Electronic Arts Will Advertise to You While You Play

[wraggster]

Good old Electronic Arts announces to the world today that they have signed a deal to bring 'dynamic' in-game advertising to a selection of their most popular titles. The agreement is with Massive Incorporated, a subsidiary of Microsoft set up with one goal - to further the penetration of adverts into the medium of the video game.

Under the terms of the deal, which will affect only EA's PC and Xbox 360 titles - the first will be Need for Speed Carbon - a portfolio of games will be incoporated into Massive's Video Games Network. Massive will then work with developers of the games and decide between them what they are going to advertise, and where. The idea is that adverts will be placed in areas where people most susceptible to them will find them. This is different to the static roadside adverts you may have seen in recent Need for Speed titles, and is described as 'dynamic' advertising.

How it will manifest itself in-game is anybody's guess. Perhaps if you've been playing a game for four hours, you'll suddenly stumble across messages promoting comfy chairs and tasty burgers. Both parties seem pretty pumped about the deal, with EA's online commerce VP commenting that the feature would be "...not only nice to have, but... an essential component to create the fiction of being there. This agreement with Massive allows us to vary what relevant ads are served to the game player".

Massive head honcho Mitchell Davis had this to add:

"Dynamic advertising opportunities in top EA titles across two platforms represents an unprecedented marketing opportunity for advertisers to target the youth demographic in the most engaging medium."

See? They care about you, kids. They really care.

[JesusXP]

so we should expect a price drop in games as they should expect revenue generated by the companies buying ad-space?...right?.... wait yeah.. that doesnt sound like EA to me either.

[dejkirkby]

Well, it gets worse. Now we have to pay to £30-40 to see adverts. I'll already get that with my digital TV. They best f'n sell an un-advertised version

[muffinman]

of they'll sell an unadvertised version it will just be £40 more expensive than the advertising one.

[10shu]

relax guys...I know how this dynamic ad system work.
you won t see any black screen with advertising...

It s more included into the game and will work very well with sport game or GTA like game...

It s like when u play crazy taxy...you ve got advertising all over the city and it isn t a big problem.

it s dynamic cause the ad can change you may play one day and see a coke add and the next day at the same place a nike add...

it won t make the game cheaper...next gen title are crazy expenssive to do and that one way game company find to make some money.

Other game company use the same system for the 360 and ps3 games...