Sony launches in-game advertising

Dynamically served in-game ads may be nothing new on the PC and Xbox 360, but Sony has just announced it is joining the fray for a piece of this growing market through a partnership with IGA Worldwide to serve ads in games on its PlayStation 3 platform.

Unsurprisingly, Electronic Arts will be the first game publisher to run dynamic ads on the PS3, thanks to a separate two-year agreement with IGA. Titles under the PS3 deal include EA Sports franchises Madden NFL football, NBA Live basketball, NASCAR racing, and NHL hockey as well as franchises Need for Speed and Burnout.

No specific details were provided as to how invasive the ads may be, though they are claimed to be “organic to the environment” to help “create a richer experience for gamers.” Hopefully, it will also end up making games cheaper to purchase in a few years if this trend kicks off as expected, but I’m not holding my breath on that.