Study shows more support for in-game ads
by Jennie Lees 
{ May 17th 2006 at 5:58PM }
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]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
slave_25637 @ May 17th 2006 6:01PM
MxO's adds were rediculously low-res.
Chris @ May 17th 2006 6:04PM
I don't mind the idea of in-game ads, so long as they have the proper context. An ad for Coke in GTA4 will lend a credibility to the world, but it would have no place in a game like Oblivion.
Jonathan @ May 17th 2006 6:04PM
I only want to see ads in games if I also see a reduced pricetag. I don't want to see ads if it only means that the publisher is making more money. Give the money to the develepors, fine, but not the publishers.
SuperUser @ May 17th 2006 6:21PM
I shit on ads in games...
I'm even switching tv-channels or at least mute them in commercial-breaks.
I DON'T WANT TO SEE ADVERTISEMENT IN VIDEOGAMES!!!
This is nothing but brainwashing by endless repetitions - that's why I prefer playing videogames over watching tv.
J B Cougar @ May 17th 2006 6:37PM
Roommate just got the boxing game for 360 from EA. Covered with little ads here and there. Didn't mind until I asked how much he paid for it. Normal price? 55 bucks? What's the point of the ads then? How does it help me in the game? Many web sites are free of charge these days because advertising pays for their upkeep. The only thing benefiting from them as it stands now in video games is the company that sells ad space in the game. What BS.
nizzy1115 @ May 17th 2006 6:45PM
"3. I only want to see ads in games if I also see a reduced pricetag. I don't want to see ads if it only means that the publisher is making more money. Give the money to the develepors, fine, but not the publishers."
This is exactly what i was thinking when i first read the article.
Kwipper @ May 17th 2006 6:49PM
I don't mind in-game advertising as long as it flows well with the type of game that is being played. In-game advertising works well with games that are trying to mimic reality such as realistic first person shooters, racing games, sports games and free-roaming games like Grand Theft Auto. (even though it uses it's own haliarious spoofs of commercials) Adding in-game advertising can add to a sense of realism in the game.
However, in-game advertising does not work in games that are based off of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Puzzle type games because they would seem too out of place and thus, detract from the immersion of the gameplay. Can you imagine playing the next Super Mario game and you have Mario wander into a town that had Pepsi, Coke Vending machines, Geico Car Insurance billboards? Then mario would jump into his 2005 Chevy Cavilieer and drive to Princess Peaches house who apparently is wearing the latest fashion from the GAP?
No. I don't think so and I apoligize for putting this imagine into your head. Please forgive me.
In conclusion. In-game adveritsing can work as long as the advertisers pick the right game genres to use it in.
Michael @ May 17th 2006 6:51PM
If it works in the right context, and it means the money goes towards better games I'm all for it.
Catastrophic @ May 17th 2006 7:04PM
I agree with what most people said, I don't mind ads, as long as their used correctly. Like a billboard on GTA4 with Coca-Cola on, thats fine.
But on loading screens or in the wrong games (eg. Oblivion) it would be a nightmare.
patrick @ May 17th 2006 7:47PM
i have no problem having ads in games. during load screens, sure no problem, during the boot up, sure no problem, during the actual game? sure, as long as it doesnt detract from the experience. (billboards, posters, jukeboxes, magazines, etc.)
as long as all of it leads to more inexpensive games. like
patrick @ May 17th 2006 7:48PM
less than 60 dollars*
Darum @ May 17th 2006 8:00PM
then, i guess it's a good thing I'm starting to lose interest in videogames! i don't know what i would have done if i were stuck playing games full of in-game marketing. it's all BS, is what it is.
Ryan @ May 17th 2006 8:26PM
Unfortunately, statistics can be skewed to show anything you like. Companies most certainly want to put adverts in as many place as possible, so they make the stats say that...
Also 800 out of the 76 million figure quoted is hardly representative.
I don't mind it if the game has adverts which fit, like mentioned earlier, adverts for Coca Cola or whatever inside a game which is set in a city, would not look out of place.
If the adverts interrupt the game play in any way, that would be totally out of the question, and if the advert didn't fit in, that would also be unacceptable...
Just my £0.02
Jeff @ May 17th 2006 8:41PM
"An ad for Coke in GTA4 will lend a credibility to the world"
Yeah, so I guess you kinda missed the whole point of the GTA series.
