This has got nothing to do with mobile phones…yet. Japanese owners of WipEout Pure for the Playstation Portable will reportedly soon be able to download some content from the Cokestyle website which will do things like “adding various Coke-themed vehicles and assorted items to the game”. While some people would download the additions just for a laugh, if the new features added to the gameplay a lot more people would download them. I don’t know what kind of deal Coke has with the makers of WipEout Pure but I suspect its another form of in-game advertising we’ll see in the future — which may help to offset the rising costs of games. And it’s a natural fit for the mobile space — there are already mobile games which allow you to download extra levels over the network, and Pinball Dreaming offers the game for free and raises revenue by selling additional tables and personalization features. I think it’s only a matter of time before this sort of promotion becomes common in mobile games, and I think it would be feasible to offer a game for free and sell branded download rights to big brands…although it would probably need a strong push to get going, like lead space on a carriers deck.
The benefit of this sort of advertising as opposed to just advertising in the background of games is the interactivity. Not only do people have to conciously decide to download the features but they actually use them in the game.
Related stories:
–Infospace Offers In-Game Advertising
–Sprint Sees Advertising-Supported Mobile Services
–The only mobile content predictions you need to read!
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