I am looking forward to the thought that will be put into putting all the finishing touches on the game, including the advertising. I think it's a great opportunity to put some depth into the setting, as well as possibly being part of the story.
Having said that, I also think that real-life advertising in the mmo (keeping in mind it has to be themed towards the setting) could also be a good revenue stream for the developers and help prop the game up if subscriptions / player interests wane.
Actually...the more I think about it, the more I like it. You could sell advertising in-game based on a period of time, like a billboard, so it changes frequently. I know people are gonna have pushback on this, but I think it would be tons more realistic. We all have ads we enjoy watching, wether we intend to purchase / use the products being featured - and we all have ads we hate cuz they are so bloody annoying. All I can think of is the movie Bladerunner, when Dekker is being brought into the police station for the "you're not cop, you're little people" speech - and his aerodyne car flies past the giant ad of a woman pitching the virtues of the off-world colonies. I can imagine in game... hiding behind some wreck of a car, being shot at by some psycho chrome gang, and I hear the annoying neon hum of a sign that says "Schlitz beer" or something like that.
I just think it'd be cool... IMO of course.
