The Cape envelops in-game advertising

Yesterday, The Cape Radio -- specifically DJs Templar and Shecky -- took the time to interview Brian Clayton, the General Manager of NCsoft NorCal studio, Matt "Positron" Miller, the Senior Lead Designer for City of Heroes, and Lighthouse, City of Heroes' Community Relations Manager. While the podcast is available immediately on The Cape's web site, we'll also have a transcript of the session available for you tomorrow. To whet your interest, however, here are some important takeaways from yesterday's session:

• current bandwidth testing -- on dial-up, DSL, and cable modem -- indicate that performance impact with in-game advertisements enabled will range from minimal to none
• any data collected to share with the advertiser to determine the viability of the revenue stream will be in the aggregate, and will not include personally-identifying data
• the goal is to have player-generate ads included in the lineup at no charge, but that model may change in the future, and it may have some caveats, such as one-off advertisements for anniversaries and such
• full details for submitting player-generated material are available on the official forums
• players will be able to opt-in and opt-out at will, and at any time
• if you opt out, you'll see the current static ads; however, if you opt-in, the current static ads will still be part of the lineup, cycling through along with all other player-generated and revenue-generating ads
• 100% of ad-generated revenue is currently earmarked for development of future content
• NCsoft remains committed to making the advertising a seamless part of the experience, and is looking to enhance the immersive nature of the game rather than negatively impact it

While there will always be those who decry the nature of businesses to find alternative revenue streams, it's ultimately up to the companies to determine how best they can serve their customers' needs without significantly impacting the customer experience. In this case, Brian Clayton states that, while "we could look at other opportunities and find other interesting ways to make the game a little more fun through advertising ... really that's not where our heads are right now." As Positron noted on the controversy, "we want to make the game immersive, and not exploitive. We don't want the players to be bombarded by ads every which way they turn. We want it to be a nice experience for them, not a turn-off."

I'm hopeful that things prove as smooth as the developers expect. After all, the opportunity to have additional revenue driving further development without me having to come up with a higher monthly fee is a delightful concept. That being said, is there concern among subscribers as to how this will play out? Yes. Are their concerns valid? Of course. Their concerns are valid, as are the concerns of the development team, marketing, and Community Relations, and that's why NCsoft wants your feedback. Every individual is bringing their own set of needs and hopes to the table, but ultimately, we're all working toward the same goals: keep the cost of the game down, keep content development driving forward, and keep the players involved. We'll know more about how well those three elements intersect once we're able to see how the ads -- once live -- are implemented and received in Issue 12.