Activision sent an e-mail announcement to the press today concerning its upcoming game Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock. The announcement proclaimed that Guitar Hero III will be "the most authentic rock experience to date," but really meant that Guitar Hero III will have more rock-related advertising than any game to date.

Appearing in the game as branded equipment or rock publications will be brands like Gibson, Guitar Center Audio-Technica, Crate, Ernie Ball, Krank, Line 6, Mackie and Zildjian. Publications such as Alternative Press, Decibel, Guitar Player, Kerrang and Paste magazines will be featured, and some advertisements will have nothing to do with music, as the game will also feature ads for Axe Body Spray and Pontiac vehicles.

Dave Anderson, Senior Director of Business Development, provided the following statement: "By forging exclusive relationships with key companies in the music and consumer packaged goods industries we are able to bring an even greater depth of realism to Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock."

Personally, it's very difficult for me to get excited about this new level of realism. Guitar Hero is now a cultural phenomenon, and everyone wants to be part of it, from musicians to advertising executives. That's great, insofar as it means Guitar Hero III will have a better selection of music. And we all understand that publishers are a business and therefore strive to make money, so it makes sense that Activision would sell product placement in its game. As gamers, we can overlook that. It might even be part of your air-guitar rock fantasy to shred on a Gibson and be featured in Guitar Player magazine.

But it detracts from the fantasy, and therefore the game, when players have to strive to be sponsored by Axe Body Spray. Or how many rock fantasies end with the band cruising away from the stadium in a Pontiac? Publishers often claim that ads will only appear in places that are appropriate for the game. But we live in a world saturated with ads. How normal does it seem when that everyday world is reproduced in a game where every board displays the same one or two products?