It's parody, dude. In Vice City, would it have been more credible to have billboards for the Atari 5200 or the Degenatron? Would it make the game more credible to have radio ads for "Joey" or "Just the Five of Us"?
The day there are real ads in GTA is the day that series goes completely off the rails.
dsub @ May 17th 2006 8:50PM
I say leave the in-game advertising to the big corporate companies like EA that make shitty games to begin with. There really the only ones doing this kind of thing anyways. As long as I don't start seeing adds in games like Halo, Ninja Gaiden, or Resident Evil, it's fine with me.
I find it ironic that in the past, developers didn't use real corporate names to make things like pop-machines in games because they could get sued for copyright infringement, but now companies are just itching for a way to get there names into a game. What's happening is that finally these corporate know nothings have found yet another outlet to reach that coveted 18-24 year old demographic. I'm sorry, but I've been pummeled with brand recognition and grown up with advertisements my whole life, and all along, gaming has been free from this shit. Don't start now.
KevinM @ May 17th 2006 9:51PM
dsub pretty much sums it up for me too.
I think I would be more likely to remember which ads are in my games and then buy it's compition. I play RPG's to unwind from my day at work. I don't want to get into a game and see all sorts of flashy cokepepsi ads. I see enough in random junk mail ads, cheap telemarketing, TV ads, newspapers, magazines, bathroom stalls, billboards and sometimes the webpages I go to. I wish I could run Firefox and adblock in real life; and in my future ad bloated games.
With all this advertising... I wonder if they realize we are a country in debt. Better yet, do they care?
Pata Hikari @ May 17th 2006 11:30PM
Anyone remember Pikmin 2?
Ah... the Pickle jar lids and the batteries. X)
THAT was amusing in-game advertising.
John H. @ May 18th 2006 4:55AM
I second the appreciation for Pikmin 2 commercial product inclusions, although I thought a couple of the items' descriptive text smelt a bit of ad copy.
But Pikmin 2, which supposedly takes place in the real world, is a one-time only thing. I wouldn't want all my games to contain this.
franchise @ May 18th 2006 11:20AM
Not a bad idea. Just don't go making the advertisements tangible in the games (ie soda machine in two crude dudes). People would just start beating up the machines to get their soda.
Scott @ May 18th 2006 1:47PM
As has been stated, this is a touchy subject. I agree with advertising, as most of us do, to a certain extent. I can imagine a well-restricted advertising campaign that is attempting to insert advertisements throughout a program, or game, connected to the internet, with the possibility of changing advertisements depending on where the funding is coming from. Imagine a game like Half Life 2, with subtle ad's...perhaps a broken bottle in a corner of an alley is a Coke bottle, or something. Not blatently obvious, but there.
There is a company, Exent technologies, I believe, that is working on something like this. Inserting ads into games, and changing the ads based on who is providing funding. What is interesting about their approach is that they can find pirated software (or so they claim) and throw advertisements in that as well, thereby effectively still making some cash from a "stolen" game. The developers could still see money from it, and therefore *hopefully* charge less for the product, and I can quit crying into my pillow at night over the ever-increasing price of my/our hobby.
I dont know, I guess it is something that could either go very right, or very wrong. Time will tell.
MysticGenie @ May 18th 2006 5:46PM
Advertising is everywhere, movies, tv, newspapers, websites, etc. Gaming was the last refuge where I could leave all of that and enjoy my entertainment, seeing as how gamers will not benefit AT ALL from this added advertising (no price break in games, no added content for the games in terms of maps, guns, characters) how can this be a good thing and why are people so accepting of it?
I can see the point of "adding realism" to games such as billboards, but we already had that with "fake advertising" in games, and the reason it doesn't bug me when it is fake is because it doesn't remind me of the real world I am trying to escape, instead it helps immerse me in the game world (look at billboards in postal 2).
The more we accept this the more watered down our games will become to the point that they will be games built around opportunities to advertise to their "key demographic".
RyanC @ May 18th 2006 8:02PM
Surely if they are modifying the advert content dynamically based on who is funding, that would mean your game would be connecting to the Internet all the time to go get its latest instructions?
I don't like the sound of that, it'll be recording your usage habits and mailing them back next too, for 'advertisement' purposes :P