Beat A Man Into A Urinal, Consider Buying Deodorant

I think I can tell when ad people are joking. I tested that skill recently at an in-game advertising event. The people from Take Two saying a BioShock Big Daddy would be a great pitchman for Black and Decker? Joking.


September 7, 2009
News

Finally, Some Responsible In-Game Ads

You mention “in-game ads”, people get shirty. Don’t like the fact they’re being sold stuff within something they already bought. But there’s less ground for complaint with in-game ads bought for a good purpose.


May 6, 2009

Microsoft’s In-Game Ad Company Hit By, Ahem, Massive Layoffs

We’ve heard today that, as part of Microsoft’s already-announced round of 5000 job cuts, up to 75% of the workforce at Microsoft’s in-game advertising service, Massive, have been laid off.


December 4, 2008

Blizzard Bringing Massive Ads To Battle.net

In-game advertising group Massive announced it has signed with Blizzard Entertainment today, feeding the Starcraft and Diablo publisher ads through its Battle.net service. But don’t expect to see any actual ads in those games.


News

Activision: Next Tony Hawk Is Hands-Free, New Bond, Call of Duty Due 2009

Executives from Activision are dishing dirt on the company’s upcoming releases at an in-game advertising summit hosted by Massive. That means more Call of Duty, more James Bond and confirmation on Tony Hawk‘s reinvented controls.


November 25, 2008

Massive Gets Exclusive THQ In-Game Ad Contract

THQ has awarded Massive Inc. an exclusive contract to provide dynamic in-game advertisements for future THQ games.


November 11, 2008
News

Ubisoft Buys Massive, World In Conflict

Massive Entertainment — orphaned by Activision when it became Activision Blizzard and dumped all those Sierra-published games — has found a new publishing daddy in Ubisoft. The French pub has purchased the Swedish dev team and the World In Conflict property, the real-time strategy series Massive was responsible for.


June 3, 2008
News

Massive: In-Game Ads Successful, And Gamers Love ‘Em!

Gamers have a “consistently positive” opinion of in-game advertising? That’s what ad agency Massive, which is owned by Microsoft, found in a survey whose results it announced this morning.

Media research firm Interpret looked into four of Massive’s advertisers: an unnamed fast-food restaurant, candy company and entertainment studio, plus Adidas footwear and apparel, and found the ads are having an effect, showing significant percentage increases in brand recognition when compared to those who didn’t see the in-game ads.

With the Adidas promotion, for example, gamers who saw the ads in 2K Sports’ Major League Baseball 2K7 said things like “Adidas is the only brand for me” and “Adidas is an inspirational brand” 70 percent more often than those not exposed to the ads.

And Massive’s study seems to show gamers don’t mind being influenced: 70 percent of gamers said the ads enhanced realism, fit the games they appeared in (universally sports games, except for the ads in Rainbow Six: Vegas) and that the ads “looked cool.”


April 11, 2008
Uncategorized

World In Conflict: Soviet Assault


March 28, 2008
Uncategorized

Details On World In Conflict Console Version

World in Conflict is coming to the 360 and PS3. We already knew that. What we didn’t know about this console-specific game is that it’ll be called World in Conflict: Soviet Assault, and will take the PC game, give it console-specific controls and give you the chance to also command the invading Soviet forces. Yes, yes, In Soviet Russia, invaders command you, etc, etc. PC owners, for you, nothing else has changed: you’ll get all the new content as an expansion pack, same time as the console versions arrive (which is “Fall”). World in Conflict: Soviet Assault – first details [OXM Czech, via Tiscali, thanks Jan!]