Crafty advertisers brainstorm ways to target fantasy RPG fans

by Vladimir Cole { Jul 29th 2005 at 10:30AM }

overwhelming advertising The dilemma: games set in the modern world are a natural fit for in-game advertising because our world is filled with adverts for all manner of products, but advertisements don't really fit into games set in historical periods when billboards didn't exist.

Blogger Dean Takahashi attended a conference on Advertising in Games in San Francisco this week, and learned that advertisers can still reach the elusive fantasy addict via several methods, including using game characters in real-world ads or putting ads into game lobbies where game immersion is not expected.

If trends in other medium are any indication, though, advertisers will become more and more aggressive with their campaigns. I doubt that we'll ever be asked to view a 15-second interstitial prior to looting items off of corpses, but Wüsthof-branded uber-swords can't be that far off.

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Meesterjojo @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM

Be certain- if it's a Japanese Fake-"RPG", or something from EA, then sure, you'll be in the days of yore with Burger King and Sony adverts.

EA is such an ad whore anyway, letting the customer pay for the honor of being able to view ads. It's like watching a movie with Martin Lawrence or Will Smith- ads upon ads upon ads, and maybe a little content.

I'm not a big fan of laws restricting games, but there ought to be a law(s) about over-advertising, and how much is enough, and is it legal to double-charge for content, meaning if the company with the advert is paying, then why charge the end-user also.

Ohmz @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM

They could just tailor the ads so that they are appropriate, by naming say guilds after brand names. and subtly working corporate logos into hereldry.

Eskimo Bob @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM

"I'm not a big fan of laws restricting games, but there ought to be a law(s) about over-advertising, and how much is enough, and is it legal to double-charge for content, meaning if the company with the advert is paying, then why charge the end-user also."

Of course it's legal. Never played a Tony Hawk game? They're full of advertising, but it doesn't really take away from the experience, if you like that kind of game. I don't have a problem with in-game advertising as long as it doesn't affect the experience, especially if it reduces the price of the game or subscription fees if there are any.