I think we all know about product placement -- when a tv show or movie seems to focus on a product for a bit longer than is natural, with a little bit more detail than people would normally talk about.
But did you know: it's not limited to just TV anymore. A lot of games have already incorporated a type of product placement. The PC game Deus Ex: Human Revolution features game ads during loading screens, as well as some less obvious ads in the in-game newspapers.
Of course, it doesn't stop there. Racing games are ripe for product placement; Sony's "Home" and Microsoft's Xbox Live both feature branded clothing for player avatars. It can extend even further, with non-racing games featuring a certain brand of car for the main character, camera angles innocuously (or obviously) zooming over the logo. Maybe while making a character walk through a shopping mall, well-known brand stores make up the background. With online games, the logos can be constantly updated. A high speed car chase down the highway can have billboard ads that match to the player's IP address. FIFA and other sports games can be sponsored by the same companies that sponsor real-life games. In-game TVs can play commercials -- in fact, the game Alan Wake for the xbox 360 rewards you with "achievement points" for watching such an in-game TV ad.
There are many ways in which advertisers and game developers can come together to sell their brands; the problem is doing so without arousing the ire of the customers. Of course, for every gamer who does complain, there are probably another five or ten who passively took in the product placement without realizing it was there.
And while the core gamers (those who buy the more "hollywood"-esque games) may be a bit more knowledgable about what seems out of place, casual games on facebook or mobile devices may have an even easier time of getting product placement by. A game like cityville could easily tie in-game products to real-life products, like giving the player the option to add a starbucks to their town. It all boils down to finding the right fit.
More and more people are playing games, so I think this is a channel that can't be ignored.
(By the way, for a funny take on TV product placement, click this video clip.)
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