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Full-Motion Ads Come to Videogames

Posted by Hemos on from the the-joy-of-games dept.

Carl Bialik from the WSJ writes "'Advertising in videogames, dominated in the past by static ads such as billboards and signposts, is beginning to look more like TV commercials,' according to the Wall Street Journal. Massive, the company that brought still ads to videogames last year, is now introducing full-motion ads to PC-based games (not yet console titles). Massive CEO Mitchell Davis 'says Hollywood movie studios have shown particular interest in running 15-second movie trailers in online games.' Also of note: 'One problem with the full-motion ads is that gamers can easily avoid watching them. The full-motion ads start playing when a player moves near the ad spot on the screen -- and stop playing when the player moves away. As a result, gamers may see only a few seconds of the 15-second ads. Massive says it won't charge advertisers unless the full ad has been viewed.'"

9 of 486 comments (clear)

  1. Yeah, that will work real well... by It+doesn't+come+easy · · Score: 5, Funny

    Player: "Oops, time out while I take 15 seconds to watch this ad..."

    Game Narrator: "As you stand in the same spot for 1.3 seconds, the demon from hell rips your head off and tosses your mangled body over the nearby cliff. Alas, you find yourself dead at the bottom of the ravine. Better luck next time."

    --
    The NSA: The only part of the US government that actually listens.
    1. Re:Yeah, that will work real well... by TimElliott · · Score: 5, Funny

      But did he save the 15% on car insurance?

    2. Re:Yeah, that will work real well... by lukewarmfusion · · Score: 5, Funny

      Like real estate, outdoor advertising is about location. Who would put a billboard next to a demon-guarded ravine?

      Customers are no good to you when they're mangled and decapitated.

    3. Re:Yeah, that will work real well... by bentcd · · Score: 5, Funny

      Who would put a billboard next to a demon-guarded ravine?
      An undertaker?
      Customers are no good to you when they're mangled and decapitated.
      The undertaker begs to differ :-)

      --
      sigs are hazardous to your health
    4. Re:Yeah, that will work real well... by Golias · · Score: 5, Funny

      "Sears Craftsman Flashbombs"

      That would probably be the first time a "lifetime warranty" would actually make me less confident about using a product.

      --

      Information wants to be anthropomorphized.

  2. reminds me of that futurama episode by Some_Llama · · Score: 5, Funny

    Leela: "Didn't you have ads in the 20th century?"

    Fry: "Well sure, but not in our games! Only on tv and radio...and in magazines...and movies. And at ball games, on buses, and milk cartons, and t-shirts, and bananas, and written on the sky. But not in games! No sirree."

    Chalk one up for marketing progress!!!

  3. Yeah Yeah it was coming by hobotron · · Score: 5, Funny


    Fine. Whatever. Put ads in if you want, because you were going to anyway, nothing stopped you in the movies, but if my character needs a god damn Pizza-Hut ray gun to quash the evil Ceasar overlords Im going to personally shit in your Director of Marketing's coffee.

    --
    There is truth in humor.
  4. More like this... by The-Bus · · Score: 5, Funny
    Why do video ads? Text ads are the way to go...


    It is pitch black. You are likely to be eaten by a grue.

    > WHAT IS A GRUE?

    Sponsored Link
    GRUE
    Browse a huge selection now! Find exactly what you want today.
    www.eBay.com

    Monster - Official Site
    Post Jobs & Search Qualified. Resumes. Find the Right Employees!
    www.Monster.com
    -----------------

    The grue is a sinister, lurking presence in the dark places of the earth. Its favorite diet is adventurers, but its insatiable appetite is tempered by its fear of light. No grue has ever been seen by the light of day, and few have survived its fearsome jaws to tell the tale.

    >


    The new spelling of Text Adventure Game is Text Ad Venture.
    --

    Small potatoes make the steak look bigger.

  5. Possible fix by Spy+der+Mann · · Score: 5, Funny

    Alas, you find yourself dead at the bottom of the ravine. Better luck next time."

    (As the screen shows the floor and your blood's dripping, you manage to see an announcement in a nearby wall:

    "Headache? Take advil."