Xbox users call out Activision and Microsoft for "vomit inducing" full-screen Modern Warfare 3 ad (www.eurogamer.net)
from Goronmon@kbin.social to games@lemmy.world on 03 Nov 2023 14:37
https://kbin.social/m/games@lemmy.world/t/595156

#games

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Audrey0nne@leminal.space on 03 Nov 2023 14:58 next collapse

Entertainment industry as a whole is about to relearn some painful lessons about customer satisfaction. Every day there’s a new reason to hoist the black flag on predatory capitalism.

echo64@lemmy.world on 03 Nov 2023 15:20 collapse

eh, will it affect their profit? or will it direct enough people to the New Microsoft Game Out Now! that it’s worth annoying everyone else.

the only painful lesson is if they lose money, which they probably won’t.

MamboGator@lemmy.world on 03 Nov 2023 16:39 collapse

Just speaking for myself, I bought a PS5 mainly because it’s where I can play Demon’s Souls but after Microsoft bought Activision I figured I would inevitably end up buying a Series X as well. Seeing stuff like this means I’ll probably never buy an Xbox again, regardless of what exclusives they’ve managed to acquire.

I know I’m not representative of everyone, but I hope there are enough others like me to make their invasive advertising push very unprofitable for Microsoft.

IndiBrony@lemmy.world on 03 Nov 2023 18:08 next collapse

If nothing else, I’m with you ✊ Lemmy has done wonders for me finding alternatives for everything.

I’m looking forward to getting a Steam Deck, and my next home computer is gonna be Linux-based for sure ❤️

The crowd may not follow us, but there are plenty of us who are happy not playing everyone else’s shitty game.

XbSuper@lemmy.world on 03 Nov 2023 20:42 collapse

I’m with you, I was on the fence for either an xbox or steam deck. I’m now firmly on the steam deck side.

Unfortunately it won’t make a difference, and odds are they actually gain from this.

[deleted] on 03 Nov 2023 21:40 next collapse

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Cybersteel@lemmy.ml on 06 Nov 2023 03:02 collapse

That’s like going from one monopoly to another.

MeekerThanBeaker@lemmy.world on 03 Nov 2023 14:59 next collapse

Normally, I think gamers overreact a bit when it comes to ads on Xbox… but this time, this full screen ad when you boot up the system should not be allowed.

Wonder what genius exec had that brilliant idea. Stupid.

QuandaleDingle@lemmy.world on 03 Nov 2023 15:23 next collapse

Wait…this is a thing now!?! I switched to PC, so I wouldn’t know…Crazy.

RickRussell_CA@lemmy.world on 03 Nov 2023 15:25 next collapse

Click the Win11 search bar…

<img alt="" src="https://lemmy.world/pictrs/image/c9f4dfa5-4f33-4e7c-8f33-ae52c59128b3.png">

radix@lemmy.world on 03 Nov 2023 15:32 next collapse

That’s bad, but at the very least, Windows can be customized to hide all that crap. Some options are up front, some require a lot more digging, but it can be de-advertised. Xbox is way more locked down.

beefcat@lemmy.world on 03 Nov 2023 22:02 collapse

The first thing I do on any new Windows install is turn web results off in search. This resolves the exact problem people are constantly complaining about.

sp6@lemmy.world on 03 Nov 2023 15:44 next collapse

PC ≠ Windows

-Your local linux evangelist

Caradoc879@lemmy.world on 03 Nov 2023 16:06 collapse

How do you know someone is a Linux user?

They’ll fucking tell you.

brsrklf@jlai.lu on 03 Nov 2023 16:24 next collapse

You know, that saying doesn’t work nearly as well when the conversation is actually about people’s experience with operating systems.

Caradoc879@lemmy.world on 03 Nov 2023 20:49 collapse

I mean, go to any tech related post and every thread quickly becomes about Linux regardless of what it was about.

Dontfearthereaper123@lemm.ee on 05 Nov 2023 15:47 next collapse

It’s because Linux is the solution to everything including issues like world hunger and war.

Swedneck@discuss.tchncs.de on 05 Nov 2023 19:22 collapse

almost like linux is really important and what an absurd amount of devices run, regardless of the task they ultimately perform.

