Pi-Consulting

So PlayStation and Xbox are all about vicariously living an unreal fantasy life? Not necessarily. Videogames are ‘getting real’, at least in a commercial sense, and folding genuine products into their story lines. Initially this took the simple form of fixed advertisements in scene backdrops, i.e. ads on billboards as props in the game. This quickly progressed to integral story lines built around branded products, such as secret text messages hidden in a Sony cellphone. Hoping to avoid wasting communication opportunities in a demographic scatter-gun approach, game-makers are even getting adept at tailoring product-placement to different consumer groups on different occasions. Thus far, gamers seem to accept these commercial intrusions, and to remember the products concerned. The demographics of videogame use are mutating, with the average gamer now no longer a screen-obsessed teenager so much as a young professional with above-average income. US males aged 18 to 34 have been watching less and less TV, but spent 20% more time with their videogame consoles last year. (Source: Newsweek).