Re: product trademarks in games

Read all the other replies, which are all correct
from my experience and point out some of the pitfalls.

I just want to re****t that all of the 5 racing games and
3 shooting games I've been involved with made heavy use of
licensed equipment. This is probably not typical,
because of the reasons mentioned. There are valid reasons
to do this in some cases (or we wouldn't have) but it
can be costly and can be a real pain. (E.g.: "You are
not allowed to show the product in a damaged condition",
or "If you include competitor Z, our company refuses
to be involved.")

Some companies have not participated in a product.
E.g.: Race track A insists on a $50,000 license fee
while the other 16 accepted $5000. Or the non-profit
track who decided not to be included at all.
Some companies have policies specifically against
involvement. (Many of these seem to be those run by
people with Law degrees, strangely. ;)

Many (particularly smaller) companies are very happy
to be included in a video game product that represents
them well and fairly.

- Matt