Caradoc879@lemmy.world on 06 Nov 2023 01:15 collapse

Concrete and steel are really important but construction workers don’t tend to rant about it off the clock.

cashews_best_nut@lemmy.world on 03 Nov 2023 17:21 next collapse

No, that’s just Arch Linux users.

I use Arch, btw.

CalicoJack@lemmy.dbzer0.com on 04 Nov 2023 00:19 next collapse

We just need the rest of the Linux gang to experience the glory of pacman+AUR, it’s not our fault they don’t listen.

ultrasquid@sopuli.xyz on 05 Nov 2023 14:49 collapse

NixOS users too

DoucheBagMcSwag@lemmy.dbzer0.com on 03 Nov 2023 17:36 next collapse

Cry harder

Caradoc879@lemmy.world on 03 Nov 2023 20:49 collapse

Am I crying? No, I’m laughing at you.

c10l@lemmy.world on 04 Nov 2023 14:29 collapse

Laughing, but just in the pauses between each ad you’re reading or dismissing, I imagine.

wildginger@lemmy.myserv.one on 03 Nov 2023 18:18 next collapse

“pc has ads too!”

“No thats just windows, other operating systems dont do that. Linux has no ads, for example.”

“AAAAAAHHHHHH LINUX USER LINUX USER!!! AAAAAHHHHH YOU SAID IT THE DEVIL WORD LINUX AAAAAAAAHHHHH MOMMY MOMMY HOLD ME AAAAAAAHHHH THEY TOLD ME THEY USE LINUX AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH OH GOD OH FUCK OH GOD”

Caradoc879@lemmy.world on 03 Nov 2023 20:47 collapse

Lol exaggerate much?

wildginger@lemmy.myserv.one on 03 Nov 2023 21:00 collapse

Yeah bud, thats kinda the point

“Exaggerate for comedic effect” is one of the oldest comedy standards.

Paradachshund@lemmy.today on 05 Nov 2023 21:08 collapse

Truly the vegans of tech

konalt@lemmy.world on 03 Nov 2023 16:41 collapse

I’ve never seen an ad on Windows 10 or 11. Been using 11 for over a year at this point. The start menu just has my pinned apps and recent files.

Knusper@feddit.de on 04 Nov 2023 11:54 collapse

There may be regional differences, depending on how much local laws allow Microsoft to profit off of you…

Cybersteel@lemmy.ml on 06 Nov 2023 03:01 collapse

Which usually means just the US and Australia.

Chainweasel@lemmy.world on 03 Nov 2023 15:35 collapse

I take it you haven’t used Windows 11 yet, The start menu is basically all advertisements.

Zimroxo@kbin.social on 03 Nov 2023 16:15 next collapse

You can turn them all off though

Sanctus@lemmy.world on 03 Nov 2023 16:27 collapse

I shouldn’t have to. And if I do it should all be toggles in one place. Not scattered and hidden throughout control panel, settings, and the terminal.

beefcat@lemmy.world on 03 Nov 2023 22:03 collapse

You shouldn’t have to, but it’s also something that you only have to do once and takes less than 30 seconds.

It’s a minor annoyance but people act like microsoft crashed an suv into their living room and killed their cat.

Sanctus@lemmy.world on 03 Nov 2023 22:07 collapse

It does not take 30 seconds, it takes up to five minutes. Some of these changes also get reverted with specific updates and suddenly you’re seeing ads again.

beefcat@lemmy.world on 03 Nov 2023 23:17 collapse

I’ve never had this change reverted in an update.

And it does not take 5 minutes, I can do it in less than 30 seconds. It’s a single key in the registry.

Sanctus@lemmy.world on 03 Nov 2023 23:28 collapse

Thats the tailored experiences, common users dont have the knowledge to safely edit registry keys. Thats a bullshit excuse to hide ads there and you know it. Stop defending shitty practices.

beefcat@lemmy.world on 03 Nov 2023 23:42 collapse

i’m not defending it. literally the first thing i said was that users shouldn’t have to do this.

and it’s not the tailored experiences, i’m talking about the “feature” that puts web results in the start menu search.

all i did was add some nuance to the conversation and you’re crucifying me over it because i didn’t pile on the circlejerk.

