MCV/DEVELOP News, events, research and jobs from the games industry
Valve’s PC platform Steam looks to remain out-of-bounds for advertising partners for the foreseeable future. One of the key ways Steam differs from the likes of PSN and Xbox Live is that partners are not able to pay for advertising space within the interface. That seems unlikely to change, too. …
Read More »Zynga introduces playable ads with Sponsored Play
New branded levels charge advertisers each time they are played and can offer consumer rewards
Read More »More free-to-play titles will fall foul of ASA, predicts Lovell
More free-to-play games will be criticised by the Advertising Standards Authority for trying to ‘exhort’ money from children. That’s what Nicholas Lovell, director of Gamesbrief and leading consultant on freemium games, predicts. Last week, the ASA ruled against 55Pixels’ Bin Weevils and Mind Candy’s Moshi Monsters for trying to persuade …
Read More »FTC rules Machinima ‘deceived’ viewers with Xbox One ads
The murky side of YouTube games coverage has been dragged into the light with the confirmation that Machinima paid video makers to make positive Xbox One content without disclosing the deal. The Federal Trade Commission found that the network paid some YouTubers up to $30k to produce Xbox One videos …
Read More »Dead Realm publisher accused of flouting YouTube advertising guidelines
It has emerged that two YouTubers who failed to declare their financial ties to games promoted on their channels. Gamasutra reports that Tom ‘Syndicate’ Cassell and Adam ‘SeaNanners’ Montoya both uploaded videos of Section Studios’ Dead Realm to their channels without disclosing that they are financially linked to the game’s …
Read More »UK advertising regulator publishes YouTuber guidelines
A new set of guidelines published by the Committee of Advertising Practise have called for clearer signposting of advertising and marketing deals in YouTube videos. The document examines a number of scenarios in which ‘vloggers’ should fully disclose any such commercial agreements. Those who are found in breach of the …
Read More »Bethesda turns to Tinder to push Fallout Shelter
Publisher Bethesda has been promoting its mobile title Fallout Shelter over dating app Tinder. As spotted by a reader of Kotaku,the firm has set up a dating profile for its series mascot, the Vault Boy. According to his bio, Vault Boy is 25 and likes Nuka Cola, putting out fires, …
Read More »Smyths to offer free Shiny Rayquaza and Pikachu visits in first promotion with Pokémon
Retailer Smyths Toys Superstores is teaming up with The Pokmon Company for the first time as part of a new campaign. As part of the inaugural retail activation between the two firms, the toy specialist’s 80 UK and Irish outlets will feature a range of activities and offers from the …
Read More »Future acquires online advertising and publishing platform Net Communities
Media firm Future has acquired London-based internet and advertising providing Net Communities. Net Communities clients include Polygon-owner Vox Media as well as TNW, Anandtech, Digital Trends and Tom’s Hardware. It also runs a number of B2B tech sites including ITProportal, ITReviews and ITWhitePapers. It has a monthly audience of around …
Read More »Insight: The new age of advertising
505 Games’ SVP of global brand Tim Woodley, a former marketing boss at Activision and Codemasters, shares his experiences with the rapidly changing landscape for video games promotion It would be a brave person to argue that the rate of change in our industry is pedestrian. What is perhaps often …
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