A New Way to Advertise

Videogames are big, and they are becoming even bigger. According to The NPD Group, who monitors the videogame industry, sales in 2007 were a staggering $17.94 Billion. To put this number in perspective, it s a 43% jump over sales from 2006. There is also evidence to suggest that sales in 2008 will grow even more.

With such a booming industry it is no wonder that advertisers have taken notice. With an enormous audience of gamers for companies and advertisers to market, companies and advertisers alike will be doing everything they can to get their messages into games in their hopes to make a profit off of this nearly $18 billion dollar industry.


The question becomes as consumers of media should we tolerate even more product placement. We already deal with television and radio commercials, magazines littered with print ads, not to mention blatent product placement in our favorite movies and shows. As a gamer myself i was shocked and suprised when i saw my first advertisement in a videogame, but now it seems the practice has become commonplace. Gamers must learn to deal with ads in their games the same way that movie buffs cope with product placements. It remains to be seen if in game advertisements have any real lasting impact, but for now, it seems the ads are here to stay.