Sanctus@lemmy.world on 04 Nov 2023 00:11 collapse

Yes I am. Saying “its not that bad, it only takes thirty seconds” is literally defending shoving ads down our throats and making them hard to remove. That way of thinking deserves to be crucified. Ads have no place living on an OS.

[deleted] on 04 Nov 2023 01:00 collapse

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Sanctus@lemmy.world on 04 Nov 2023 01:05 collapse

Because its fucking mind boggling people would ever even provide an excuse for this. Why? Even if it did take thirty seconds, why? I would still curse it.

[deleted] on 04 Nov 2023 01:07 collapse

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QuandaleDingle@lemmy.world on 03 Nov 2023 16:17 collapse

I have, but there aren’t any unskippable ads at startup.

AlolanYoda@mander.xyz on 03 Nov 2023 16:27 next collapse

You say “stupid”, but I’m kind of worried it’ll have a positive impact in their sales, making these types of ads the new standard… I hope not, but my expectations are getting worse and worse

kromem@lemmy.world on 03 Nov 2023 20:39 collapse

That this exists at all means it is a new standard ad format they are testing out. They didn’t program in a new ad format just for Activision.

So unless there’s enough of a pushback that they can it, you’ll be periodically seeing similar boot up ads for other games and maybe even things like McDonald’s down the road.

thesprongler@lemmy.world on 03 Nov 2023 17:08 next collapse

Any sort of ad on a luxury item you’ve already paid for should be cause for concern for the future. Sony does have ads, but they are hidden in menus and are static text ads, not video ads (yet).

Buddahriffic@lemmy.world on 03 Nov 2023 18:56 next collapse

Personally, I’d like to thank Microsoft. They’ve been making it easy to not regret getting a PS5 and not really even considering the xbox option that strongly. Between the series S needing to handle it for it to be allowed on the series X and now full screen ads, it’s like Sony is the only one that realizes there’s still competition going on.

I’d also like to thank people who still buy Xboxes anyways for giving Sony a reason to not turn the enshitification up to an 11 because it’s probably more of a difference in confidence than principles.

CmdrShepard@lemmy.one on 04 Nov 2023 00:32 collapse

They also recently announced that all unlicesenced third party accessories will cease to work with the Xbox as of a couple days ago.

Buddahriffic@lemmy.world on 04 Nov 2023 00:51 next collapse

Yeah, plenty of things that have made me glad to not have one. Has there been anything positive about Xbox in the news lately? That isn’t kinda a backhand compliment, like BG3 being available on it soon while it launched everywhere else a while ago now?

rustyriffs@lemmy.world on 04 Nov 2023 08:14 collapse

Wtf?

rip_art_bell@lemmy.world on 03 Nov 2023 19:50 next collapse

I thought there’s no way… when you boot up!? Sure enough. “the ad in question pops up when players boot up their Xbox”

Wow

kromem@lemmy.world on 03 Nov 2023 20:37 next collapse

It was almost certainly multiple execs, from multiple companies, with Activision being the first partner for a new ad format team Xbox was rolling out but had discussed in advance with multiple agency partners.

RoverRacecar@lemmy.world on 05 Nov 2023 08:02 collapse

Classic Microsoft.

boomer478@lemmy.ml on 03 Nov 2023 15:13 next collapse

I’ve had a Day 1 edition Xbox One that I’ve used nearly every day since release. Admittedly, not great for games, but it’s been an absolute powerhouse of a media center for me. Twitch, youtube, plex, any streaming service, and a blu ray. If for some reason I can’t stream something to it, I can plug in my chromecast or laptop, and with passthrough, it’s literally all I’ve needed in my living room for the past 10 years.

For the first time yesterday I very honestly considered boxing it up and getting rid of it after booting it up and getting this forced full screen ad before getting to my homepage. Fuck this shit.

MamboGator@lemmy.world on 03 Nov 2023 16:33 next collapse

I had pretty much the same experience. I loved using my Xbox One as an entertainment centre, but the most recent dashboard update made me never want to turn it on again.

slazer2au@lemmy.world on 03 Nov 2023 16:57 collapse

You shouldn’t consider it. You should do it. But too bad M$ already has the money so they won’t care of you flog the unit off second hand.

eramseth@lemmy.world on 03 Nov 2023 15:14 next collapse

Feels like what happened with android tv.

