing it with something related to games..

[The Wood]

mountain dewmocracy? Something to do with the drink i know but is that game related. I dont have xbl so i honestly dont know

http://img408.imageshack.us...

[xsteinbachx]

all i can say is good luck XBOX gamers. gotta admit that's pretty sh*tty. makes want to rethink my idea of picking up a 360 as second machine to my ps3.

Ads turned off or not.. they're still Ads.

[TheXgamerLive]

The ads are movie, video game and TV related ads, so for me personally I welcome it. It's a good thing, but for some reason you don't want it just mute and move along, also you don't even have to watch an ad if you don't want to, but I enjoy them.

[Chubear]

Just unbelieveable. MS keeps raping it's fanbase and they keep defending them saying

"no no no you Sony playslave noobs, they aren't raping us they're just cleaning out our colons cause they care about our health. hahaha noobs, if only Sony cared for you the saem way you'd knwo what we're talking about. stupid playslaves"

[Bladestar]

Hey Dummy... don't you know how to read? Can you prove that random ads that is not game or xbox live related is display on it? You people keep ranting..and yet you don't read what others are saying... you wouldn't be talking $h!t if you had an xbox 360 and xbox live.. since you would know that this is not true...

[Snukadaman]

while it sucks about ads..they can be turned off...and i seriously find it hard too belive there are absolutely no ads on psn...as I keep saying..after the holidays where sony gets enough suckers signed up on the psn..there will be a email going out saying they will be charging a "small" fee for psn...5 bucks a month...but hey.,..you get home for free so buck up sony fans.

@thewood
even if they dont own a xbox 360 it dont matter if they comment..but too act like they know how xbl really is and comment is absurd and trolling..I dont own a ps3 but i comment on games but i dont throw out any nonsense like jump in and trolling comments...I speak my heart not my ass.

[razer]

according to these fools.. When I click on a game on PSN and that banner AD! comes up across the topic with the price and info.. Well that is an AD according to what these people are saying.. If I'm on the 360 dashboard and they have an AD that says "Halo 3 Maps now available" (which is the kind of AD's we are talking about) well that is pure evil... and if it's animated OMG the devil himself.

I think there are too many commentors in this thread that have no idea what a 360 dashboard looks like or what the AD's are even related too. You can tell it's just cheap shots because nobody really knows how this will be applied yet blindly attack it.

EDIT: The_Wood - I like your style. You are a lot more level headed in dealing with the trolls then I am(+ bubble). I think it comes down to what do people consider an AD. If it was an AD for something like McDonalds French Fries then OK we have a problem. But if the AD's are for say a new map pack, or a new HD movie on the Marketplace or even an upcoming Movie in the Theatres isn't that a bit less obtrusive? I think as long as they keep them game/entertainment related it's not a problem.

[The Wood]

never heard you badmouth or complain about blu ray, psn or the price of the ps3 before. My point is some people are here to troll and your right to shut em down cause its a 360 topic to be fair but this topic like the ones I mentioned regarding the ps3 are reasons one might not buy any particular console. You'd complain about the price if you wouldn't buy a ps3 because of it. You might even complain about psn even though its free so why shouldn't people complain (non-trolling manner) about something they would probably have to pay for? Like I said before 'if you want to disable these adds pay x amount' not the other way

EDIT: razer, kool, cheers
Snukadaman, kool, fair enough

[Skynetone]

enjoy paying for live
enjoy your loud drive
enjoy ringing up for a coffin
enjoy being lower forms of life for the next ten years

[gololo]

i don't mind the adds, it's been there so nothing to be annoyed at...however, it'd be nice if Live membership was funded by the adds...or at least a portion of it (only for members who have adds on)

=====
We got a retard that disagreed lol....i guess he is rich enough to be throwing money at MS....

[AAACE5]

There are so many Playstation fanboys on here, it's sickening!

Why do you care so much about a console you think is the utter garbage?

I thought you guys where suppose to be playing beyond... "What happened?"

You must not have anything worth playing! I guess play beyond really meant, to play the games in your mind while you are waiting for their delayed release date only to have it look a little better than a 360 title.

I don't mind the ads! To me they add a more comfortable feel to the live environment. Just like having ads in games. Plus they keep you updated on new stuff.

Plus this may just be the beginning of things to come. Some of the stuff on live will be discounted in price with this update, and possibly sometime in the future live may be free(you never know)!

I like the ps3, but you sony fanboys make me not want to get one because I don't want to be viewed as somebody like "YOU!"

What's wrong with having all the next-gen systems?

