In-Game Advertising for Grand Theft Auto IV?
11:42 PST | Jordan | Print News | Mail News
Today, Take-Two Interactive Software had a conference at the 34th Annual Global Media and Communications Conference and sent out a press release regarding a few company developments, but it was the conference itself that had the details, and I have them right here transcribed from the script Paul Eibeler (Take-Two exec) read:
"To extend the life cycle [of Grand Theft Auto IV]...to take that product to the next level, we also have exclusive episodic content that will be available.
In-game advertising is just another area that we think is very, very exciting to take advantage of the type of content that people own...and microtransactions...I'll talk a little about this...
It's not just about shipping one box and then waiting for a sequel, but keeping that product alive in the marketplace. There is a tremendous amount of research that shows that anything in terms of downloadable content increases the box sales. So we will take our biggest brand (GTA) and have episodic content available in the marketplace. It's a way we are approaching games to maximize our revenue as we look into the next cycle.
In-game advertising...we have a tremendous experience base from our sports business where it is a natural part of the gaming experience. Today, we announced a partnership with Double Fusion. Double Fusion brings to us added context with the agencies...with giving us scale with Madison Avenue. So, we think that this is a growing area...one that we will walk before we run...one that we have a lot of experience in the sports side, and then we will move that now to all of our other types of content."
If GTA IV gets in-game ads, then they will be ads for real companies, meaning that the series will take a step out of its traditional fictionalized style. Will it still stay partly fictionalized? We shall see.
So, to summarize what he just said, some future games made by the publisher will include in-game advertising...not just the sports titles. This seems to mean GTA. Did he say that the franchise will have it? No, but he hinted at it a few times. What will this mean? What do you think? Tell us below.
Update: A reader also pointed out that if the game does get ads, they will probably be present day ads, making the game take place in 2007. Interesting, isn't it?
also ich bin jemand dem grafik bei weitem nicht das wichtigste ist,aber bei gta war mir dies immer sehr wichtig,und wenn es eine möglichkeit gibt gta auf eine der beiden anderen konsolen zu spielen käme eine wii-fassung sicher nicht in frage
