Originally Posted by
xitooner
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As you said, I beleive its "part of the load", just like the "bike driving in a circle" before loading a map isnt entirely for show either... there is a setup/loading time associated with the game startup and map loading as it gets data structures ready, and rather than have you look at a blank screen wondering if its actually started.... they show you cheap, easily-displayable advertisement/activity that costs them nothing, cpu-wise.
(much more bothersome to me is the 2-5 minute "pause" I now get in the recent releases as they look up every "friend" I have; it started when they replaced the uplay interface)
Fun facts of other things that are useless but make people feel better by giving them an illusion of activity/control:
- Elevator "close" buttons do nothing in the USA, since early 1990s. They are mostly there to give you stress release.
- Its common for most the office building thermostats to be complete fakes; it cuts down on service calls because people think "I fixed it".
- Most cross-walk buttons in New York do nothing when pushed (it cycles automatically anyway). Not sure about other places, but I assume its similar.