Spyware: It's in the Game

**Rincewind** · 10-16-2006 10:19 PM

This just in?

Apparently EA and Dice will 'spy' on you if you play BF2142:

http://digg.com/gaming_news/BattleFi...yware_included

http://www.totalbf2142.com/forums/sh...hlight=spyware

Wow. Sounds like a great deal! :P

**Trooper** · 10-16-2006 10:23 PM

so it would be a ROOT kit? kind of sounds illegal and is it removable

**Snail88** · 10-16-2006 10:26 PM

eh...you knew there were gonna be ads in the game...oh well...it was gonna happen sooner or later.

**perry** · 10-16-2006 10:33 PM

http://www.totalbf2142.com/forums/sh...44&postcount=3

**Clodhopper** · 10-17-2006 12:09 AM

Interesting, I hope it won't effect their support of the game. BF2 sort-of turned into a farce without the ads, I'm a bit fearful what may come if they can depend more on ad revenue than the actual consumer.

Sigh, damnit, I just want a game I can play, put all your gilette and ford ads you want... just keep improving the game if it needs it.

**Lorian** · 10-17-2006 02:19 AM

Just block it in your hosts files, problem solved

**Apophis** · 10-17-2006 06:54 AM

Originally Posted by Lorian

Just block it in your hosts files, problem solved

You can't actually "block" anything with your hosts file. You can misdirect a DNS query and provide a user-defined static result back to the application, but that's about it.

Their application can quite easily circumvent this trick by pointing to a load balanced IP address and/or using their own DNS server to do their recursive lookups for the ad servers.

**Wyzcrak** · 10-17-2006 08:40 AM

http://www.totalbf2142.com/forums/sh...6802#post66802

I don't know anything more about that post, or its author, than is determinable by viewing it.

**Telorn** · 10-17-2006 10:12 AM

After reading up on this I'm not so concerned about it. In-game ads suck, especially in a future-isitic theme where just about all adds would be out of place (some ads could have actually added realism to BF2).

I understand the need to collect data on how often an ad is viewed...that's how one gets paid. But they don't need to be including who viewed. Main reason I can think that they'd link our accounts to it is in the future, the ads may be user specific. Say you look at sport ads often, but never at bathroom ads. The ad system would load more sport ads for you and stop showing bathroom ads.

This won't stop me from buying the game. But, the bugs currently present in the BETA will and until they take care of some of the major game-interferring bugs I've come across I won't buy it.

**Telorn** · 10-17-2006 10:41 AM

I found this quote from EA kind of funny. It's on Gamespot's review of the game.

Ironically, EA says that if you don't want your data shared with its advertising partner then "do not install or play the software on any platform that is used to connect to the Internet."

Who the hell would play this game NOT to play it on a computer that is connected to the internet? EA should have been smart and polite to its consumers and let the consumer decide if they want to send EA the statistics. If not, EA will still get money from the consumer when they view an ad...they just won't be able to show you the type of ads you view the most more often. Big deal.

**Maus** · 10-17-2006 11:00 AM

Originally Posted by Telorn

they just won't be able to show you the type of ads you view the most more often. Big deal.

They make more money from targeted ads, since the recipient of a targeted ad is more likely to buy the product.

**WhiskeySix** · 10-17-2006 12:18 PM

Am I the only one who doesn't care about this? Advertisers pay based on their ad's exposure... on the radio/TV neilson ratings determine how many people see/hear and ad and thus how much the Station can charge for the ad.

It's the exact same deal here... If I'm a company that's bought an advert in a game, I need to know that the ad is being seen... not that it's "probably being seen" or "in a good spot on the map, trust us". It makes complete sense that EA needs to know how many cross-hairs linger on an in-game billboard.

You may argue that this is the top of a slippery slope, and that's fine - but this is harmless IMO.... It's not like we have to enter a credit-card number to create a BFx soldier name. Take off the tin-foil hats guys.

**Maus** · 10-17-2006 12:22 PM

No, I'm with you WhiskySix. I see ads when I watch TV, read the newspaper, poke around the internet, go shopping, see a movie, walk down the street . . .

Doesn't seem like such a big deal, really. It's not anything new. And if it makes ads more effective, then I'm down with that too. Better than being bombarded with ads for crap I don't give a damn about.

**WhiskeySix** · 10-17-2006 01:12 PM

Originally Posted by Bommando

The way I see it, they're adding extra network traffic and selling my interests to the highest bidder with no tangible benefit to me. If they were to pass on some kind of incentive for me to appreciate this 'feature' then I would likely change my mind.

good point, that's fair

**RegaloDeMuerte** · 10-17-2006 01:31 PM

Originally Posted by WhiskeySix

Am I the only one who doesn't care about this? Advertisers pay based on their ad's exposure... on the radio/TV neilson ratings determine how many people see/hear and ad and thus how much the Station can charge for the ad.

It's the exact same deal here... If I'm a company that's bought an advert in a game, I need to know that the ad is being seen... not that it's "probably being seen" or "in a good spot on the map, trust us". It makes complete sense that EA needs to know how many cross-hairs linger on an in-game billboard.

You may argue that this is the top of a slippery slope, and that's fine - but this is harmless IMO.... It's not like we have to enter a credit-card number to create a BFx soldier name. Take off the tin-foil hats guys.

It's not so much that it's a slippery slope, but that the proliferation of advertisements has already gone too far in my opinion, and it's worse with no consumer reciprication. I really have no problem with this being in BF2142 specifically, if I recall correctly it was in SWAT 4 and I enjoyed that game, but like Bommando said, we're getting nothing out of this. I put up with ads on my favortie web sites because I know it keeps them free/alive and I'm fine with that. But this game is still going to cost $49.99 whether there's advertisements or not. I'm not worried about ads being beamed into my brain a la Minority Report, but I am worried about the increasing lack of privacy and the already skewed power relationships between corporations and the modern consumer.

/rant off

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