Bioshock 2 and "Organisation-centred advertising"
by Martin Belam, 19 February 2010
I'm an advocate of user-centred design in digital products, but I understand how digital publishers often end up with organisation-centred design. "Organisation-centred advertising" is something else, and I saw a classic example of this the other day.
Bioshock 2 is a big release in the games world.
And, of course, as a punter, I want to know whether it is available on either the PS3 or XBox platform, or both.
But as I stood on the platform at Kings Cross on Monday, I couldn't help ponder why it was important for me, as the consumer, to see the logos of all the internal bits of the production company that had contributed to the game...
I've often wondered the same about TV shows and movies.
Does the average person really care who was the assistant standby carpenter?
I was told once that it was necessary to list everyone involved in the production so that these people could show their work history, which left me wondering why they can't use a CV like the rest of us.
Am now looking forward to the day that my receipt for a washing machine from John Lewis included the names of all the people involved in its manufacture.
Same thing here in Czech Republic, I'm wondering about this too. Huge list of all companies participating on the product but in most of the cases - no important end-user informations...
Does the average person really care who was the assistant standby carpenter?
If u played the 1st one, u might have been slightly bothered when starting the game as all of these logos were displayed one by one before u can actually play.
Now: "Why is it important for me as a consumer?"
1: If i see one of these logos on another video game I'll be instantly interested since i loved Bioshock 1.
2: Maybe they also make games for themselves, and enjoy seeing their little assistant standby carpenter logo nearby the final product they helped building.
3: Maybe it's just some legal thing...
4: Maybe it's a commercial thing to sell shirts, as one day i saw a guy with a 2K logo on his shirt in the subway and almost ran after him to know how and where he got it, but i was late to the office.
5: Whatever, why. Bioshock 1 was a great shooter with astonishing scenario, decors and gameplay, I'll buy the second, even if I know they'll slightly bother me every time i start the game with their 5 logos.