Veraxus@kbin.social on 03 Nov 2023 15:23 next collapse

This kind of thing is the reason I've started moving completely away from Microsoft platforms, including Windows. Microsoft is getting more and more invasive and aggressive pushing advertising onto people in their own private spaces, and that is unacceptable.

Since I'm a PC gamer first and foremost, I don't use XBox... and after this, I won't. Ever. This was just MS dipping their toes in to see if they could get away with it.

Thankfully, with Valve continuing to rapidly improve Proton, just about any Windows game runs on Linux now with very little elbow grease. No Microsoft necessary.

rip_art_bell@lemmy.world on 03 Nov 2023 19:53 collapse

with Valve continuing to rapidly improve Proton, just about any Windows game runs on Linux now

I hope this is actually true, or becomes true. The only reason I’m on Windows is for gaming.

Heck even my Bitwig DAW runs on Linux.

Swedneck@discuss.tchncs.de on 05 Nov 2023 19:25 collapse

it’s to the point that even pirated games generally Just Work if you run them via steam, it’s magic

paraphrand@lemmy.world on 03 Nov 2023 15:52 next collapse

Windows 10 gave me a notification telling me to buy Starfield the other day. fuck off

Tarquinn2049@lemmy.world on 03 Nov 2023 16:32 collapse

You should probably disable it if you don’t want to see it. My windows 10 hasn’t advertised to me in any way ever.

Yeah, it sucks that by default it’s all enabled, but it’s nice that we at least have the option to fully disable all of it. And I haven’t had to reg edit or anything. All the settings are reachable in the operating system itself. If you can’t find it all, there are plenty of guides.

paraphrand@lemmy.world on 03 Nov 2023 16:47 collapse

I must be good at ignoring them, because this is the first I’ve gotten one and read it.

I didn’t know there was an opt out process.

Deestan@lemmy.world on 03 Nov 2023 16:57 next collapse

Meanwhile, over on Reddit, several members of the Xbox community have labelled this marketing stunt “vomit inducing” and “unacceptable”.

People still on Reddit want someone to take their complaints seriously? Empirically speaking, they will accept this.

Goronmon@kbin.social on 03 Nov 2023 17:03 next collapse

People still on Reddit want someone to take their complaints seriously? Empirically speaking, they will accept this.

Nah, it's more than the communities on places like Reddit and lemmy/kbin are so small and unimportant relative to the overall consumer market that you can pretty much ignore them completely.

Deestan@lemmy.world on 03 Nov 2023 17:16 collapse

Yep, that’s more significant for sure. People on any online forum are a loud minority.

It is a cheap dig, but I just found it funny that people who have demonstrated with (lack of) action that they do in fact not care enough to change their habits use a term like “unacceptable”.

FigMcLargeHuge@sh.itjust.works on 03 Nov 2023 19:15 collapse

They are the same people who complain when a news story alerts them to the fact that facebook is collecting their data. They whine about how the govt should do something about this egregious act, and then share that with all their facebook friends.

Swedneck@discuss.tchncs.de on 05 Nov 2023 19:24 collapse

and of course they refuse to engage in politics and vote for people who want to restrict advertisements.

fucking vote, people

setsneedtofeed@lemmy.world on 05 Nov 2023 14:31 collapse

Picture related will never not sum up internet boycotts.

<img alt="" src="https://lemmy.world/pictrs/image/113664c0-5276-4a45-84f8-3d5b5797d4fe.webp">

woelkchen@lemmy.world on 03 Nov 2023 23:07 next collapse

That must be the positive change to the industry the takeover was promised to bring.

Squizzy@lemmy.world on 05 Nov 2023 09:56 collapse

We need legislation to protect from ad placement. It should not be the case that advertisers can get to you on your premium devices in places they could not to begin with.

Manufacturers should have to outline in their launch and marketing material where ads are going to be posted and after that they cannot expand it.

I remember the PS4 having a load of bullshit apps waiting to be downloaded too, I bought the most expensive version you sell, how am I to escape ads if not through that.