Take for instance Splinter Cell. Within multiplayer there is a map which has a truck out in front and logo’s that will change each time it is loaded. Recently this editor fell into a situation where I told my team mate that the Merc was by the "Comcast" truck. Only, he couldn’t find, the Comcast truck, because to him it was a completely different ad! This is one example where in-game advertising can drastically affect game play. If landmarks change based on localization or randomization of ads, what other problems or distraction will we run into?
Have no fear. There is a bit of good news for the gamers amd not so much for advertisers. A London based company, Bunnyfoot has done a study on in-game advertising. Their study has shown that consumers pretty much ignore or don’t see the in-game ads.
Their study took 120 gamers, all 18 or older and were given sports games to play (which is by far the biggest user of in-game ads right now). Using Sponsor Fixation Index metrics, Bunnyfoot measured the responsiveness of gamers to the ads.
In games such as Smackdown Vs Raw and NBA Live, the SFI of the gamers were pretty high. However the SFI in other games and the over all SFI average was surprisingly low. One of the worst games happened to be PGR 3 which showed a zero percent SFI score. Maybe because it's hard to read an ad when your doing 250MPH down a winding road?
Their study shows that in-game ads are failing to catch the gamers attention and are failing to influence the consumer in any significant way. If there’s little return on investment, advertisers will simply go somewhere else. Could this mean the end of in-game advertising is coming or are things just getting started? Maybe game designers will find new and innovative ways to get advertiser messages in our face. Face mapping a McGriddle sandwich on my Rainbow Six character?
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