Advergaming to Hit $4 Billion in 2008

Next Generation reports the somewhat disheartening statistic that advergaming is likely to break $4 Billion by 2008. From the article: "TWST points out that gamers are much more receptive to 'advergaming' than other potential consumers who block pop-up Internet ads or mute television commercials because in many cases, ads in games provide realism. However, many gamers would disagree with that notion, saying that ads can often be intrusive." We recently reported on the poorly thought-out Counter-Strike Subway ads. Here's hoping they're more well considered that than those ads.

Comments

Not so much receptiveness

[kevmo]

Speaking for myself as a gamer, it is not so much as being receptive to the ads as it is the fact that they are harder to block. Web page ads are easily blocked with adblock, but for an online game with ads, you would need to modify (hack) the client to get rid of them. Such hacking could be detected, and could result in you being banned, so we are just forced to deal with ads in games when they appear.

Re:Not so much receptiveness

[JUSTONEMORELATTE]

...so we are just forced to deal with ads in games when they appear

Or ignore them, or choose a different game.
Today, you are the consumer, paying your money for a game title. If the trend flips to the point where you are a product, being sold to the advertiser, you just need to decide if you want to be sold or not.

Just something to ponder.

Re:It's ok if we reap the benefits too!

[ryants]

and the revenue reduces the cost of it

I wouldn't hold your breath if I were you.

I smell a fresh load of bullshit

[SmallFurryCreature]

Why? What is the state of advergaming right now? Almost non-existant yet somehow in a mere two years it will be worth 4 billion? That is fantasy accounting. It probably goes like this, 1st month 1million, 2nd month 2 million wich can only lead you to conclude that in 48 months you must have reach 48 million. It is called making a future prediction with not enough historical data.

Now we just had a story about planetside getting ads. Another MMORPG that I can't remember right has been doing that for over a year now. Nice but I would hardly use their "success" as a way to predict what is going to happen in two years time. The most popular MMORPG's right now are fantasy making it hard to fit ads into them.

I also remember games like Grand Prix Legends that had to jump through hoops to get permission to use the authentic ads in the game of the era. Far from being payed most companies will sue you if you use their ad slogans in your game without permission.

What company would really want to be associated with a GTA San Andreas especially now that it has been shown game makers can't be trusted? What will be in the next version, a hidden level of shooting kittens? A marketing nightmare.

It is the same reason a lot of car companies do not give permission to use their real car names in games with violence or even just realastic damage modelling. You do not want customers of you latest super car to see exactly what remains of the car when you take it to 180 on the open road.

EQ2 pizza deal seems to have been removed. Ad based MMO's are the ones who couldn't hack it as a subscription game. Most companies do not want to be associated with the wrong kind of game.

Sure there will be a market but 4 billion worth? I doubt it. Reminds me of the internet bubble.

Re:NFS Series

[TheLoneDanger]

"But if I'm tromping through Midgard and see a Radio Shack add, I'm going to be annoyed."

The simple decision made by publishing companies will then be to not make any more games where they can't place ads. No "Midgard" means no complaints about the ads not fitting in.