In-Game Advertising
Nate Anderson’s Following the Money: How Subway Ads Ended Up in Counter-Strike is recent recognition of a media channel that is available for advertisers. There seems to be increasing popularity of advertising within video games. I recognized advertising within THQ’s Splashdown: Rides Gone Wild, a video game that I tested a couple of years ago. Ad placement within this game was documented here on May 2003. The violation of Valve’s EULA with the presentation of advertisements through Counter-Strike servers is unfortunate. Releasing an authorized mod that serves advertisements for Counter-Strike might be beneficial, through royalties or licensing fees, to Valve or Sierra. Other game developers and publishers may want to consider allowing their products, which support the Internet, to serve advertisements.