Promogames: another kind of advertising

Serious Games Source has posted an article schooling us in the history of game-based advertising. The focus is on the trio of Burger King Xbox titles released last year, and their place in the more than two-decade-old evolution of 'promogames' -- to be distinguished from 'advergames.' Ian Bogost writes:

"I give the name promogames to video games whose primary purpose is to promote the purchase of a product or service secondary or incidental to the game itself ... While advergames promote the company, promogames offer an incentive to consume the company's goods independent of the game's representational properties."

Bogost stresses the need to better understand the complex advertising methods being developed for video game audiences. Know how and why companies are pushing their products on you.