Get Ready to Rock -- err, Watch Ads?

Advertising agencies will try to tell you that what has been missing from video games all these years has been an efficient way to sell you things. Gamers, these companies claim, long to see realistic billboards for Burger King in their games, to help pull them out of the fantasy and ground them more firmly in capitalist reality. Phew, thanks guys, I was really getting into that medieval MMORPG there for a minute. A recent survey (supported by advertisers) found that most gamers actually prefer games that contain advertisements, although it is not clear if the researchers actually spoke to any real gamers, or just made the whole report up.

The newest victim of in-game advertisements is Guitar Hero: World Tour. Activision today announced that it has signed a contract with IGA, one of the leading creators of in-game advertisement, to deliver contextual ads in many of their upcoming titles. Dave Anderson of Activision claimed that this move had nothing to do with the money, but was instead geared at giving gamers a more realistic experience:

“Our partnership with IGA will allow us to deliver dynamic in-game advertising to the growing PlayStation Network community for the first time, By incorporating dynamic in-game advertising in our titles where it is appropriate, we can increase the realism of our games by presenting consumers with authentic environments in genuine settings, while also expanding a key growth opportunity for the company.”

What do you think about the policy of selling advertising space in games? Does this trend annoy you, or are you OK with it? Leave us a comment and let us know.

[Via: Press Release]

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