If it wasn’t already abundantly clear, I’m a technology addict. I’ve had a Wii and Xbox 360 for a couple of years now, and last week I was given a Playstation 3 for my birthday. I’m not the only person that loves games, millions of people spend hours every week playing them. Hours that are therefore taken away from online, watching TV, reading magazines, cinema etc etc. Traditionally these platforms haven’t been heavily used as an advertising platform but that has changed. While playing the Playstation 3, I came across a couple of interesting uses of computer games for advertising. First was in the game WipEout HD which has short dynamic video adverts that play during the loading screens (dodgy, blurred photo below). I know this is nothing new and many other games do this, but this was the first time I’d seen them. I was particularly struck at how engaged I was during this 10 sec loading screen ad – it’s not like I can leave to make a cup of tea in that time, I have to sit and watch. Shame the only ad I’ve seen so far has been for the DVD of “Rocky Balboa”. Still… The second thing I found interesting, albeit utterly flawed, was the recently released game Uncharted 2’s use of Twitter. In the game you can sync up your Twitter account so that it automatically updates your feed every time you make certain achievements. One of the aims, I guess, being to publicise the game’s release to all of your Twitter followers. While it was flexible, it is ultimately pointless and I’ll switch if off because it removes all personality from updates (plus, horror of horrors, it blocked me from my Twitter account). There are lots of ways to use games for advertising and consoles have been online for years now. The potential however comes from advancements in integrating the gaming world with the online world. While the Uncharted 2 Twitter example is far from perfect, it’s a nice step toward a single ‘joined-up’ approach to platforms which developers can only improve on and marketers use to reach this hard to reach audience.
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This post was mentioned on Twitter by IABUK: IAB BLOG: Jack Wallington gets to grips with adverts around computer games - http://tinyurl.com/yh6yvj9
Yes I agree that adverts in the video games industry are not what they should be but we should remember that the gamer(player) has already payed for the content (at a fairly high cost). The intrusion of adverts into the gaming experience may not pay off, if there is no reward for the gamer.
But there are instances where advertising has enhanced the gaming experience ie product placement and sponsorship. What football fan could say they would prefer playing as North London Reds against North East London Lillywhites, intsead of Arsenal against Tottenham?
I also wrote a short article about in game adverts www.fhiosinsights.com, in which I suggested that there be in-game ads or sponsorship for certain games (ie advertise the same way that brands advertise using second life).
Jack Wallington
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Member since: 03 Jun 2008
Last login: 25 Nov 2009
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