Advergames

Advergames

Advertising in video games is a long-standing practice in the video game industry. Various methods have been used to integrate advertising into video games to advertise products, organizations or viewpoints.

Some companies and organizations expressly commission video games to promote a product or service. These games have been referred to as "advergames" (a portmanteau of "advertising" and "gaming") a term that was coined in January 2000 by Anthony Giallourakis, and later mentioned by Wired's "Jargon Watch" column in 2001. With the growth of the internet, advergames have proliferated, often becoming the most visited aspect of brand websites and becoming an integrated part of brand media planning in an increasingly fractured media environment. Advergames theoretically promote repeated traffic to websites and reinforce brands. Users choosing to register to be eligible for prizes can help marketers collect customer data. Gamers may also invite their friends to participate, which could assist promotion by word of mouth, or "viral marketing."

Games for advertising are sometimes classified as a type of serious game, as these games have a strong educational or training purpose other than pure entertainment.

Other methods of advertising in video games include product placement being integrated into in-game environments and companies/organizations sponsoring commercial games or other game-related content.