The Ombudsman Sells Out (again)

Yes, again (see last paragraph).



As you may have noticed, there's a few new ad-like things on the right sidebar of the page (in addition to the Google Ads that have made me a young millionaire in a matter of weeks). The first is a link to Project DU (for Digital Universe), a new blog aggregator being promoted by SBC Communications. SBC pays me a small sum every month to be able to use my Atom feed in their program and list my site on their Games page. In exchange, I give them the link button on the right. I don't really think it's a fair trade for them, but I'm not complaining.



The second is the now-familiar BlogAds box that graces many a successful blog (especially political blogs). Currently there are no ads, but any of you who have a few bucks (and I mean very few... my rates are reasonable) and want to reach a reliable audience of a few hundred dedicated opinion-makers in the video game industry should feel free to order an ad.



But enough about me, let's talk about Happy Puppy. In a move similar to the now-infamous McDonalds/IGN ad buy Happy Puppy seems to have recently been completely covered by ads for Paper Mario 2: The Thousand-Year Door. The ads are everywhere: In the usual adbox near the top of the page, in a sidebar on the right, in the site logo, and, almost subliminally, in the background of the front page's main content boxes. Even some of the section headings have been redone in Paper Mario font. I've taken a screenshot so you can see for yourself, even if the ads eventually go away.



Now, as I've shown above, I'm not against making money. If people want to get paid to write about videogames all day, than ads are a necessary nuisance in any publication. But the ads have to be clearly separate from the content, especially when the subject you're advertising is the same as the one you are covering. The Happy Puppy ads mentioned above, while mildly annoying and stylistically distracting, don't really threaten this separation.



However, the naming of Paper Mario 2 as "Today's Pick" does cause a slight problem. I'd say it's possible, probable even, that the Happy Puppy editorial staff made this decision independent of the large ad buy from Nintendo, especially given that the same pick appeared on the site back in February. But to the casual visitor, the juxtaposition of so many Paper Mario 2 ads and preferential treatment for Paper Mario 2 content creates at least the appearance of a conflict of interest. To a first time visitor, it may not even be clear that the "Today's Pick" area isn't an ad in itself.



Anyway, I'm not going to pass total blanket judgment on this, especially without talking to someone at Happy Puppy first (it must be said that no attempt was made to contact them before I went shooting my mouth off here). I'd like to hear your opinions on this, though, and on the impact of ads in general on game journalism. As always, post your comments using the link below.