product placement kills fun?

content/post/2023/08/product-placement-kills-fun.md

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+---
+title: Product Placement Kills Fun
+date: 2023-08-20T09:16:00+02:00
+categories:
+  - braindump
+tags:
+  - boardgames
+---
+
+A quick one today: something I noticed in the margins while reading Jonathan Schindler's [Shelf Wear blog](https://boardgamegeek.com/blogpost/151187/shadow-greatness) over at Board Game Geek: does _having_ to play a game because of product placement kills the joy and fun of playing a game? The answer seems to be yes:
+
+> I was just at a game night with a fellow writer from the (now defunct) iSlaytheDragon, and we were commenting how grateful we were to not have our game nights scripted by review copies anymore. It's a wonderful thing to choose what you want to play!
+
+It never really occurred to me reading through these dedicated blogs that some or many of them actually are following a semi-tight script because they're sent review copies, meaning someone else dictates what gets played. This sucks! To credit the reviewers, as a reader, I wasn't really aware of this, but I wouldn't want my "fun time" to be ruled over by yet another employer-like behavior, even if it's a great way to get loads of games for free---of which most you don't even like anyway, as you don't get to chose which ones.
+
+Hence my conclusion: Product Placement Kills Fun. This reminds me of the many comics making fun of the so-called side hustle: the hobby turned into a thing for money (or free games) in exchange for... fun? Why would you entangle yourself in yet another work-alike script if it's just a thing on the side that ruins your off-time? From what I can gather, people like Jonathan receive too many board games that have to be sold off or given away anyway, so you're better of just buying the ones you really want and ignoring the rest. 
+
+It's sad to see that hobbies and passions get ruined just because we think we need to do something with them, exploit them, earn more thanks to them, or squeeze out a few freebies because of them. The same thing applies to the too many YouTubers I've seen employ the "_I'm going to interrupt this program to praise this useless product that sponsors us_" tactic. If this is just something you're doing for fun, then why take on a sponsor that completely kills your fun, and on top of that, also ruins the flow of your videos (and motivation of your viewers)?
+
+ Some eventually replace the obligatory ads with "_I'm going to interrupt this program for a special message, please support me via Patreon_" tactic. There's nothing wrong with taking donations---in fact, I very much support these creatives: toss a coin to them every time you can! But to me, abruptly interrupting the viewer or reader still comes across as begging.
+
+ I wonder how many content is riddled with this product placement problem. Do fountain pen and ink review sites get sent pens and bottles? Do video game review sites get sent games or access codes? In a non-commercial world, I might have considered answering these questions with a _maybe_ or _don't know_. If this is what you do, then there's nothing wrong with reviewing these products, but if this is just a hobby you picked up in the lobby, why would you do that? 
+
+ Don't let materialism ruin the few moments of fun you have left at the end of your day. Don't let capitalism dictate what you should do when you finally can choose what to do.