In-game Ads.
Posted by nefchast on February 5, 2008
Been thinking on this subject over the past few days, read some articles about it as well. How are in-game ads going to grow in the future? How are they going to effect games?
I’m all for helping the industry and ads could certainly do that by paying off a bit of the production costs. Ads that show before or after a game session are all well and good–they don’t break immersion; ads that show during the game session can be an annoyance if they are done poorly–flashing up on the screen (like Acclaim did with their free to play mmo’s, very annoying)–but done well, using the theme of the game and making them non-intrusive or immersion breaking, they can even add to the gaming experience (post-apocalyptic Earth and you see the ruins of a Coke sign, that works quite well).
Ads in the future… hmmm. Ads have been done in pretty much every way that I can think of, at the moment. So, they will probably continue on the current methods and increase in number if not depth. As more games become one with the internet I wouldn’t be surprised to see more than product advertising be done in a game. Imagine going through a modern-age Earth game and seeing ads for the current politicians? Those little yard signs and such. Or seeing ads for other games, being able to play demos of other developers games through a game–using a simulated computer or console (may be done/has been done? I think I remember something).
With the growing costs of game production, the price difference is going to be made up from higher game costs for consumers or advertising revenue in games. Ads will likely never cover the cost of major productions (if they did, I think the game would be one giant ad), but it may mean the difference between paying 50 bucks for a game or 60 (or maybe 40–while it is doubtful that a producer would drop the cost below the standard, it would be more attractive to buyers which could increase profit in the end).
