Xbox users call out Activision and Microsoft for "vomit inducing" full-screen Modern Warfare 3 ad

Normally, I think gamers overreact a bit when it comes to ads on Xbox... but this time, this full screen ad when you boot up the system should not be allowed.

Wonder what genius exec had that brilliant idea. Stupid.

You say "stupid", but I'm kind of worried it'll have a positive impact in their sales, making these types of ads the new standard... I hope not, but my expectations are getting worse and worse
- That this exists at all means it is a new standard ad format they are testing out. They didn't program in a new ad format just for Activision.
  So unless there's enough of a pushback that they can it, you'll be periodically seeing similar boot up ads for other games and maybe even things like McDonald's down the road.
Any sort of ad on a luxury item you've already paid for should be cause for concern for the future. Sony does have ads, but they are hidden in menus and are static text ads, not video ads (yet).
Wait...this is a thing now!?! I switched to PC, so I wouldn't know...Crazy.
- Click the Win11 search bar...
- I take it you haven't used Windows 11 yet, The start menu is basically all advertisements.
Classic Microsoft.
I thought there's no way... when you boot up!? Sure enough. "the ad in question pops up when players boot up their Xbox"
Wow
It was almost certainly multiple execs, from multiple companies, with Activision being the first partner for a new ad format team Xbox was rolling out but had discussed in advance with multiple agency partners.
Personally, I'd like to thank Microsoft. They've been making it easy to not regret getting a PS5 and not really even considering the xbox option that strongly. Between the series S needing to handle it for it to be allowed on the series X and now full screen ads, it's like Sony is the only one that realizes there's still competition going on.
I'd also like to thank people who still buy Xboxes anyways for giving Sony a reason to not turn the enshitification up to an 11 because it's probably more of a difference in confidence than principles.
- They also recently announced that all unlicesenced third party accessories will cease to work with the Xbox as of a couple days ago.

Meanwhile, over on Reddit, several members of the Xbox community have labelled this marketing stunt "vomit inducing" and "unacceptable".

People still on Reddit want someone to take their complaints seriously? Empirically speaking, they will accept this.

People still on Reddit want someone to take their complaints seriously? Empirically speaking, they will accept this.
Nah, it's more than the communities on places like Reddit and lemmy/kbin are so small and unimportant relative to the overall consumer market that you can pretty much ignore them completely.
- Yep, that's more significant for sure. People on any online forum are a loud minority.
  It is a cheap dig, but I just found it funny that people who have demonstrated with (lack of) action that they do in fact not care enough to change their habits use a term like "unacceptable".
Picture related will never not sum up internet boycotts.

Entertainment industry as a whole is about to relearn some painful lessons about customer satisfaction. Every day there’s a new reason to hoist the black flag on predatory capitalism.

eh, will it affect their profit? or will it direct enough people to the New Microsoft Game Out Now! that it's worth annoying everyone else.
the only painful lesson is if they lose money, which they probably won't.

This kind of thing is the reason I've started moving completely away from Microsoft platforms, including Windows. Microsoft is getting more and more invasive and aggressive pushing advertising onto people in their own private spaces, and that is unacceptable.

Since I'm a PC gamer first and foremost, I don't use XBox... and after this, I won't. Ever. This was just MS dipping their toes in to see if they could get away with it.

Thankfully, with Valve continuing to rapidly improve Proton, just about any Windows game runs on Linux now with very little elbow grease. No Microsoft necessary.

with Valve continuing to rapidly improve Proton, just about any Windows game runs on Linux now
I hope this is actually true, or becomes true. The only reason I'm on Windows is for gaming.
Heck even my Bitwig DAW runs on Linux.
- it's to the point that even pirated games generally Just Work if you run them via steam, it's magic

Windows 10 gave me a notification telling me to buy Starfield the other day. fuck off

You should probably disable it if you don't want to see it. My windows 10 hasn't advertised to me in any way ever.
Yeah, it sucks that by default it's all enabled, but it's nice that we at least have the option to fully disable all of it. And I haven't had to reg edit or anything. All the settings are reachable in the operating system itself. If you can't find it all, there are plenty of guides.
- I must be good at ignoring them, because this is the first I’ve gotten one and read it.
  I didn’t know there was an opt out process.

I've had a Day 1 edition Xbox One that I've used nearly every day since release. Admittedly, not great for games, but it's been an absolute powerhouse of a media center for me. Twitch, youtube, plex, any streaming service, and a blu ray. If for some reason I can't stream something to it, I can plug in my chromecast or laptop, and with passthrough, it's literally all I've needed in my living room for the past 10 years.

For the first time yesterday I very honestly considered boxing it up and getting rid of it after booting it up and getting this forced full screen ad before getting to my homepage. Fuck this shit.

You shouldn't consider it. You should do it. But too bad M$ already has the money so they won't care of you flog the unit off second hand.

That must be the positive change to the industry the takeover was promised to bring.

We need legislation to protect from ad placement. It should not be the case that advertisers can get to you on your premium devices in places they could not to begin with.

Manufacturers should have to outline in their launch and marketing material where ads are going to be posted and after that they cannot expand it.

I remember the PS4 having a load of bullshit apps waiting to be downloaded too, I bought the most expensive version you sell, how am I to escape ads if not through that.

Feels like what happened with android tv.