Slashdot Mirror
Advergames
Anne_Nonymous writes "Here's an interesting story on the use of video games as advertising. They claim 'advergames could be a $1 billion industry by 2005'."
← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)
← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)
hell it might bring the prices of games down to a more reasonable $20-$30 per game. I like it. I know we're already innundated with advertising everywhere, but this could save you money.
if the games are all horrible, then it actualy hurts the company. Wait until Coke/Pepsi have cd's attached to the can with a horrible game on them. Guess what? It's not free, they raise the price to pay for stupid things like this. Every game like this = higher price on stuff. OTOH, America's Army is something I'd want my tax money spent on every time. ;)
I think you can find Carmack's cut off head lying hidden under a stair in one of the maps of Quake3Arena. Does that count as subtle marketing?
7-UP had their "Cool Spot" game for Genesis(?) back then. It essentially was one big advertisement for 7-UP. There a small sub-industry that caters to building niche games for companies who want their products placed in them, from the online based Flash games to full CD based installed versions.
Of course you also have my favorite gaming genre, racing simulations From open wheel (F1, CART, IRL) to fendered cars (NASCAR, Trans-Am, etc). the entire foundation of the real sport depends on advertising, from the car textures to the track graphics. The players of these games go to great lengths to make sure the correct advertising in in the game. There is almost no other genre where having advertising as part of the experience is important.
The Getaway (PS2) is already doing this kind of thing. They got licenses to use brand names for cars (BMW, etc). and there's a billboard type thing in the game that has Samsung, McDonalds, Sanyo, TDX, and Coca Cola plastered all over it.
Screenshot can be viewed here
"Facts are meaningless. You could use facts to prove anything that's even remotely true!" -- Homer Simpson
There was a lot of backlash against the inclusion of McDonalds, including talk of picketing the in-game kiosks
I asked my high school government teacher, who was telling us how important it is that everyone vote, "If I don't take the initiative to vote, I probably haven't followed the election and have no clue what is going on. Do YOU want me voting?"
Point being, if someone is willing to have advertisements put in their art, it probably isn't of much artistic value to begin with.
Whale
I'm really surprised America's Army wasn't listed, that's a huge advergame.
After playing the origninal Gran Turismo, I became fixated on the Mitsubishi Eclipse as a relatively affordable performance car that matched my driving and personal style. Enough so that a year out of college (when I had the $$) I dropped it on one of them (0%/$0 down/$0 for a year helped as well). And anyone who knows me knows I drive it just like the video game - I can't imagine driving anything else in it's price range.
Right now, I'd say it's the best way (for manufacturers or consumers) to compare head-to-head dozens (hundreds) of cars in different conditions (and not get kicked out by the dealer) - given that the game does not falsely favor one car over others. Hey, if they make it real enough, it might replace illegal street racing (big problem here in San Diego) to an extent. I know among my friends we've settled whose car is better with a few sessions of GT. Needless to say, I am not happy to see that the Eclipse was left out of GT3.
Kurdt
I'm not anti-social. Just pro-technology.
This is amamzing and very interesting to think about.
The army provides "games" that are based on the army and its training, philosophy, operations, equipment etc.
Through indoctrinating a nations technical youth at a young age - and getting them to learn realy tactics (from a thinking perspective) and a familiarity with the mechanics of the army, getting them familiar with the equipment they would use - you prepare (in a twisted sort of way) the youth of your technical nation for service in the army.
You provide rewards in the game - and you drive the ego and encourage good performance on missions (performance==patriotic killing, what every soldier is for).
You feed the interest and desire to be in the army and kill.
Then when a player reaches a certain level of skill, you invite them to play against players of their skill level.
Through this - you can attempt real contact with them - and encourage their gameplay and interest in the game, and offer a chance to try some of the weapons that are in the game in real life.
"hey Joe - youve got one great shot there... and are doing a great job in the missions. How would you like to come on down to the base and get a look at the weapons you are using in that game for real. Maybe even get a chance to fire some?"
