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61 Frames Per Second

Where's the In-game Advertising?

Posted by Cole Stryker

Reuters reports that marketing types aren't quite as enthusiastic about the prospects of in-game advertising as they have been in the past. This new marketing channel has been hyped for over a decade now, but it's shown little growth, certainly not the explosion that was predicted around the time that Munch started drinking SoBe

Projected growth estimates for in-game advertising vary, with several experts suggesting that ad spending there will top $100 million this year, and grow to around $1 billion in 2011.

That may sound like a big number, but when you place it within the context of $150 billion annual advertising spending, it's peanuts. The figure should be alot higher, considering that video games are now supposed to be bigger than film. 

Sports games continue to lead the pack, probably because advertising is so prevalent in real world sporting events that its inclusion within video games does little to affect immersion.

"I have been saying ever since we took over Take Two that I thought in-game advertising was a very limited opportunity that applied mostly to the sports business, and I remain of that belief," he said. "It's a detail. It exists, it can be profitable, we'd be happy to have it. It's just not going to move the dial."

 I find this tough to believe. Advertisers just need to get more creative. Just look what Guitar Hero is doing for music sales

Related Links: 

In Defense of In-game Advertising
Lame Ads Do Not Diminish Coolness of National Gaming Day
WTFriday: The Star Fox 64 Promo Video


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Comments

Roto13 said:

Speaking of Guitar Hero, I'm pretty sure Guitar Hero V is going to be called "Coca Cola brings you Guitar Hero V"

December 5, 2008 10:01 PM

Demaar said:

I'd like to think it's because gamers are more sceptical of what's put in front of them, so when they see advertising in games they kind of sigh and then shrug if of at best. At worst they're pissing and moaning about it on fora.

December 6, 2008 2:01 AM

Dan Taylor said:

Tough call with this one.  Agreed that IGA has been around for quite a while, sunk back in the shadows for a while, and now is at the forefront again.  With Massive inking deals with Blizzard and THQ, it should be interesting to see if anything new is/can be possible.

Re: the placements.  Again, agreed that sports games lead the pack, and rightfully so, they have the most relevant amount or advertising real estate available, but...IGA's placed in dense urban environments can make just as much sense.  It's when you get the 'odd man out, out this is just ridiculous, this wouldn't be here in the real world' ads that show up during play that simply not doing what they've set out to do: Engage players with real world advertising in a real world way.

December 8, 2008 8:43 AM

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John Constantine, our superhero, was raised by birds and then attended Penn State University. He is currently working on a novel about a fictional city that exists only in his mind. John has an astonishingly extensive knowledge of Scientology. Ultimately he would like to learn how to effectively use his brain. He continues to keep Wu-Tang's secret to himself.

Derrick Sanskrit is a self-professed geek in a variety of fields including typography, graphic design, comic books, music and cartoons. As a professional hipster graphic designer, his recent clients have included Hooksexup, Pitchfork and MoCCA, among others.

Amber Ahlborn - artist, writer, gamer and DigiPen survivor, she maintains a day job as a graphic artist. By night Amber moonlights as a professional Metroid Fanatic and keeps a metal suit in the closet just in case. Has lived in the state of Washington and insists that it really doesn't rain as much as everyone says it does.

Nadia Oxford is a housekeeping robot who was refurbished into a warrior when the world's need for justice was great. Now that the galaxy is at peace (give or take a conflict here or there), she works as a freelance writer for various sites and magazines. Based in Toronto, Nadia's prized possession is a certificate from the Ministry of Health declaring her tick and rabies-free.

Bob Mackey is a grad student, writer, and cyborg, who uses the powerful girl-repelling nanomachines mad science grafted onto his body to allocate time towards interests of the nerd persuasion. He believes that complaining about things on the Internet is akin to the fine art of wine tasting, but with more spitting into buckets.

Joe Keiser has a programming degree from Johns Hopkins University, a tiny apartment in Brooklyn, and a fake toy guitar built in the hollowed-out shell of a real guitar. He writes about games and technology for a variety of outlets. One day he will stop doing this. The day after that, police will find his body under a collapsed pile of (formerly neatly alphabetized) collector's edition tchotchkes.

Cole Stryker is an American freelance writer living in York, England, where he resides with his archeologist wife. He writes for a travel company by day and argues about pop culture on the internet by night. Find him writing regularly here and here.

Peter Smith is like the lead character of Irwin Shaw's The 80-Yard Run, except less athletic. He considers himself very lucky to have this job. But it's a little premature to take "jack-off of all trades" off his resume. Besides writing, travelling, and painting houses, Pete plays guitar in a rock trio called The Aye-Ayes. He calls them a 'power pop' band, but they generally sound more like Motorhead on a drinking binge.


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