The Latest Games, Brought to You By the Latest Video Cards
Cross promotion seems to be part of any business these days, but I've become increasingly alarmed at the number of game ads which shamelessly promote a video card as if its part of the product.  This month in CGW there is an Evolva ad with a nVidia GeForce 2 chip floating in the middle of the page, and also a Klingon Academy ad from Interplay that has a Diamond Viper II box shot smack-dab in the middle of it.  But the worst offender is Eidos' Deus Ex ad, which actually blends 3dfx into the tagline: "Travel the globe; proceed with caution; question everything – all with the power of 3dfx.

Is it just me or do these ads seem to dilute the integrity of the advertising message?  It's fine to include mentions or logos of the cards which work with a game, but for a game company to clearly favor one video card manufacturer – much less make it a part of their ad tagline – is going a step too far in my opinion.  After all, once I read the Deus Ex ad, I ask myself, "Hmm, does this mean the game isn't going to work very well on a GeForce 2?"

Sure game ads cost money to run and the cost is lowered if a developer can team up with a graphics chip manufacturer, but there has to be a line drawn between what's proper promotion and what makes a mockery of the game ad in question.  In some ways it makes sense that a developer wants to endorse a particular card as the best choice for their game, but in my opinion heavily promoting the graphics card takes the focus away from the game, suggesting that it can't stand on its own merits.  

Likewise, graphics chip companies obviously need to show that top quality developers support their cards, but surely there is a more tactful way to do it than making the alliance between a developer and a chip manufacturer the centerpiece of a promotion, especially when games aren't exclusive to one card.  Gamers deserve better.