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Fully Sponsored MMOs?
finefluff
Member RarePosts: 561
There was a report today that Microsoft is implementing technology to allow select brands to insert ads into F2P games (https://wccftech.com/report-microsoft-is-building-an-advertisement-program-that-lets-brands-advertise-in-f2p-xbox-games/?beta=1). However, Microsoft doesn't want the ads to be intrusive or disrupt gameplay, so it could be system where ads are integrated into the game world rather than as popups. For example, a real life clothing brand like Cremieux could be available for players to wear in a game with a modern setting.
The other threads about NFTs got me thinking about how games are monetized, and now with this development, I'm wondering if a game could fully depend on sponsorships from brands for its revenue rather than its players. Could a game be completely F2P with no cash shop and rely only on brand sponsorships?
I think this type of system would be most likely to succeed in an MMO for several reasons.
(1) MMOs can provide large scale virtual worlds with many possibilities for brand sponsorship. A Cyberpunk MMO seems like a natural fit.
(2) MMOs can have large player bases that engage with the game consistently for very long periods of time (Daily Quests brought to you by Coca-Cola). This means more exposure for brands, making the game more attractive for advertising. Consistent exposure over a long time will lead to more sales for the brand and build more brand preference among players. Single player games are played for comparatively less time, and therefore, the advertising and brand exposure in those games would be much less effective and not worth it for brands.
(3) MMOs already have branding for player crafted items. For example, in WoW it shows who crafted an item on its tooltip. This could affect how much players will value those items. There was a recent interview with the creator of Final Fantasy, Hironobu Sakaguchi, about his experience in FFXIV. Although he originally created the franchise, he has not been involved with it for a long time and only recently began to play XIV. An interesting thing about his experience is that because is a well known developer players were willing to pay a high price for his crafted "sakaGUCCI" brand items. His items would instantly be bought by players and sold very high prices meaning they care about the brand.
"Pieces I craft have my name on them, so if I put them on the market they'll get resold, destroying the game's balanced economy... But that also means I'm handicapped by not being able to sell what I craft on the market,' he explains." (https://www.ign.com/articles/hironobu-sakaguchi-final-fantasy-14-interview)
How this third point relates to brand sponsorships is that the brand doesn't necessarily have to advertise its actual products but only its brand name in-game. Brands have different goals with advertising. Sometimes the goal is to create awareness for a new product, sometimes it's to build the brand's image, reputation, and consumer preference. With the latter goal, the advertisement doesn't necessarily have to feature any of the brand's products. There can be <GUCCI> boots available in-game that don't exist in real life. This allows the sponsored products to conform to any setting keeping the game world visually consistent with its intended fantasy. Brands would likely sponsor game elements consistent with their image (https://au.louisvuitton.com/eng-au/articles/series-4-lightning-a-virtual-heroine-).
Nike is already trademarking its brand for use in virtual worlds (https://www.cnbc.com/2021/11/02/nike-is-quietly-preparing-for-the-metaverse-.html).
Could this be a possible future for MMO monetization?
Comments
There is no reason marketing exposure couldn't similarly support a MMORPG today, unless it were to somehow become the final straw that breaks the monetization camel's back. Like that will ever happen.
It's possible. But I don't think we'll ever get non-intrusive ads.
The ads on commercial television, as mentioned by KnightFalz, were actually really intrusive because people mostly watched them. A game fully supported by ad revenue more or less needs to have similar level of ads.
Probably the easiest way to do it is to put a brand name on epic items. For example, there's the rare leather boots, but the epic version of the same level item with better stats is the Nike leather boots. That way, people view the Nike version as being superior. But you just can't do that with most real-life products in a typical fantasy game.
Since games like CoH had cities, with billboards, and "fake" advertisements, I always thought it would have been a great idea to sell real ad space in the game, so that as opposed to something like "Nuka Cola" or "Paragon Hero Pants" you would see signs for Coca-Cola and Levi's, and for me, I believed that would add to the realism of the game, that this was the "real world"
Imagine seeing ads for "Nike" in Secret World, or some such, or "Apple Computer Products" or even just the Apple Logo on some computer parts.
It would give that sense that this was more linked to the real world, as well as give ad space, and fund the game.
Now it might be harder to put in ads for Pepsi in a game like WoW, but for games in Modern settings, this should be the norm.
/Cheers,
Lahnmir
Kyleran on yours sincerely
'But there are many. You can play them entirely solo, and even offline. Also, you are wrong by default.'
Ikcin in response to yours sincerely debating whether or not single-player offline MMOs exist...
'This does not apply just to ED but SC or any other game. What they will get is Rebirth/X4, likely prettier but equally underwhelming and pointless.
It is incredibly difficult to design some meaningfull leg content that would fit a space ship game - simply because it is not a leg game.
It is just huge resource waste....'
Gdemami absolutely not being an armchair developer
But selling Ad Space in an MMO, would allow for them to fund the games, without needing to gouge players.
I mean sure, they are still going to gouge players, but they would not have to.
I think for a classic fantasy world they need to be more subtle. The green potion can be call mountain dew. https://wowpedia.fandom.com/wiki/Category:WoW_Icons:_Inventory_Potion
Mountain dew sounds a good drink for a fantasy setting.
I remember those billboards! I also think about the later Fallout games, where they would "fit better" than other settings.
