Interview with Darren Herman from IGA about advertising in videogames

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This is an article I wrote in 2006 for Flicker Gaming. I’m posting it now because it’s no longer available anywhere else online and I need to link to it for a post I’m writing on Eat Sleep Publish. Go figure.

I’d like to say that watching the mainstream emergence of an idea I had myself two years ago is satisfying, but I’d be lying. I probably wasn’t the first or only person to think of it, but let me tell you about my idea: as I was complaining about how most MMOGs (including the yet-to-be-released World of Warcraft) had a monthly subscription fee, it occurred to me that games could adopt the same monetizing system that a lot of web sites have: free content, ad supported.

I, of course, envisioned a utopian world wherein Starbucks would pay LucasArts to build a coffee shop into their major cities, billboards would advertise real movies, and you might even see new gadgets in in-game store windows. The up side? No subscription fee. The game companies would, like network television, make plenty of money off advertisers and initial box sales to more than cover their maintenance costs.

I tossed this idea aside as the utopian vision that it seemed to be. Now, however, advertisers are beginning to take note of the significant amount of time gamers spend immersed in the worlds they find in their computers. Ad spending in games is expected to go up over 40% in 2006 alone, which is huge.

In response, companies that specialize in game advertising have begun to draw serious VC money, as people begin to realize what a huge market this is going to become. Also, some companies like the online game provider (of games you play in your web browser) Shockwave has launched an in-game ad program with clients like Intel and SBC Communications.

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May 7, 2008 | Filed Under Technology |  

Unifnished thoughts about politics

I’ve been reading but don’t have the mental energy to put together coherent opinions. Here’s what I’ve got.

May 6, 2008 | Filed Under Politics and Life |  

Quote

“The oh-my-God moment came when I realized that Israel can destroy all of its local enemies by inventing solar technology that makes oil uneconomical. Such an invention would do more harm than any military attack. And it’s all legal and moral.”

- Scott Adams

May 2, 2008 | Filed Under Technology |