Ads in Games Event
New York’s Metro Pavilion will play host to a new consortium to
discuss and understand how best to incorporate advertising in video
games. Up until now, there have been several games that have
prominently featured pixelated product shots mingled into the
background but have rarely been intrusive. That could likely change for
the worse.
On April 14th, advertising agencies, game developers
and publishers, not to mention big name products like Pepsi are meeting
in one place, calling it the Advertising in Games Forum from The Game
Initiative. The feeling is that the oft-sought core-demographic for
advertising is no longer in front of the TV for TV’s sake, but in front
of their computer or their Xboxes, Game Cube’s and PS2’s. Finding a way
to throw commercials into games will likely be big business, but to
what effect?
Television advertising has declined somewhat in
the last few years. DVR technology allows that same core demographic to
watch their favorite shows whenever they like with little hassle, but
more importantly, to skip through the countless advertising. TV fought
back by increasing ad time using technology to shave micro-seconds off
of programming or simply putting the products in the show. Just as
advertising has changed the face of TV, it could conceivably change
video games as well.
If developers are pressured to insert
product shots and have the control to force players to view these ads,
are people less likely to play? How will this effect games in which
advertising is out of place. Tony Hawks Underground for example has
various products as part of the background, including Mountain Dew soda
machines. These are placed in urban environments that makes sense. If
you stop to take the massive popular Everquest series into account
though, how many products can fit a fantasy environment? Not a whole
lotta sword makers or armorsmiths floating around anymore.
Personally,
I fear the quality of games, not to mention the variety, could suffer
with a big advertising movement. Suppose you’re a game developer. Why
would you even think about creating a 30’s era mobster game or a
Medievil adventure if Doritos offered a contract to slip their chips in?
For more info, click over to http://www.AdvertisingInGames.com.
