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GDC: How Game Monetization Will Change in '09
If the recession does not abate, retail sales will continue to erode, says Edward Hunter, director of gaming solutions at comScore, which tracks online game playing habits. Free-to-play games will have so much momentum that it will be impossible to reverse the trend.
This fits nicely with Hunter's bold prediction for 2009: Gaming is going to become like movies and television. 'A' titles will exist that people are still willing to pay for--just like movies at the box office.
Companies that have 'A' title aspirations will send their games straight to DVD--cheaper pricing tiers. The rest, like television, will be subsidized by advertising. The games industry in general will have more ad-supported titles, and publishers will adopt a mix of monetization strategies.
Retail sales are slipping, according to e-commerce sites, reports Hunter. People are buying fewer $50 boxes. There is evidence of slight audience declines in World of Warcraft. Digitally delivered, ad-supported games are where the legions of unemployed or underemployed are spending their time.
And because of that, growth in online game players is currently surpassing the growth of Internet users by 22 percent.
Because of that, there is a need to measure everything, everywhere. No longer will companies be able to skirt by, claiming they have X amount of traffic. They'll need to prove their metric via third parties so that advertisers know how many impressions in-game ads receive.
That's because at this point, in-game advertising isn't only accepted, it is expected, says Hunter. "Monetization has changed," he declared. Gamers are highly engaged and valuable to advertisers.
Total ad spending is only a fraction in games as it is the rest of media, but traditional advertising's growth has fallen 23 percent year over year. In-game ad spending has increased 8 percent.
All these factors, says Hunter, have contributed to the explosion of free games. The browser is a fast way to deliver content to consumers, and digital, he says, is even becoming a consumer preference.
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Copyright 2006 - 2009 Future Publishing Limited, Beauford Court 30 Monmouth Street Bath, UK BA1 2BW
England and Wales company registration number 2008885
And how would in game product placement apply to, say, any game that is set in a fantasy world i.e a vast majority of games. Would a Coke can seem out of place in Fallout 3? How about Oblivion? How do you envision advertising in a game like Oblivion, what exactly would you advertise without breaking the coherence of the setting?
More, importantly, would the developers be able to resist the cash cheque?
Product placement would be an interesting way of doing it. So instead of picking up "Generic painkiller" that magically stops bullet wounds festering, you can pop a couple of "Neurofen" and be done with those pesky projectiles.
The thought of Ad's anywhere but at the start of a game if frankly preposterous. No one would stand for it, it would have to be done either in game (billboards inkeeping with atmosphere) or by some other method; Maybe subliminally with a Clockwork Orange style flashing of kittens and soap.
However personally, any game that features an over abundance of ad's is swiflty dealt with either by an oversized "I'm making up for something" hammer, or a quick click of the "uninstall" button.
subtle marketing would be okay, commercial breaks... hell no
Actually the in-game advertising doesn't have to be so intrusive as is being thought. Take RuneScape for example. They use in-game "billboards" that have the ads running on them full time. You don't hear them from afar but as you get closer their volume gets louder. You can simply just walk on by if you don't care about the ad. Also in-game advertising can be something as simple as a pepsi can on the tables or a coke machine in some of the rooms. Try not to think of it quite like television to where they have to stop the game for a 30-second break as there are many more options out there. I, for one, support this because I like the idea of good games costing me less. I'd be willing to put up with "real-world" items in-game.
And how would this apply to, say, any game that is set in a fantasy world i.e a vast majority of games. Would a Coke can seem out of place in Fallout 3? How about Oblivion? How do you envision advertising in a game like Oblivion, what exactly would you advertise without breaking the coherence of the setting?
More, importantly, would the developers be able to resist the cash cheque?
"The legions of the unemployed", has there ever been a more condescending statement about one's customers. Spoken like a true Meth dealer.
On the topic, ad supported games for the unemployed masses need to take place on platforms those unemployed masses do have. Which are neither $400 consoles, not high end PCs running current gen fps games.
It might be a marketer's wet dream, but I'm sure gamers have a very low opinion of ads in their games.
And this is probably great for countries like the US of A or Japan or Korea where the internet is fast and plentiful, but in other places digital delivery is many years away because of lack of infrastructure to support such a business model.
TV shows are often crippled by ad breaks. The first ads on high-profile shows on channel 4 are 5 minutes in, just after the title and then every 10-15 mins or so. They even squeeze a break into Simpsons for God’s sake!
Are we then to expect the same levels of disruption to our games?
Think yourself immersed in Dead Space, sneaking in the corridors of Ishimura and dealing that sweet justice with the plasma cutter, finally a save point and the captain's RIG you've been looking for...
SUP 10 MIN COMMERCIAL BREAK :DDDD
WTF!?!
FFFFFFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU-
Imagine Half-Life 4 Free. Twenty minutes in the camera cuts to Morgan Freeman and he starts giving a speech:
"You know, I am not a big talker, so you can see how serious I am when speaking about these BS-Tech wireless headsets made for PS3, 360 and the PC. They offer the finest in audio quality and helped me through many dangerous battles. So why don't you check them out at your local retailer. Tell him Morgan sent you and he'll give you an exclusive $5 HL4free discount on all BS-Tech related purchases. Or head over to BS-Tech dot com and order online. Thanks for giving me the chance to tell you about this and now back to the game."
must... break... newspaper...
so... angry...