Yep, word is that McDonald’s has paid a seven-figure amount to allow you to open your very own McDonald’s franchise in the upcoming Sims Online!
Intel has also signed up, you will be able to buy Intel branded computers and use them to operate your Sims Online virtual business or for communicating with other players.
Read more about this “product placement” madness here…
Bayarena
posted by shadow · at 8:12 am · filed under News
“Take me to Kentucky Fried Chicken”. Ok, someone else here *must* have played Crazy Taxi. This kind of product placement in games is not exactly new.
On the other hand, as a reformed Sims junkie, I have a few other concerns. One of the first things I did when I started getting bored with the Sims was to create scenarios that were not exactly “family friendly”. Snuff movies, elaborate brothels, porn stars, you get the drift.
What I want to know is if I use the McDonalds franchise in game to create a story that doesn’t precisely gell with the McDonalds family branding, and then post the resulting “family album” to the Sims website, am I going to get my arse sued by Maccas for violating their IP?
I think this should be the primary goal of all sims online players. Just to prove a point.
;)
Well now maybe the sky really is falling. A quick read through the article which references “the violent fare of best-selling titles like “Grand Theft Auto II” as a reason advertisers have for so long avoided getting more involved in games the quote that closes out the article only re-affirms that while the “mainstream” may be getting into video games, they’re not actually understanding anything about them.