“Advertising prepares to make its biggest push yet into the video game world.”
this article from cnn/money.com talks about the “/pizza” functionality being added to everquest2 online that allows players to order a pizza from within the game.
advertising is making more inroads into gaming… writer chris morris mentions eventually being able to browse in-game retail locations that offer goods and services in the real world. talk of dynamic ads, updating music content, and advertiser funded exclusive content is on the rise. personally, i see all of this as the next step in the evolution of game production. it will help the industry work on smaller games and with alternate distribution models which will mean rapid innovation. this should mean more work for more teams, more content for users, and a normalization of game content towards the mainstream.
looking at the evolution of mediums, i think this could be compared to cycles similar to those film&television have gone through. currently we’re locked into what is essentially a monopoly state owned by electronic arts. activision and other companies taking a serious interest in advertiser funded gaming must see this as the light at the end of the tunnel, the crest of the next big wave.
for some all of this “advertiser + gaming” talk sounds scary… but think about the alternative. when was the last time electronic arts put out an original game title?
2 responses to “more on advergaming…”
I couldn’t agree with you more, especially last part 😉
If advertising within a game is done correctly gamers will love it, but should the monopoly’s out there have their way it will really spoil what could have been a good game!
BTW good luck with Scapland, it Rocks!
I agree with everything you said, but there is one thing that really bothers me about this…
“…normalization of game content towards the mainstream.”
That’s the scary part so far as I’m concerned. It will probably be a good thing for a short period of time, but then it will become the same as what EA and everyone else is putting out now. Besides…I don’t want Wal-Mart in my game. I want a break from that reality not have it integrated into every experience I have..where I truly can’t escape it.
I’m sure that’s not what you meant by that, but I just see it going that way because everything else does. I don’t think it would be some kind of new revolution…I think it’d be a mass release of junk into a gaming world that already has to few real alternatives (you being one of those alternatives).
Anyway….don’t mean to criticize just wanted to bring up that point. I’m fearful of those advertisers digging too deep into games because they ultimately gain control of content and gameplay and that’s not a good thing.
Keep up the good work though. I love scrapland! Keep up with your original content in your style….it’s a great break from the boredom and sameness that is overtaking the gaming world.