Sneaky marketing tactics are everywhere, and their latest destination is the Featured Content section of the PlayStation 4, from which countless users are eager to opt out.
Many gamers are furious, and they have every reason to be, as the strategy is invasive, if not deceptive. Gamers purchased the PlayStation 4 and paid for all the games installed on it. And yet, a placement for Destiny: The Taken King managed to creep in as it were a regular game just like all the others.
On top of the ad's sudden appearance, the Destiny placement did not even take the form of a banner. It rested comfortably among the array of games that the user has already purchased, taking the same shape, size and other display attributes.
Gamers who were not particular about the games that they have purchased have mistaken Destiny for one of the video games they can readily play. As a result, they accidently purchased the game.
Others thought they bought a new game without meaning to and were frantic about the unintentional spending.
"I actually woke up with my system on and Destiny there so I thought I accidentally bought it by hitting the controller at night," wrote a gamer on Reddit.
Other users were worried that the action game, which consumes a massive amount of memory, was already installed on their computers without their permission.
Luckily, that is not the case. Destiny: The Taken King -- which occupies about 38 GB of the console's hard drive - was just being advertised as Featured Content to make it easy to download.
Sony justifies the Featured Content section as a way of helping gamers find their next games by laying out new and upcoming releases.
Users can opt out of the ads by heading over to PlayStation 4 Settings > click system > automatic downloads. In that section, there is a checked box beside the label Featured Content. Users simply have to uncheck the box to opt out of the ads.
It is interesting that users have to opt out of an ad, which they have not opted in to in the first place. One user has pledged to start an online petition against the deceptive ad tactic.
Nonetheless, there were users who are happy with the innovation.
"I set aside about $200 a month for Sony expenditures. I literally let Sony decide how they want me to spend that money," one fan says.
Meanwhile, other gaming devices have a way of updating users with the latest games as well. Microsoft has a What's New on Xbox column.