Or you then offer some of the same training to them in real life. Maybe you have contests, and the winner gets to go to a special boot camp or some such.
There are so many weird ways you could use gaming to train people from a young age for modern combat.
BUT! there is one thing that will never be able to be conveyed - the permanence of Death.
Imagine a country where their young are brouhgt up playing in virtual war games for their nations army. Over and over and over and over and over they have played the missions - fought, died, fought, died, and succeded at them.
Imagine the reality check they get into when they are in REAL combat - with the REAL possiblity of Death - and they maybe see a friend fall. Forever.
Imagine how many minds will be snapping and that point - because their whole life they have played Death as a game.
Would make a great short story though huh..
My prediction? If this happens, maybe we'll see another great videogame crash! Can anybody say "Chase the Chuckwagon"? Advertising based games that had no gameplay were one of the factors that lead to the big '84 video game crash.
We'll start seeing racing games in which the Ford Focus can outrace a Ferrari, fighting games in which the characters that smoke are highly overpowered, and DDR-clones in which you always get better scores when you dance to RIAA-sanctioned music as opposed to that "indy" crap.
Yay.
"You spoony bard!" -Tellah
For those that don't know, Snowcraft was a really cute little Shockwave game that came out around 1997, I believe. The object was, simply, to win a snowball fight against the opposing team. The game was distributed as a standalone app, and was emailed EVERYWHERE. When you lost the game, a message came up that said, "Merry Christmas from..." (sorry, forgot the name of the web design company that produced it), along with an email link.
That design firm got swallowed up by a bigger web design firm less than a year later. I've tried to guess at what they spent to produce the game ($15k, maybe?), and this was right at the time that Shockwave and Flash were becoming hot properties, but the talent was in short supply. No doubt they recovered their investment many times over, especially when they principals sold out the business.
Online advertainment has been around for a long time, it's funny that it's just now getting recognition.
Fair enough ... it looks like some people saw "advergames" in the article and leaped with either joy or anger and posted a comment before reading the article. But this is part of a wider issue. The example you use is quite a choice one ... giving children games to get them to pester their parents around them. This is a pretty base form of advertising, you can construct virtually any image you like with a computer game, custom to the (in this case very vulnerable) audience you are targeting. .. but millions (of whatever currency you care to name) are spent on these brand images. These organisations are not into spending money on something that dosn't work, they don't like risks. A brand image is thousands of hours of thought condensed into an advert, a game, a sign on the street. And wheres the contest if no resistance is put up by the general public anyway. .. resist
Increasingly there is no escape from advertising. Adverts on taxis, on the back of motorcycle couriers, all over squares such as picadilly circus and time square, television, newspapers, graffitid on pavements and all over any blow up high street that I care to name. Brand image is everywhere. "You have your choice" they say, but so many people think they do not fall for advertising and brand image
These practices are not about "letting you know the product exists" it's about associating ideas, lifestyle, feelings and gut reaction to a product. To cut as much thought out of consumer behaviour as possible.
I could talk about selling cigarettes in brown paper bages. But I will leave it there. Think before you buy
As someone who dabbles in this sort of thing let me add my two cents:
What if it is the only way? Games cost money... or at least time. Lots of time, even for a simple one.
Sure, I can say I'll develop a game for the fun of it (it IS fun), but strictly fun is not going to pay my mortgage. And without doing that I'm not going to be writing much of anything... it's cold outside!
On the other hand, if I make the game involve a product or promotional concept, then someone might be willing to pay me to have the fun of writing a game!
Works all 'round, I have fun writing it, people have fun playing it, I get $$, the client gets increased sales. It's pretty well win win.
Would I rather be able to just write what I want? Sure, I'd also like a Ferrari, and a Jacuzzi, while we're at it.
(actually I do write some things for the heck of it from time to time. Help me stress test one I'm writing right now :) Blockwars .
It's a 1-10 person elimination style multiplayer game)
"They do not preach that their god will rouse them, a little before the Nuts work loose." Kipling, 'The Sons of Martha'