Biggest ever deal for in game ads signed

360 News | Reebok gets in on Pro Evolution Soccer 6

And so it begins. Video game publishers have been talking up the potential of in-game advertising for a while now, and Today Konami and Reebok announced the biggest deal yet – but at least it's in a sports game. Pro Evolution Soccer 6 will feature extensive Reebok visual branding throughout the title, including but not limited to Reebok shoes, footballs, bags, billboards and a heavily branded training area.

As you'd expect, Reebok isn't the only company to get their greasy mits into Pro Evolution Soccer 6 – Canon has also been announced as a sponsor, and their company name will appear on billboards and on a sponsored replay feature. Every time you use the replay function, a Canon digital camera logo appears on the corner of the screen.

The deal was brokered by a company called New Street Media, and it's Managing Director Maryam Bazargan had this to say: “It's important not just to place brands within a game, but to follow the partnership through to offline co-marketing and joint events, which is what we've been working on. As the importance of in-game media accelerates we will soon be seeing multi-million dollar deals in this sector”

While all this does sound quite natural for a sports game, we're starting to wonder why exactly we should pay full price for a game when the developer can already make millions from a sponsorship. Unlike television where a compelling free product is offered in return for watching 'messages from the sponsor', games cost us money. Luckily, it seems Konami and it's media partners are aware of not pushing it too far. Bazargan continued: "Maintaining sensitivity to gamers needs is key whilst exploiting these new marketing techniques - we needed to ensure the advertising was true to the game content and added to its realism”

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14 Comments

Zarnoss

5 years ago

Man that advertising dollar would solve third world debt.

Ahh what a wonderful world we live in.

MIkes

5 years ago

I'd be slightly more offended is UEFA hadn't just turned down the idea of player salary caps.

Y'know, because earning 50,000 pounds a week is perfectly acceptable.

But yeah, and they wonder why people copy games.

Klawrence

5 years ago

A very valid point you make towards the end of the article.

I really do hope this means lower software costs.

But it wont.

The Brett

5 years ago

As long as it stays with sports games, it's a cool idea. I like the idea of sponsored replays and whatnot- actually makes it feel more authentic.

A sign of a good game or a sign of society's downfall?

ugh the boot

5 years ago

As long as it's appropriate....I don't wanna be trekking through some fantasy setting only to see a coke/reebok billboard! Basically it just needs to be like the movies cuz you would never see any advertising in a film like lord of the rings but for movies like iRobot you would and that didn't bother me too much. They should really try to restrict it in futuristic stuff because you'd think being the furture they would fix up this sort of nonsense....but chances are we'll probably be seeing advertising in abundance in the future so chances are we'll see it a lot more in futuristic type games.

Spanca

5 years ago

I don't have a problem with it in sports games. The stadiums are covered in it, and really, if it's not there then it makes the game look unrealistic!

troublemaker

5 years ago

Anyone remember SuperFrog (Amiga) & Lucozade?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superfrog

Sponsorship has been in games for ages, if it goes too over the top people won't (shouldn't) buy the game (unless the price, which is subsidised by sponsorship, makes it tempting to do so)

MIkes

5 years ago

The Brett wrote

As long as it stays with sports games, it's a cool idea. I like the idea of sponsored replays and whatnot- actually makes it feel more authentic.

There were the giant neon adds for Lynx (or Axe, possibly, it's called Lynx in the UK) in the last Splinter Cell game. That made it feel a little more realistic, although the focusing on the Airwaves in the cutscenes made me want to skip them.

I think that pretty seen we'll have to sit through ads on Live before watching the newest game demos.

We already have to sit through some ads before games start ("Nvidia...the way it's meant to be played") onsome PC games.

Spanca

5 years ago

MIkes wrote

the focusing on the Airwaves in the cutscenes made me want to skip them.

Thanks for reminding me of that. I really hope they don't have that sort of crap in Double Agent. They really went over the top with the Airwaves product placement.

David

5 years ago

MIkes wrote

in the last Splinter Cell game. That made it feel a little more realistic, although the focusing on the Airwaves in the cutscenes made me want to skip them.

I forgot about that. They were totally awful. It now makes sense what Ubisoft meant when they said they wanted to be EA...

Ellegarden

5 years ago

MIkes wrote

I can just imagine a final fantasy in-game ad, the main character drinking coke in a cut scene or a group moment.

nin2000

5 years ago

The ads may be minimal at the moment, but companies will get greedy, and they will increase. Just like tv when it was first introduced. There used to be just a sponser at the start and end of each programme, with no interupting ads. Then it moved to a quick ad half-way through the show. It slowly moved to 3 times 2 minute ads per half hour. Now it is 3 times 3.5 minute ads per primetime half hour, with inshow ads, and credit ads, where the credits are squashed in the corner of the screen somewhere. Channel Ten is the worst, they now put advertising on those little pop-up bars that are supposed to tell you what show you are watching, but instead now advertise for another show. Ten is definately the worst, followed by 7 and then 9. Channel 9's in show ads arent as obstructive.

Does anyone remember those in-show ads for "David tench tonight" it took up more than a third of the screen, i had to actually hold the tv remote in my line of vision so that I could concentrate on the sound and the top half of the tv picture.

I understand that free-tv needs to make money, but theyre just being plain greedy now.

When online gaming becomes more wide-spread, you can expect pop-up ads and such on your game. Loading screens will soon be full of advertising, and evertime you achieve a goal in some game, up will pop a fuji film camera, reminding you that you paid $100 for this game so that you could have the privialge of watching their ads.

DancesInUnderwear

5 years ago

nin2000 wrote

Channel 9's in show ads arent as obstructive.

Shame theres not a thing to watch on channel 9, though.