Take-Two signs in-game advertising deal
by Ludwig Kietzmann 
{ Dec 5th 2006 at 5:25PM }
Take-Two and independent advertising company, Double Fusion, have announced an agreement that will see up to nine upcoming 2K and 2K Sports titles riddled with in-game "advertising opportunities". The official press release notes that Double Fusion will be exclusively providing dynamic advertising technology across all platforms, with the exception of the Xbox and the Xbox 360. While the online implementation of ads is nothing unheard of, it's the actual description of the embedded, offline versions that prove to be a bit scary.
"Select versions of 2K and 2K Sports titles will feature integrated, hard-coded placements that will offer marketers opportunities for deep integration into gameplay and storylines, reaching users of the games whether or not they are connected to the Internet."
In-game advertising is often a tug-of-war between a subtle man in a trenchcoat and an obnoxious exhibitionist with an oily burger in his pocket. It's all a matter of balance, with the product or service demanding the player's attention, but in a way that seems natural and unobtrusive within the game's framework. The best in-game advertising often lends to the believability of the world (billboards in a dense city make complete sense), whereas the worst destroys it completely (billboards in Hyrule, not so much). Let's hope Take-Two doesn't have us taking our band of adventurers into the ancient NIVEA forest as we search for the magical PANASONIC DLP SCREEN.
(Hint: Speak to the merchant elf -- he'll give you a BMW with GPS navigation.)
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Solidus @ Dec 6th 2006 12:26AM
If game developers and producers insist on forcing ingame advertising down our throats, I hope that they lower the cost of games. Advertising on TV and the radio is why it's 'free' to watch and listen to. Why on earth would I want to pay $60 for the opportunity to be bombarded with crappy product placement and lame advertisements for stuff I most likely don't want/need.
v1cious @ Dec 5th 2006 6:18PM
yay. way to be a whore. i can see why Microsoft would disagree with this
CletusSnow @ Dec 5th 2006 6:36PM
Why is this anything special? EA has been doing this for years now. I mean, sure having The BK King in Fight Night is interesting and funny, but it's an in game ad all the same. It seems a little wreckless to bash a company that is just going to start doing something that EA has been doing for a long time. Atleast the 2k sports series often times costs less than the competition. To borrow a phrase from Morgan Webb, Ads are how you pay for things without paying for them. As long as the game costs less, I'm game.
I think a great example of stuff like this working right is Anarchy Online. You get the basic game for free. 100% free. The only thing you have to put up with is billboards for Fanta and The US Army.
nitefire @ Dec 5th 2006 8:43PM
And that brings us to tonights Word:
"Prostitution"
baby sea tuna @ Dec 6th 2006 8:35AM
Whoa, they still make Fanta?