In-Game Advertising To Top $800 Million By 2012

GamesIndustry.biz reports on comments from analyst firm Parks Associates on the bright future for game advertisements. General advertising for games is expected to skyrocket in the next few years, reaching some $2 billion by the year 2012. Additionally in-game advertising, which ran about $55 million last year, is expected to reach $800 Million in the same year. "'Advertising in electronic games had an average monthly household expenditure of less than 50 cents in 2006, while broadcast TV was at $37, meaning advertisers are not using the gaming medium to its full potential,' said Yuanzhe Cai, Parks Associates' director of broadband and gaming. 'If executed correctly, game advertising can provide a win-win solution for advertisers, developers and publishers, console manufacturers, game portals, and gamers.'"

Comments

Law to make publishers put it on box

[svendsen]

There needs to be a law that makes game companies put right on the back on their box in bold print at size 12pt if the game has in game advertising. If a game has in game advertising I won't buy it unless it makes sense (as in billboards when driving vs. the sky being turned into one big brand image).

Re: In-Game Advertising To Top $800 Million By 201

[ls -la]

Money has to come from somewhere. If developers can earn money by selling advertising, it means they will be able to spend more time polishing up their projects at the end of the development cycle instead of having to push the product out the door early to start getting money from sales. So why are advertisers so eager to pay for advertising in a game that's not finished yet?

Overall, that means fewer rushed titles, late patches, and incomplete games. In an ideal world. If you find one, let me know where.

Will some publishers abuse advertising for quick profit? Of course. Some here meaning most or almost all?

developers need money in order to do what they love. I know that quite well, but what makes you think the big companies that are going to get most of the money from in-game advertising are going to share it with the devs?

In-game advertizing is cool if done right

[thecapn32]

I remember when Seinfeld created the concept of product placement on TV - he would open up the cabinet and pull out a box of Cheerios and eat some. It's much more realistic...it's something we would do. We wouldn't pull out a box of Churrios. If done right, in-game advertizing can actually make a game more realistic...if, for example, you pass by a movie theater and see real movies advertized, or go up to a vending machine and see real products, or drive past a McDonalds. So I'm all for it, if they do it right.

Re: In-Game Advertising To Top $800 Million By 201

[EMeta]

The trick, I think, will be when someone puts together a adwords-esque enterprise for game advertising. Portable, applicable only to whatever setting it's in, and with a very low overhead so indie developers can attach it to a project and recoup costs.

Because of course there are ways to make it work, once the stupid stuff has been flushed out. And the vast majority of Americans have enjoyed innumerable hours of entertainment provided mostly free to them because of the availability of advertising money.

Will said advertising ever work in a deep high-fantasy setting? Maybe not. But if Blue Nile wanted to fund a jewelery store, I wouldn't mind.

Re: In-Game Advertising To Top $800 Million By 201

[Nossie]

"Just as Need For Speed has always had real cars"

One problem I see with this alone is that car manufacturers are not willing to put their car in a game if it has realistic/any damage modelling ...

I'm not saying NFS is like that, I haven't played them in ages...