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Sony, Activision Blizzard doubtful of in-game advertising effectiveness

Posted Jan 30, 2008 at 6:37AM EST by QJ Staff

Listed in: PS3, Wii, PSP, Xbox 360, MMORPG, Nintendo DS, PC Gaming Tags: Activision, Activision Blizzard, Bobby Kotick, Financial Times, Howard Stringer, NBC
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Howard Stringer, chief executive of Sony - Image 1During the World Economic Forum in Davos last week, there were many hopeful techies and ad agencies looking into the new year as one where modern day advertising - in social networks, video games, and mobile phones - may soon become the mainstream marketing trend.

However, Sony's chief executive Howard Stringer had other opinions in mind. Despite the forum's positive take on in-game advertisement, he expressed his doubts on the marketing trend's effectiveness in the medium. Taken from an article in the Financial Times, Stringer was quoted to have said:

The [supposed] solution to everything at the moment in the digital space is ad supported. While advertisers are happy to talk that up, there is a limit to the amount of money available.


Similar sentiments were voiced out by NBC Universal chief executive Jeff Zucker in the field of mobile advertising. Activision Blizzard chief executive Bobby Kotick also echoed Stringer's sentiments about advertising-funded video games.

However, new forms of advertising were being explored as well. Advertisers were hoping to engage consumers into more interactive models, who are slowly drifting away from the usual radio, print, and television ads.

Researchers proved that many consumers found that advertising in mobile, video games, and social networking to be rather "intrusive", although many were still willing to put up with it in exchange for free content. While this is especially true with the younger consumers, many business models are already adjusting to growing trend.



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Comments 


 
# WTF!?!?!?!?!ISOHaven 2008-01-30 08:07
I disagree. I think if someone sees something they never saw before it would bring product awareness to the consumer. Granted, most games are too fast paced for the ADs to truly sink in but something new would catch your eye.



In addition, the ADs add a sense of realism to a game. As long as they don't over due it!

Reply
 

 
# I Hate Ad'sMentality 2008-01-30 08:20
I don't like the statment that people like ads as long as it offers something for free in return, I call that Ad-ware and I have programs on my computer for getting rid of that. I hate being hounded with ad's on the net, for them to be in my game as well would be real annoying. And they will have the ad's in the game fine, but you can bet that the prices of the games won't go down in return, so who is benifiting from this? Not us, so it certainly is not in out favour.

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# stupid ads...platon 2008-01-30 08:44
@ISOhaven: this is true for sports games, or games that are RIGHT NOW, like GTA4 for exemple. But for GTA4, would you really like to have real ads instead of fake&funny ads? I don't think so. And for all other games, ads are useless, can you imagine final fantasy games with ads? :S



I hate ads!



ps: Ads are useless, if I always see ads in a game, I tend to get frustrated, it's like they think we are imbeciles... It's the same with movie ads, I mean, in "the island" you see them playing a kind of virtual game on "XBOX"... I mean, this is gay... (ps: seeing playstation or nintendo would have been gay as well, it's not to diss M$)

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# adCellsplitter 2008-01-30 09:14
So you play a racing game...

You see an ad for Nike...



Are you even going to think twice about it and go buy Nike shoes just because you saw that ad?



No.

Reply
 

 
# WTF!?!?!?!?!ISOHaven 2008-01-30 09:46
"But for GTA4, would you really like to have real ads instead of fake+funny ads? I don't think so."



Yes I would. Hense the term REALISM.

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# It works with....JR13 2008-01-30 11:25
certain advertising. I was playing RSV it reminded me to watch the sarah conner chronicles. It reminded me to go buy Assassins Creed and watch one missed call. It does add a bit of realism and replayability to games. I like coming to play games and seeing an ad for something that wasent there before.

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# ...DVSDevise 2008-01-30 11:54
I'd say that ads in sports game have are effective. Clothing, equipment, and manufactures can get good coverage without the player getting pissed off. Skate is a good example. It's pretty heavy on advertising, but everything advertised is directly related to the hobby/sport of skating. It's actually cool to be unlocking new brands of clothing and/or equipment to wear or use. As for billboards in open world games, I doubt they really have any effect. But if I owned a fairly large company I wouldn't mind having my own billboard located somewhere in Liberty City.

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# AdsOrlyeh 2008-01-30 12:48
While the average game player may not benefit from ads or adspace, it may make or break the ability of a development team to produce their work - as, after all, they need to sell an idea/concept to a publisher and be funded throughout production.



There's always a new product, and there's always money for advertising; the system has been built in such a way in which the feasibly stays and the dead, dragging, and money-bleeding goes (much unlike bureaucracy in our governments).

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# Two Kinds of AdsArliman 2008-01-30 13:14
The way I see it, there are two kinds of advertising. Intrusive and non-intrusive. Intrusive would be a pop-up during the middle of a game telling you that you just won a free iPod. Non-intrusive would be your main character in a game purchasing a Pepsi, or wearing Nike shoes. Non-intrusive is good, just because I doubt that my main character wants to buy "SuperCola". Not too many people, however, give a damn if someone is claiming that they just "won".

Reply
 

 
# "Smoke"KevOne 2008-01-30 13:17
Are you Smoking yet?



:D

Reply
 

 
# >>Mentality 2008-01-30 13:29
Yes

Reply
 

 
# LOL!!!logicbomb.de 2008-01-30 13:43
The short version of this article (from QJ front page reads)



"However, Sony's chief executive HOWARD STERN expressed his doubts on the potential of that particular marketing trend."



hahaha



what is Bababooey the the vice president?1!!!







snarf

Reply
 

 
# AdsCHUCKINGROCKSATSPACESHIPS 2008-01-30 15:38
Ads are ok if implemented right. For example billboards in racing games as long as their not annoying on the eyes. Burnout Paradise is a great example of done correctly in my opinion.

Reply
 

 
# Re: ISOHavenmikekearn 2008-01-31 14:22
I don't play GTA games for the realism. I play them because they are a self parodying game. R* knows that people can get their killing elsewhere, but we keep coming back to the GTA worlds because of the zany, over-the-top antics available. I mean, why do you think they have all those hilarious radio shows that they do? To add to the realism? I don't think so. R* clearly makes an effort to poke fun at everything it is recreating in it's worlds, whatever time frame they exist in.

Reply
 

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