14 DAY TRIAL // Google's representatives claimed yesterday that the company's testing methods of implementing ads into videogames' content. We've heard this piece of information before, but now Google would probably want to speed things up a bit, since Sony has just created a unit which is going to develop dynamic in-game advertising. Also, the GigaOm website claims that the search engine giant will include its ad platform in an upcoming game.
Google became a major player in this new industry branch by buying the in-game advertising company AdScape for $23 million back in February, making sure that they have the best team on their side. Implementing ads in videogames is a brilliant way of reaching a certain segment of the public, since the demographics you're aiming at gets narrowed following certain patterns. For example, certain FPS fans will probably be keener on buying cafeine-based drinks rather than fruit juice so we'll see cafeine drink banners in the urban levels of such a game.
You have to be careful however, as an advertising company when and where you place your ads, since futuristic settings and jungle environments don't quite suit Ford commercials for example. The good thing is that the new type of ads can be constantly updated since nowadays consoles and computers are always linked to the Internet. The competition is also getting ready to score big time, as Google enters this promising ad market, as Microsoft has bought in-game advertising firm Massive one year ago and it has plans for its Xbox Live platform regarding ad campaigns.
We're still waiting for a move from Nintendo, specially because they're top dogs right now, owning the best-selling consoles on the market. Will Google be able to one-up all of its rivals by launching its platform in one of the upcoming games? Can you guess what title it is? The answer is one month away from being revealed!