- Al
Personally the only modern MMORPG trend that annoys me is the idea that MMOs need to be designed in a way to attract people who don't actually like MMOs. Which to me makes about as much sense as someone trying to figure out a way to get vegetarians to eat at their steakhouse.- FARGIN_WAR
On the flip side of that, brands like Marlboro are not allowed to buy ad space directly in Shows, so they pay TV shows to use Similar Brand icons, Ergo, X-Files "The Marley Man" with his brand of Marley Smokes, that looked Exactly like Marlboro Reds.
But you have got to admit, that seeing an in game billboard for "Monster Energy Drinks" in City of Hero's, would get you to think about that drink more than some pop up that pissed you off, because you mind be like "I know that product" and it's not intrusive, it's part of the backdrop.
The thing is MMO's are in no place to shell out money to get rights, much like most movie and TV shows do not pay for licensing rights, as they could use generic, and bypass it, with zero efforts, and only need to use brand names if it directly calls for it, or if someone with clout wants that product directly, like in the case with ET, it was the directors favorite candy, and they got turned down, and took it right up the tailpipe for that.
I still laugh about how Lady Gaga's Publicist turned down Weird Al's request to use her Song, Lady Gaga when she found out, personally called Weird Al, and gave him permission directly to use her songs.
So it is a game that Publicist need to play, and sometimes they strike out big time, but, in the flip side, sponsors can be petty little pricks as well, and don't want other products used, case in point, also, in some cases, if they are not sponsors, they are not given free air time, case in point, in Food Network, they cover all the brand labels for any prepared food they use, and will NOT call it out by brand name, unless, it is one of their sponsors brands, in which case they will say it as many times as they can in the show, without looking like "This hot mess brought to you by Carl's Jr's"
But even still, I stand by what I said way back then, if they could sell ad space in their games, thus get sponsors to give them money to just be a part of their game, like buying billboard space in CoH, that would be a great way to get additional funds, to generate more revenue.
Now, with all those words said, selling Advert Space, into the game itself, like signs, products, billboards, that are part of the game world, I mean, lets be honest, we would all laugh our ass off if WoW Alliance Bike kept the Paul Jr Designs Logo on it, but also had the Cumming Diesel Logo on the engine, and like the Easter egg hunting geeks we are, we would in fact look at that stuff.
Anyway, real point, It would also gives the MMO designers, developers and backers, a real money incentive to make a better overall game, to get more players playing it, and have a solid and good retention rate, as suddenly their overall player population now equals passive income, for ad space to sponsors.
It could change (Hopefually for the better) the way MMO's could be funded and made.
"True friends stab you in the front." | Oscar Wilde
"I need to finish" - Christian Wolff: The Accountant
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
Going Truman Style, would in fact be the best route, as opposed to any kind of pop up or something that felt like an Advert.
As far as my CoH days, I believed that overall, allowing a game to put in Sponsored logo's and the like, would help fund the game long term, and make for a better game, as now they have a vested interest in keeping players around, as opposed to milking them for cash with Real Money RNG Mechanics and then spitting them out.
Especially for modern settings, it would build the immersion factor, to see logo's we recognize, like playing a modern game like Secret World, and seeing Pepsi Cola in a vending machine, or seeing a sign on a building for Burger King.
It would also work for post apocalyptic settings like Fallout, or Day Z, for example, and finding a pair of Caterpillar Boots, and feeling like that was just life in the wasteland to luck out finding a good pair of boots.
In those settings, modern brands make for a more realistic game, and if they sponsor the game, that means, the game should be designed to keep players playing the game, this means a better game, without artificial walls to get players to pay into the game, but just keep them playing the game.
I agree that fantasy settings would be a lot harder, but still doable for some products, I mean, Nike, being a goddess of victory or war, would make it a lot easier to integrate that into a game, then it would be for something like Apple iPhone2345
But still, making it a part of the game would be far less intrusive then some kind of pop up ad.
Alright, while you not wrong, that Advertisers are looking for people that buy shit, the view it limited.
Keep in mind, when it comes to a brand, it is not about how much a person buys, it is about them buying YOUR Brand of that product when they go to buy that product.
Now again, using the Truman Method, as opposed to pop ups or other means of annoying the hell out of people.
If, for example, lets say, Redwing Sponsors Day Z, as such, all the "Boots" in that MMO are Redwing brand boots, every single pair of boots, shoes, or other footwear, has their Logo and Brand name applied to it.
They pay a royalty to make this happen, no other brands are allowed, everything is either Redwing Brand, or no-name.
So, when someone who plays Day Z after being exposed to seeing the Redwing Logo and Brand, for the last however many hours, finally goes to buy a new pair of boots, because they need a new pair of boots, and normally would buy Wolverines, or something from Walmart, instead think "I should check out this Redwing Brand" and buy a pair of Redwings.
In that situation, Redwing does not need people that spend a lot of money, they just need for when people are looking to get a product they sell, that they buy their product as opposed to going to their competitor.
Just like if you made a war game, and every soda in the game was a Pepsi Product, when the players go out to get something to drink, they buy a Pepsi Product as opposed to Coke or RC, Pepsi does not need for every player to be this massive whale that buys 100 cases of Mountain Dew, it just sets the stage that when those players go buy a soda, they are buying their brand.
They may not buy a single can more than they normally do, but, if they swap brands, to the brand that was sponsored in their favorite MMO, that means that Brand is winning the Cola Wars.
Personally, again, if they use the Truman Method, this could work really well for everyone involved.
Actually the customers most valuable to advertisers are the ones that don't yet buy a lot of what they are promoting. The more that are the less promotion is needed.
Advertising is relentless on what one does not pay to access so there is no reason to expect a game entirely truly so would be unattractive to advertisers. Such would instead be seen by them as an abundant field for their locust plague to feast on.