In game adverts for Counter Strike

Bit of a nuclear fallout happening because of this:

Valve's Doug Lombardi has confirmed in an interview with CS-Nation that in game ads are going to be coming to Counter-Strike 1.6. According to the interview, the advertisements will begin early next year.

Apart from the inevitable allegations of in-game spyware, one has to wonder where this will end. At this rate, you'll be seeing adverts for HDTVs in World War 2 games such as Day of Defeat. Which would be stupid. Does anyone actually have one single example....just one...of a gamer that actually liked any of these in game adverts? Don't get me wrong, some of these ads lend a little realism to the game world but its all about context. A few billboards in the otherwise barren landscape of The Matrix Online is fine. But simply sticking a bunch of adverts into a first person shooter smacks of stupidity. It's not like you have time to enjoy the scenery when you're more concerned with shooting people in the face.

Besides which, many of the servers these games are played on are privately owned and funded - it doesn't look like they'll get a chance to switch the ads off if desired. So Valve are making extra money because someone chose to give their game an extended lifespan. Considering the amount of things Valve have been able to do purely because the CS fanbase keep that particular game alive, this strikes me as a slap in the face to all those gamers.

Finally - buying a game such as Battlefield (where you know beforehand that it will contain adverts) is one thing. But inserting adverts into a game you'd bought months or years beforehand is something else entirely. Am I now a little twitchier about what games I buy? Do I have to look at each title on the store shelf and weigh up whether the developers are gonna' screw around with it in a few months time, leaving me high and dry if I don't like the alteration?

Interview here.