Hype Over Video Game Ads Gets More Play
from the strategy-spells-Doom dept
Talk about a story with legs: Putting ads in video games was a hot topic last year and last month, and it’s rearing its ugly head once again. Unfortunately, the news doesn’t seem all that new. First up, a consortium of video and ad wonks is pushing a system to place and update ads in games. Then there’s the hype surrounding ads on Sony’s PSP. As we’ve mentioned before, the captive audience approach to advertising is quickly becoming a thing of the past. These ads are doomed if they’re simply foisted on people who don’t want to see them. This is especially true of gamers, who are way more interested in mastering new moves than idly viewing ads. The trick is to create content that is available when people are interested in and receptive to it, such as the Gran Tursimo 4 game that hooks kids on new cars. Rather, most of these video-game advertisers seem merely giddy at the prospect of a new medium, where they’ll just apply their old tactics.
