Nielsen Adds Videogame Ad Rating Service

Thanks to Mediapost.com for their article discussing the attempt by TV rating arbiters Nielsen to move into the videogame market, launching the Nielsen Video Game Service, intended to calculate "the data and metrics that will enable video game marketers to pitch advertisers on the value of 'in-game ad exposure.'" The service, backed by publisher Activision, who is "eager to cultivate a video game advertising marketplace", launched alongside a survey that "claims 27 percent of active male gamers noticed ads in the last video game they played", and further revealed statistics claiming "52 percent of heavy gamers saying they like games to contain real products and 70 percent saying that the placement of real products makes the games more 'genuine.'"

Comments

Genuine products do work yes

[SmallFurryCreature]

Mafia had all kinds of historical cars with fancy names. First user made patch? Turn all the fancy names to the real names.

Same with FPS war games. Far more fun to have a M16 then generic assault rifle type 2.

But I can't really see that much marketting for it. Surely real gun nuts shudder at the kind of ballestics you find in games and simirally a FPS fan will have little use for a gun you have to use OUTSIDE?

I can see product placement in a game like The Sims. Say coca-cola company making free models available sporting their logo. Coca-Cola fridge? The pizza delivery guy in a domino skin?

But will this sell anything?

Sports games have long since had real advertising but the way I understood at least in the time of "grand prix legends" it was more the game makers begging if they could please use the image instead of being paid to include a companies logos.

Activision? No Way!

[illuminata]

Well, it's no surprise to me that Activision would really like to cash in, with games like Tony Hawk and MX Superfly, there's bound to be quite a market for advertising. Knowing how to place those ads would be very beneficial to them, although I don't know how well Nielsen's method will help.

However, they better play wisely. Gamers would be quick to turn their noses up at ads where they're too intrusive or don't make sense, and thus blacklisting the developer and publisher responsible.

I'm not surprised by Activision, the king of sequels and licenses, wanting to do this. I just hope that they don't shoot themselves in the foot.

If there will be in-game ads,

[vegetablespork]

the game should be free. I will not knowingly pay money for software that contains ads. Neither should anyone else.