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That would be like a politician telling people to quit smoking, and slapping his/her political sticker onto a pack.

“We’re going to have to parent better, and turn off the television set, and put the video games away, and instill a sense of excellence in our children, and that’s going to take some time.”

Obviously, that doesn’t apply to any voting aged person, so I don’t think Obama is being hypocritical when he advertises in video games. I also agree with his message. Too many parents let video games and televisions raise their children (key word: children). When I have kids, i’m making sure they get a healthy dose of good ‘ol OUTSIDE

For certain games it makes more sense. In a GTA game, I’d rather see either a) unique made-up stores or b) actual real stores, not fakes. It’s annoying to see “THE CAP” clothing stores all around town.

In a different way, though, your comment of wanting to escape hits home with me. In fact, last night I did that very thing. I was feeling overwhelmed with information and controversy, and I went to bed with my DS and played some FFV Advance. It’s a world where none of this crap exists.

But then I think about the number of people that really are totally unaware of what’s going on in the world, and think that maybe it wouldn’t hurt to remind them of reality. As long as not all games become advertising-laden (and I don’t think certain types of games will ever work well that way; can you imagine a Zelda game with ads?), I think I’ll be ok.

I will agree that it’s smart business savvy for video game advertising. 1. It’s just extra money in the bank for publishers/developers. 2. The companies/people that are advertising ensure that people are actually viewing the ads. Because like you said unlike TV, and the internet there’s no turning off ads on a video game.

Hmmm that might be a nice option to include in future games, though I wouldn’t hold me breath for it

On the other hand, I have to hand it to EA because they’ve come up with a brilliant strategy. And, I have to wonder if there is a segment of the market that only this type of advertising can reach. Those who either don’t have network TV and watch everything online (or who do have it and skip all commercials on their Tivo), or those who just don’t see much advertising any other way.