Advertising has been creeping into video games for a while now, but in most racing games is relegated to billboards that we hardly notice while whizzing by and concentrating on our line for the next turn. Codemasters, however, is working with in-game ad firm Engage to take video game advertising to a new level by including a fully functioning eBay Motors marketplace in the developer's next racing title, Race Driver: Grid. Players in the game will actually buy and sell in-game vehicles using the eBay Motors service just like they would in real life. eBay Motors will also get a title race in the game called "The eBay Motors Mustang Muscle Series" in which they can drive the eBay Motors Mustang GTR concept car in San Francisco, Long Beach, Washington D.C. and Detroit. This type of next-gen in-game advertising should work well within the confines of Grid, since eBay Motors is widely visited and used by the type of person who might pick up the game.
[Source: Joystiq]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Andrew @ Apr 23rd 2008 3:39PM
so does the game download ACTUAL cars from ebay motors and then let you drive them on the track? I have always wondered how that Fiero-boat handled, and how many laps a '180,00 all-highway-miles' M3 could muster.
Shaun @ Apr 23rd 2008 3:47PM
Do dealers get to play bait and switch?
I think Husker Auto Group is interested...
tankd0g @ Apr 23rd 2008 3:57PM
More importantly, does ebay get to soak you with fees in real dollars?
Vexorg @ Apr 23rd 2008 4:24PM
And when you sell a car, how many people will try to get you to ship it off to Nigeria?
Seoultrain @ Apr 23rd 2008 4:26PM
After playing TOCA Race Driver 3, this game has the potential to be better than both Forza 2 and Gran Turismo 5. Neither of the 2 major franchises can capture the feeling of speed quite like TOCA. There, I said it.
palancar @ Apr 23rd 2008 5:34PM
I wonder if they will lower the cost of the game since they will be getting advertising dollars.
kal326 @ Apr 23rd 2008 6:32PM
Did they seriously try to validate this crap in the last part of the article? Because we think that the person would likes ebay motors, its ok?
What do I as a consumer of your product get from having some advertiser smear their name all over something like this? Whats next, Madden 2010 is going to have actual comercial breaks in the middle of the game?