Why do you love the ps3 so much, and hate everything else?

I saw a few games for the ps3 that got me excited about getting one. Heavenly sword was the main one. But once I played it, that excitement soon dwindled shortly afterwords, just like the other high profile titles for the ps3.

I'm not too concerned about wi-fi right now, because my 360 gets the most use, and the wii hardly ever gets played, so I don't see the need to change up my connection.

I will get a ps3, but as long as you fanboys keep yappin, i'll keep waitin! I don't really see a reason to need one right now anyway. OK, you got MGS 4 coming out, but everybody knows that once someone beats that game, you can find them used in stores like gamestop. Same with final fantasy. I wouldn't hype mgs 4 too much... You do remember alot of gamers were mad about Mgs 2 and FFX because they were so heavy on cutscenes and not enought gameplay. And MGS 4 and FFXIII look to travel the same path.

I don't like the sims or second life, so I don't think Playstation Home would be something i'd be interested in. I've heard people tell me about Little Big Planet, but it seems to be more for 6-15 year olds, so "NO!" Killzone 2 looks beautiful! But if it plays like killzone 1, i'll have to pass.

Overall, i'm saying I love playing games no matter what system it's on. But if something doesn't feel worth it at the time... I'll just wait!

And no they won't do something stupid like make you watch a commercial while your game is loading! It would make loading take longer. The goal is for users to view the ad, without it taking away from the original experience.

Message to all fanboys: Please stop fanboyism(especially ps3) your system of choice might sell better, but people get on here and hear you, and say, "I don't want to play with that guy!", so you just lost sony, microsoft, or even nintendo a customer. And possibly lost yourself a good person to play games with online!

Think before you speak!!!

[The Wood]

not everybody who complains is a fanboy troll. Shut down the trolls don't get me wrong but you have to recognise the differences between trolls and people who just don't agree with your opinions

[MvC Xtrm]

Quote, "an ad on every blade?

25% of the blade?

You pay for LIVE...and then you laugh at others who also pay?

and you just happened to pick up a PS3 last night?

busted.. Sony B!tch" [/END QUOTE

Haha
Wow, sounds like you have it all figured out, champ. Did your momma ever teach you to look before you leap (passing assumptions as fact).

See attached images that make YOU look like a the Fanboy here.

Notice the gamertag on Xbox Live image 1

Notice Two ads on the blade take up about 25% of it on pic 2.

OWNED Fanboy "B!TCH"!

[toughNAME]

Yes there are ads on that blade, there are also ads on the Marketplace blade. Thats it

Ads arent on every blade.

With that comment you clearly show you are not a fanboy. clearly.

[The Wood]

that ownage was waiting to happen. bubbles to you both. MvC Xtrm for total ownage and toughNAME for being man enough to admit fault.

[toughNAME]

I forgot to say minus bubble

also dont PM me

[MvC Xtrm]

You took a bubble from me when I clearly had a legitimate gripe about a service I PAY FOR? Wow! You go, boy! Haaha
I don't know whether you're an overzealous Fanboy who can't take anything negative said about your golden product or you're just pissed off that I owned the ever living sh!t out of you, but I'm about to lay the smackdown on your fanboy ass yet again.

If I were such a Sony Fanboy as you claim, why did I go out and buy an new ELITE 360 when I already own a premium 360?
Why do I pay for Xbox Live?

Well, I like the games and the service from Microsoft but I just stated one minor problem with Xbox Live (advertisements) and you have the ballz to call me a Fanboy and take a bubble from me? Hahaha OMG, you sure are a winner.

-------------------QUOTE = toughNAME-------------------

Yes there are ads on that blade, there are also ads on the Marketplace blade. Thats it

Ads arent on every blade.

With that comment you clearly show you are not a fanboy. clearly.

-------------------END QUOTE------------------------- --

Shows how much you know. Ads are in fact on every blade except for One, and that's the 'System' blade.

Do you beg to differ? I wouldn't, you've already embarrassed yourself enough. Buuuuut, what the hell, you felt the need to ignorantly (and Fanboyishly) take a bubble from me so here goes.

I have taken a pic of each blade and uploaded the images to the following links (imageshack):

1. 'Marketplace' Blade

http://img408.imageshack.us...

2. 'Xbox Live' Blade

http://img408.imageshack.us...

3. 'Games' Blade

http://img47.imageshack.us/...

4. 'Media' Blade

http://img227.imageshack.us...

That's 4 out of 5 blades... ZOMG! I have seeeeeen the light, brothas and sistas! Sorry, chump, but your ignorant ass walked right into that one.

Hahaha