Pete_LeGrant July 2, 2009 Entertainment, Xbox 360 3 views Comments Print This Post  Email This Post

Major Nelson attempts to calm the masses today, because XBOX 360 owners are worried about the news that ads are coming to XBL. Major Nelson says:

I’ve seen quite a bit of discussion today about how we’re bringing Silverlight ads to LIVE in the future.
I need to let you know that you don’t need to worry about a huge influx
of ads across the dashboard. One of our core principles is to enhance, not interfere
with the gaming experience, and we work directly with our partners to
only deliver experiences that are relevant to the LIVE community.
Silverlight will help make those ads a more organic part of the
dashboard, like we’ve done with some of the NXE slots in the past. No
one on the team wants to turn the dashboard into something that looks like like Shibuya Crossing. That’s just not good for anyone.

Before I comment, here’s what the Major is talking about:

Sorry, Major, but this defense is just slippery. There are several key terms in this post that need scrutiny.

“Huge.” This is a vague term. Be more precise. How many ads will there be? How much of my screen will be taken up? Note that nothing the Major says here rules out the possibility that there will be a greater number of ads. He just says that there won’t be a “huge influx.” That is perfectly consistent with there being more. And why wouldn’t Microsoft bring in more? Now, they might not. But, I’m just pointing out that he didn’t say there wouldn’t be more….

UPDATE: on Twitter, Major Nelson says that there won’t be more ads.
See: http://twitter.com/majornelson
But, if this was Microsoft’s stance, why not just say that and be done with it?

“Relevant.” What does that mean? Who decides what is relevant to the gamer? Anyone who decided their business model could work with XBL would think that their ads would be relevant to the XBL gamer. That is the thing about advertising–all of it says that its products are relevant to you. It’s obvious that any advertiser takes itself to be giving you relevant ads. What advertiser would say, “This ad is irrelevant to you?” Not one.

“Enhance.” Once again, advertisers take themselves to be enhancing your life. Or, at least, that’s what they want you to think. Of course, advertisers want to bring you more enhanced ads. They have to outdo the competition. The Major does not say anything with this.

“Organic.” NO. It’s a machine, Major. I’m not buying it. “Organic” is a term properly applied to fruits and vegetables, etc. The XBOX 360 dashboard is NOT organic. Here’s a test: if you can’t transport a thing back in time 300 years and have the average person recognize it, then it probably AIN’T organic. The Major is abusing the word.

Yes, I understand that my dashboard won’t look like Shibuya Crossing. But that is an extreme case. I’m betting that most gamers don’t even want a moderate dose of ads on their dashboard. If you look at the comments on his post, many gamers think that a paid service should be ad-free and that a service with ads should be free to use. I think that’s a solid claim.

Verdict: Major Nelson’s post lacks in substance. It merely states the obvious about Microsoft’s advertising plans.

The kicker: I don’t really care about these ads. I don’t spend very much time on the dashboard anyway. I’m just pointing out that the Major’s attempt to soothe us is nothing but a placebo.