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An archived Hellgate: London feature. See the Hellgate Archives for more.

Feature: Ads in Hellgate: London with Bill Roper quotes.
Date: February 22, 2007
Source: Mtv Multiplayer blog

Is In-Game Advertising Really Such A Bad Thing?

Our games reporter sees something he never thought he'd see: in-game ad he actually likes.

I sat for a demo of Flagship Studios' upcoming PC game "Hellgate: London" on Wednesday and saw something I never thought I'd see: an in-game ad that actually contributed to the game.

Over a year ago, I filed a report about in-game ads (see "Slay A Dragon, Buy A Pizza: Gamers Pitched Real Products In Virtual Worlds"). Companies had figured out ways to integrate billboards and commercials into video game universes, pitching TV shows and pizzas to players otherwise busy saving virtual worlds.

These ads, I was told, could help defray rising development costs or allow players access to persistent online games for free. In some instances, those professing the merits of these things said the ads made games more realistic. What's a sports game without the proper outfield billboards or a racetrack through New York's Times Square without some familiar logos? That's a fair point, but I would consider in-game ads in such situations as simply bringing games closer to even-footing with real life.

In "Hellgate," however, I saw an ad that took things a step beyond.

The game is set in a near-future, post-apocalyptic London. It's made by many developers who worked on Blizzard's multiplayer action-game classic "Diablo" and plays like it has some "World of Warcraft" mixed in its gene pool.

Flagship CEO Bill Roper was running the demo and kept bringing his character to a grimy section of the London Underground subway system, which is nicknamed "the tube." The walls had ads posted all over them, as they do in real life. I saw an iPod ad and one for Guinness, which I'd file in the Ads-in-the-Stadium category. But just as Roper was running his character out of that area and toward some monster-fighting, London-saving quest, he dashed past an ad for the movie "Children of Men." The movie, a critical favorite from late last year, is also set in a near-future, post-apocalyptic London.

Placing the ad in the game, even just temporarily for a demo, I thought, was inspired. It was clever. It drew a connection between the game and a smart piece of fiction, a good movie that might well match the interests of "Hellgate" players. It also gave some extra bite to "Hellgate," since "Children of Men" has a lot to say about why London might wind up in a state of post-world-war trauma.

Roper told me the ads were just placeholders, that his team put them in there to be clever but expects to yank them before the game is released. When he told me that, a thought flashed in my mind for the first time: I'm going to miss those in-game ads.

While I was sitting there disappointed, Roper was running through London streets whacking demons with a sword. I didn't want to talk character classes and spells at that point. I wanted to talk ads. I didn't see any up top. "It actually looks kind of barren up here," Roper said, in reference to the lack of ads there.

One of the early controversies about "Hellgate" — maybe the only controversy so far — has been that the game will require a monthly subscription for players to access the full online multiplayer features of the game. "Diablo" fans complained because that game only cost money to buy at the store but didn't then require a paid subscription fee for online play. Roper has countered, as he did to me, that "Diablo" didn't get a lot of extra content and dedicated customer service because there was no fee. While some undisclosed aspects of the online "Hellgate" experience will be free, the main online game will involve a fee.

Hearing Roper explain that is needed to provide the kind of support players expect from massively multiplayer online games, it got me wondering if there were other ways to cover such costs. Like maybe they could try in-game advertising. And maybe no one would mind if the ads were actually clever. Apparently, such ad placement can be done.

— Stephen Totilo