Game advertising agency launched

by Blake Snow { Jan 10th 2006 at 9:15AM }

An in-game-only advertising agency (Engage) has been launched to bring advertisers and games together in perfect harmony. Well, not quite perfect, but together none-the-less. This would make sense since television viewership among men 18 to 34 has dropped 12% while the same group spent 20% more time playing, you guessed it, video games.

Next-Generation writes: "David Smith, vice president of business development for Engage said, 'Since it’s a relatively new medium, many companies are unaware of the promotional reach and creative flexibility videogame advertising can provide when trying to target the elusive 18- to 34-year-old male audience.' He added, 'When done correctly — and the in-game ads contextually support the game environment — we’re finding gamers are in favor of videogame advertising because it enhances the realism of the game play.'"

In short, expect more advergaming in the not so distant future.

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

KungFu-tse @ Jan 10th 2006 9:37AM

If it helps bring down the monthly cost of MMORPGs (preferably down to free like Guild Wars does), then I wouldn't mind.

Despite its popularity, I'm still reluctant to play World of Warcraft because of the monthly fee.

bandit @ Jan 10th 2006 10:04AM

Ditto Kungfu, the key to this is offering a tiered service, where if you opt for the free version, then you see ads, if you opt for the none free version, you dont see ads. That way everyone wins.

kl00t @ Jan 10th 2006 10:26AM

OK, but only if in-game advertising is kept to a minimum e.g. in sports games on the advertising hoardings. I would hate to say blatant cheesy advertising in the game like in Splinter Cell - Chaos Theory with the Airwaves chewing gum.

DCSimian @ Jan 10th 2006 10:46AM

If characters in games start drinking Red Bull for an energy boost or some crap like that...it's over. God, I remember playing Burnout 3 where EA advertised all their games on the damn billboards...even that got annoying.

Just hoping games don't turn into product placement lovefests like some movies these days.

selgado @ Jan 10th 2006 1:10PM

I'm not so sure I want to allow invasive ads into my gaming experience without something tangible in return. The blanket promise that the additional revenue stream will allow developers to create better games is iffy at best. Developers will still be rushing games to production.

I paid for the game, online subscription, and internet access, ergo I should be able to rent out my electronic real estate. I believe that if gamers don't send this message early, we will quickly beome pawns of the advertising industry. Let's not let this one get away from us.

Black Guy @ Jan 10th 2006 1:40PM

They would say gamers want advertising in their games because it improves realism. I wouldn't expect them to say anything otherwise. I recall a stage in Splinter Cell Chaos Theory that featured Intel advertisments in multiple locations. It didn't add anything to the game and I remember it seeming completely out of place. It was a total distraction that did not improve the experience and most importantly - contrary to these marketers claims - I stopped paying any attention to it after the first time.

In sports games or maybe games like GTA that are based on actual locals I think its OK, but if Starbucks start popping up in Zelda or Sonic games or someplace equally out of place, I probably won't be buying that title. Generally, video games are a fantasy world, I don't want to being reminded of reality with representation of fast food chains or magazine ads in every world.