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In-Game Advertising To Top $800 Million By 2012

Posted by Zonk on from the here-is-your-axe-would-you-like-a-coke-too dept.

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.'"

8 of 83 comments (clear)

  1. Blizzard is missing out... by 3p1ph4ny · · Score: 3, Funny

    I've never seen a night elf drinking a Coke.

    1. Re:Blizzard is missing out... by HermMunster · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I will never purchase a game with ingame adverting. No one should. You bought the game, paid good money for it, and now you have to pay again by looking at banal advertising. The sherlock that thought this up should be taken out and shot, regardless of the amount of revenue.

      What I'm curious about is if there is a way to block ingame advertisements with some program or filtering mechanism. Ad companies are responsible for the funding of malware to a large degree. If it weren't for the ads these adware makers wouldn't have an income. We should be suing the advertisers directly instead of letting our kids become bombarded with constant ads.

      A computer game is immersive. We don't need to be bothered by advertisers trying to sell us something. These people are the falling off edge of stupidity. They all should be barred from anything computers.

      --
      You can lead a man with reason but you can't make him think.
    2. Re:Blizzard is missing out... by Puff+of+Logic · · Score: 4, Informative

      I will never purchase a game with ingame adverting. No one should. I'm right there with you in terms of dislike for in-game advertising. However, I'm a big Enemy Territory fan and was really excited about the new Enemy Territory game coming soon until I discovered that they intend to use in-game advertising. Now I'm stuck: do I forgo a game I was really looking forward to, or do I get it anyway and just try to ignore the ads? It's not like I have a moral objection to in-game advertising, it just annoys me.

      Two other points irritate me. The first is that the additional revenue brought in by in-game advertising doesn't seem to be offset by a decreased purchase cost or increased quality, so the gamer is really getting less value (presence of annoyance) because of this practice. The second point is that there is evidently an entire industry of people who spent their lives irritating the hell out of people for the purposes of commercial "messages" but I am unable to kick them in the nuts. If they are able to make my day less pleasant, I should be able to reciprocate!
      --
      P.P.S. I'm doing Science and I'm still alive.
  2. Re: In-Game Advertising To Top $800 Million By 201 by gravos · · Score: 3, Insightful

    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.

    Overall, that means fewer rushed titles, late patches, and incomplete games. Will some publishers abuse advertising for quick profit? Of course. But don't come out with something like BOYCOTT ALL GAMES WITH ADVERTISING KEKEKEKEKEKEKE because you don't understand that developers need money in order to do what they love.

    --
    This game will waste your life. Don't clicky!
  3. Re: In-Game Advertising To Top $800 Million By 201 by ls+-la · · Score: 3, Interesting

    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?
  4. Re: In-Game Advertising To Top $800 Million By 201 by Smight · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I think overall it will mean more rushed titles.

    You've got to get that game out the door so you can get a new batch of advertisers for your next game.
    Look at what advertising has done for television. It used to be one company would fund a show entirely and they might break from the show once or twice an hour to tell you about that one product(how do you think soap operas got their name?)
    Now you're lucky if you get 30 minutes of showtime in an hour block and even during the shows they feel the need to have advertisements splash across the screen with their own sound effects sometimes covering up crucial images or dialogue.
    Advertising in games might not sound that bad now but once they get a taste they will just try and saturate games more and more. How long do you think until they have 20 minutes of previews before you can play like they do for movies?

    --
    IOU one (1) signature
  5. Re: In-Game Advertising To Top $800 Million By 201 by Buddy_DoQ · · Score: 3, Insightful

    How about this novel concept: Make a killer game, and sell a lot of copies!

    When was the last time Zelda or Mario needed Nike/Coke/Dodge ads to make money? I'm with the parent, screw'em. I don't want them, and I don't need them. There are plenty of great games to play that don't make me feel dirty or insulted. So many recent games lost sales from me and my circle for in-game ads, such as Crackdown earlier this year. I enjoyed the demo, but after a single distraction (large dodge truck ad) I was done. Battlefield 2142 is another fine example, might as well re-name the sucker adware42, and it has no business on my PC.

    If developers want to see my money, all they have to do is a make a great game, and leave all that "sponsored by" crap in the splash screen or on the box. You can't even begin to imagine my disappointment in last weeks news with Quake:ET, a game I've been following for years...

    The bottom line is, if your development cost are so high that you have to start selling ad space in your game world, then maybe it's time you evaluate your development processes, and the game in question; for something has gone horribly wrong.

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    -Buddy of DoQ
  6. It really depends on the game... by Akaihiryuu · · Score: 3, Insightful

    If the ads are appropriate for the setting the game is in, then they become part of the environment of the game. For example, seeing real-life ads on billboards in a game like Grand Theft Auto does not detract from the game at all. It takes place in a modern day city, and you would expect to see such billboards if you were really there. However, placing things like this in a futuristic or fantasy game would destroy it.