In-game Advertising

The Gazette: High-tech spy Sam Fisher uses a Sony Ericsson phone to snap a picture of terrorists and sends it to home base. Then he reads his mission briefings on his PDA – personal digital assistant – from the same gadget maker.
While Fisher may be fictional hero of Ubisoft’s Montreal-made Splinter Cell video game series, the tools he needs to complete his missions are quite real. And this is only the beginning for the fast-growing industry of advertising in video games, as the eyeballs of young men shift from the television to the gaming console.
“Advertisers want to engage audiences in the environments where they are,” said Brandon Berger of Ogilvy interactive, which creates in-game ads for client brands.
“Games are not even a phenomenon anymore. It’s mainstream. These are major consumers.”
As video games become increasingly lifelike, so do their ability to imitate the world’s ad-cluttered landscapes. And as production costs for major titles can hit $40 million, some extra cash is highly welcome.
And it can only grow from here. Depending who you ask, in-game advertising could be worth up to $4 billion by 2010, Berger said.
Product placements like Sam Fisher’s camera phone is the most popular choice, linking the brand directly with an enjoyable activity.
Product placement enters virtual world [The Gazette]