What is the likelihood of companies being interested in buying ad space in a game? I was thinking along the lines of putting their logos on the website+intro screens, and possibly in-game using the style they have in real football/rugby/F1 events - those long, low barriers around the field/course with ads on. I''d have thought this is a good place to advertise especially since not many games do it so the impact would be greater than being part of the background - everyone''s used to them at footy grounds but not in a PC game. Any thoughts (and if you reckon interest is there, how would one know what to charge - based on projected sales or in arrears for actual sales or a fixed rate...) Thanks

Ads have been showing up in sports games for a good while now, but so far the developers have had to ask for permission to display logos in their titles. As an unproven title, you''re unlikely to have much clout - considering that even EA Sports dispenses with the option as not cost-effective.

It''s a logical conclusion that ad space be purchased in games, and I vaguely remembering hearing about a single instance of it happening, but it is not yet mainstream or the norm.

Ads aren''t very common as there isn''t a viable business model. Advertisers need some form of feedback on who/how many people will see an ad. Currently they don''t accept a publisher''s sales figures as being proof of how many people actually saw an ad and how effective that view was. There are moves afoot to try and implement the same sort of independent ad tracking/evaluation that goes on in other media but it hasn''t happened yet.

Dan Marchant
Obscure Productions (www.obscure.co.uk)
Game Development & Design consultant

Actually there was an article in PC Power Play last month about this (it's an Australian mag). Read on... ignoring typos as I'm tired and not proofing.

Adding Up Games
You Know Games Have Made it When...
Timothy C. Best

It seems that big companies are finally starting to take note of just how persuasive games can be and how many people they touch.

One consultancy, the Hive Partners, in starting a push to broker more deals between companies looking for advertising and product placement and game developers who are looking for a little extra cash.

So far it has had two successes both with fizzy energy drink Red Bull and the people behind it. In Team 17's recent Worms 3D, players could suck on a Red Bull to recharge their health as well as giving their worm the ability to make bounding leaps - insert Red Bull gives you wings gag here. In Judge Dredd vs. Judge Death we see a level where the good Judge (loosely speaking) has to track down a gang importing illicit Red Bull. In the Dredd comics caffeine has been banned, you see, and nothing is beneath the notice of our masked lawman. In the game the gang even runs around tagging things with the distinctive Bull logo, which is just bound to piss Dredd off even more.

A recent Detroit News article talked about Mitsubishi Noth America getting so much pressure to bring in the Lancer Evo after Grand Turismo that it eventually crumbled. Now they sell 500 per month to young buyers who the head of marketing insists are all gamers.

There's little doubt that we're just going to see more of this and gamers, being the cynical bunch that we are, will punish developers who get carried away, but examples like the caffeine drink in that average Dredd game show that advertising can work with a theme and not kill it.

~Fin~

[edited by - botman2 on May 24, 2004 10:47:51 AM]

In Tony Hawk games there are real company ads all over the place. The first one that comes to mind is Nokia. In tony hawk 4, there is even a Nokia phone store in a mini mall in the second level.

The way I see it, ads ingame would actually add to the depth and atmosphere for the player since it is more like real-life. Pretty landscapes are nice but get samey - the contrast of bright colours, text and logos (especially when animated) would seet this off nicely. And since it''s relatively rare it would in effect be a feature of the game so getting the ads looked at not ignored by players. Surely that''s exactly the situation advertisers dream of?

When I get to a better tech demo I think my plan is to put in some ad-spaces into a map or two, then for each company send them a version or rolling demo with their logos/slogans etc alongside a nice formal letter. Although I don''t plan to ask for $10K per ad I need to seem professional - If I ask Sony for $50 to advertise they would laugh! One idea I have is to require people to re-register once a month to be able to play (a free and very quick process like keeping your hotmail account active). Then charge monthly based on the number of users currently registered. This is slightly annoying to a player but the ads would possibly even make the game free.

With good research and targeting the right companies for the PC-game-playing audience it sounds reasonable to me, especially since advertisers can see how many people exactly are seeing their ads. And a free game would get 10X as many players as even a $5 one. Plus the ingame ad thing would be slightly unusal therefore making it easier to get reviewers interested.

We had ads in the Jet Moto games we did for Sony. No money changed hands (that I know of), though we did have a cross-promotion deal with Nestle / Butterfinger. And I think we got a free box of Butterfingers.

So there was an exchange of services. It was probably a good thing... Jet Moto went on to sell over a million copies. The cross-promotion may have been a part of that.

On the other hand, a company refused to allow us to use their logo in another game. Their feeling was that their brand was much stronger than ours, and it would do more to promote our game than vice versa, so we could only use their logo if *WE* paid *THEM*.

To me that''s short-sighted of them. It''s not like you were promoting your game by telling everyone which companies'' logos were used (I presume).

I think I might target smaller companies, possibly on a country-specific basis, if the big boys don''t want to play. When you initially register the game you could haver a file fownloaded based on the country you give. Then I could really target conpanies which would interest players - computer component stockists or online games/DVD shops etc. Since I''d be looking at $100s for ads (probably) rather than 5 or 6 figure sums these companies are probably more amenable. Anf there are hundreds of PC parts sellers in the UK alone - only need a few to advertise.

It could also be required that when you keep your account active each month you download a small file which updates the ads shown. Then both the gamer benefits from new material in the game and it can be run more like a real billboard.

One other idea I have is approaching companies asking for hardware (don''t have the budget for sufficient test machines) in return for free ads. Ie asking Matrox or an online component shop.

One that springs to mind is Wipeout with Kappa billboards all over the course. Can''t remember which Wipeout game though.

Stay Clausal,

Red Sodium

> Ads aren't very common as there isn't a viable business model.

Agreed, but you can make games as a form of advertisement. Look at how WildTangent (www.wildtangent.com) makes games for companies in the B2B market. For example, Solvay Pharmaceuticals contracted WildTangent in making a racing game for promoting their AndroGel drug. A simple 'advergame' like Tetris can make the game developer pocket something between US$15K and US$50K. A more involving content like the racing game above can generate revenues around US$100K and US$150K for developers. SkyWorks (www.skyworks.com) charges between US$20K and US$40K for a sponsored simple game. The advergame business is getting popular and new advertising firms make it their specialty; just look at RealBranding (www.realbranding.com) as just an example. The typical advergame content lasts about 20 minutes of gameplay, which is far less costly per minute than a TV commercial...

-cb

[edited by - cbenoi1 on May 29, 2004 10:45:52 AM]