in-game ads
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Guitar Hero, Tony Hawk getting in-game ad treatment
Anyone who's spent even a little time rocking out to Guitar Hero III has likely noticed the game's heavy-handed approach to product placement, with stages littered with cans of Red Bull and billboards hocking everything from Axe Body Spray to Pontiac. The whole thing feels oppressive and graceless as even the game's underground rock venues are reduced to feeling like props to corporate shilling. And things are likely to get worse before they get better, as Activision today announced that it has inked a deal with Microsoft-owned Massive to provide in-game ads in not only Guitar Hero III, but Tony Hawk's Proving Ground as well. The two titles have been added to the growing Massive Network advertising collective, which also includes Activision's Transformers adaptation, and will made to include "contextually relevant" dynamic ads. Interestingly, it's unclear if this partnership extends to all versions of the affected (afflicted?) games, or just those for Microsoft's console. What is clear, however, is that as games are now a big business, more and more companies are beginning to get in line for their slice of the money pie, and while game companies and advertisers reap the benefits of this arrangement, gamers are left holding the controller wondering just when their games became interactive commercials.
NBC Universal teams with IGA for in-game ad blitz
NBC Universal Digital Media has announced a deal with IGA Worldwide to jump into the realm of in-game advertising. According to the press release, NBCU DM's advertising and sales team can now "sell a portion of IGA's premium in-game advertising inventory, as well as create customized packages for marketing clients on the IGA network."The NBC division already offers advertising packages over TV, web and mobile mediums. The deal is for other marketing clients, we don't think this indicates an increase in opportunities to shoot up a billboard of Chuck while playing Battlefield 2142. If anything, this indicates a major marketing firm's belief - and justly so, in our opinion - that in-game advertising is only going to expand in prominence and importance as time progresses.
Hellgate: London uses tailored in-game advertising
Following the release of the demo for Hellgate: London, a somewhat disappointing discovery has been made. Heartless_Gamer has a post that shows that the game's licensing agreement has provisions for them to collect information about users, to help them tailor in-game advertising. In other words-- adware. Hellgate: London is being published by EA, and as Heartless_Gamer points out, this isn't the first time they've bundled this helpful addition with their games. Battlefield 2142 caused a stir when the full retail version of the game did exactly what Hellgate: London is doing now. Is there really any point in hoping that this will only be included with the demo of Hellgate?The advertising seen in the demo is in the form of posters on the walls, but I'm willing to bet that they could be a lot more creative than that. There is also the question of whether we want to see ads in games at all, "dynamically served" or otherwise. If Hellgate is set in a post-apocalyptic London, then why am I seeing current-day ads in-game? Games in the sports genre include bucketloads of advertising, but in most cases, the fact that those ads are there at real life sporting events lends more authenticity to the games -- okay, perhaps not the Burger King's Fight Night cameo (coincidentally also EA's doing). Let us know where you draw the line in the comments section, and if Hellgate: London is collecting information from you, will you still buy it?
Nielsen tracking in-game ads for Sony
Sony Computer Entertainment America and The Nielsen Company want to track your stats. Specifically, the two companies have teamed up to "develop a measurement system for game network advertising that will help make game software a more competitive advertising platform," according to the press release. SCEA will "share with Nielsen game network traffic and other data" from PS3 titles, PlayStation Network and the upcoming social MMO Home, at first only in North America -- details beyond that are sketchy, but Nielson calls the effort "fully-transparent" in the press release. The results will be used "to deliver the right ad to the right person at the right time" and to help advertisers figure out a CPM, or cost per impression, for in-game ads.The initial results of the partnership are expected later this year. Expect more in-game ads you're less inclined to ignore and possibly the strange feeling that Big Brother is critiquing your gamer skills.[Via PS3 Fanboy]
Study: Ads in sports games don't work
By now everyone knows that in-game advertising is the hottest thing since sliced bread. But in all the frenzy to cover every available digital surface with product placement, few people have stopped to ask whether in-game ads actually work. British consulting company Bunnyfoot took on just that issue recently, using eye-tracking software and surveys of gamers to gauge how well ad banners in sports games connected with the player.Their findings are less than encouraging for in-game advertisers. Despite overwhelming brand placement throughout the games under consideration, Bunnyfoot's study showed "a lack of engagement between video game players and in-game advertising." The firm's Sponsor Fixation Index registered some small results with games like NBA Live and Smackdown Vs. Raw but ad-laden Project Gotham Racing 3 elicited what Bunnyfoot called "no consumer engagement at all." Ouch!In-game ads obviously have the potential to be extremely successful, but only if they're done right. Just slapping a billboard in the background might not register a blip among gamers who are used to filtering out advertising in everyday life. On the other end, you don't want to make the ads so overwhelming that they interfere with the game experience. And remember what Morgan says: if you're gonna make money on ads, give the gamers a break and lower the price, huh?
