Microsoft, EA Extend In-game Advertising Agreement

March 18, 2008 2:58 PM

Microsoft subsidiary Massive Inc extended a previously-inked deal to provide in-game advertising for Electronic Arts titles, the company announced today.

The two-year extension of the deal will expand the roster of titles set to feature in-game advertising for products in various EA titles. Massive's advertising technology allows for dynamic updates of in-game advertising by streaming ads from a server whenever a game is played.

"EA strongly believes that dynamic in-game advertising is an important growth area for our business," said EA Casual president Kathy Vrabeck. "We selected Massive because they are the industry leader in this space with a global sales footprint, solid brand recognition and in-depth experience in video game advertising."

Massive currently provides in-game advertisements for the PC and Xbox 360 versions of several titles in EA's Need for Speed series. As part of the extension, the company plans to add a number of EA Sports franchises to its in-game ad service including Madden NFL, NBA Live, NHL and NASCAR.

Aaron Linde

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dantastic

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March 18, 2008 3:52 PM

it was annoying in rainbow six vegas 1 last night. i was in the casino floor level and all the posters on the wall were telling me to buy that shitty hitman movie on dvd on march 13th :(
- mnsnota
  
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  March 18, 2008 4:18 PM
  
  I think it can add immersion to a game if implemented in the right way, as it gives it a more realistic spin on a game. It just needs to be in the right genre, I would be extremely annoyed if say they put advertising
  in a game like WoW, where it just doesn't make sense.(I've never played WoW but it just wouldn't work in a fantasy element like that) In a casino on the other hand you could see all types of advertisement. If a developer can make more money with the use of advertisements that could mean more money that goes back into their next iteration. Which may mean a better game.
  - AxeMan808
    
     reply
    March 18, 2008 5:45 PM
    
    And as in the "if DRM works, our games can be cheaper" discussion: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
    They're never gonna kick any savings back to us.
    On the consoles (where pirates don't go, apparently) DVDs are cheaper than cartridges (as a storage medium), yet, what are our savings? $-25?
    A new game paradigm (Battlefield Heroes) might make ad-supported gaming work, but we'll have to see what the GAME is like first.
    I dunno...I'm grouchy.