14 DAY TRIAL // Activision Publishing, the division of Activision Blizzard which is in charge of actually getting games to players, has entered into an agreement with IGA Worldwide, one of the biggest game advertising companies in the world, to create opportunities to introduce advertisements in the PlayStation 3 games that the company will publish.
This is the latest in a series of recent deals regarding the introduction of ads to gaming platforms, from consoles to the PC. Probably handhelds are next.
The first title which falls under the agreement is Guitar Hero World Tour, which is due to be out in late October. The music simulation title is sure to attract a lot of attention and sell very well so it makes sense for the advertising firm to be interested in targeting the player community. The in game ads will be tailor made so that they will target different demographic groups and they will be updated in real time.
The big question is whether players will notice them and whether they will be interested enough to take into account in game advertising when making a purchase. If they do, then we might see more revenue for publishers and developers, but likely we'll never see a price drop for a videogame related to the introduction of in game ads.
Both IGA and Double Fusion have entered into agreements with Sony regarding ads that will be displayed on the PlayStation 3. IGA then went on to sign an agreement with publisher Electronic Arts, detailing the introduction of ads in franchises like NBA Live, NHL, NASCAR, Need for Speed or Burnout.
The Xbox 360 is also very sought after as an advertisement platform, but Microsoft is not allowing other firms to enter the market while controlling it with its own Massive division. As more and more people are fond of gaming on consoles, retail companies are interested in targeting this audience no longer attracted by watching television or by reading the newspapers. In game advertising seems the perfect way to do that.