Nielsen adds games to ratings matrix
"The value of an entertainment medium is directly proportional to how well it is measured." This is the proposition Nielsen VP Jeff Herrmann put forth for the creation of GamePlay Metrics, a service that will measure just how many eyeballs are glued to the day's hottest games. Such data is of course highly coveted by in-game advertisers, who want to know exactly how many people are being subliminally attracted to delicious Subway sandwiches.This isn't Nielsen's first foray into the game space. For the past three years, the firm's annual Active Gamer Benchmark has surveyed gamers online to find trends in their behavior. The latest such report found that females and social gamers are becoming a more important part of gaming, echoing the findings of other studiesIn addition to measuring gameplay habits, the GamePlay Metrics data will be cross-referenced with Nielsen's data on TV and internet usage, showing what gamers do with the rest of their free time. In news from the future, Nielsen announced next month a program that will place a tiny surveillance chip in all babies shortly after birth, measuring everything they see and do for the remainder of their lives.
EA jumps on the in-game ad bandwagon [update 1]
Reuters is reporting that Electronic Arts has signed deals with Microsoft-owned Massive Inc. and IGA Worldwide to put in-game advertising in up to seven games, including Need for Speed: Carbon and Battlefield: 2142. EA Vice President for Online Commerce Chip Lange promised that this is just the beginning, saying that EA is negotiating with other providers to put ads in many future titles.While sideline billboards in Madden or racing games won't look out of place, it might be a little jarring to see an ad in the middle of Battlefield's battlefields. It might be worth it if the ads lead to lower prices for games, but we're not holding our breath on that count. How do you feel about ads in your games?[Update: the AP is reporting that the ads will be automatically updated over broadband connections on the PC and Xbox Live]
Demon lobbies for lobby ads
Gamers who consider their purgatorial stay in the lobby prior to a multiplayer match a welcome respite from the steady siren call of Burger King may soon experience a whopper of a disappointment. Networking provider DemonWare is touting a solution for delivering personalized advertisements to any game lobby. It's not clear if the product will be aimed at consoles, PCs or both -- or how it squares with Xbox Live -- but DW's current networking customers include Activision, Codemasters, Eidos, Ubisoft, THQ and Sega. Of course, the revenue will be used only to create better games and improve the online experience, or so the champions of progress would have us believe.Are lobby ads a form of in-game advertising you can live with, or should we send this demonic idea back to hell before it starts clogging up our consoles?[Via Xboxic]
MS in-game ad master plan: Less vomit, more BK
Microsoft in-game ad pimp Kevin Browne gave the keynote address at the GDC "Focus On" series Game Advertising Summit. This article sums up the ad happy proceedings, essential reading for those concerned about the phenomenon. Favorite quote:"Think about this consumer as somebody not to vomit all over with messages," Browne said, "but rather to engage in a discussion."Right. A discussion about Burger King.
Study shows more support for in-game ads
According to oddly-capitalised research agency comScore Networks, gamers are a ripe target for marketers. With almost 50% of all Internet users apparently reading game sites, reaching out to these 76 million consumers is big business.The survey also looked at attitudes to in-game advertising amongst heavy and light gamers. Heavy gamers are more familiar with the concept of in-game ads, and are also more likely to buy products advertised in-game. The conclusion across all types of gamers leans towards the inevitable -- in-game ads will be a feature of the future.With only 800 gamers surveyed, a larger segment may produce vastly different results, but these statistics are encouraging for firms like Microsoft's Massive who are working within this market.[Via Gamasutra]
