Massive sticks billboards into Sony's Planetside

AFTER REPORTING ONLY yesterday on Miniclip.com and SWAT 4's brushes with in-game advertising it would now appear that the purveyor of these "experience-enhancing" in-game adverts Massive has signed a deal with Sony Online Entertainment to bring us billboards in its massively multiplayer online shooter Planetside.

This raises the issue of removing the player from the suspension of disbelief for a few advertising dollars that probably won't even be passed onto consumers in lower subscription fees. Planetside is a futuristic shooter where there is a war going on. Now Sony and Massive are going to stick big ads for things like Wal-Mart and Gillette all over the place. Bah humbug, we're not happy with this move towards in-game advertising when it's so blatant and interferes with the gameplay itself. µ