Reporter Archer Sun / Comprehensive Report
According to foreign media reports, Sony intends to place advertisements in PlayStation’s free games. However, just regarding a week ago, Microsoft said that it would also place advertisements in xbox’s free games, although game companies put advertisements in games. It’s nothing new, but the plan released by Sony this time will be mainly “rental” and “rewarded”, and these revenue will also be shared with free game creators.
Sony’s new ad placement mechanism may launch by the end of this year
Sony’s placement mode this time is different from the full-page advertisements of mobile games in traditional memory, but combined with billboards in PlayStation games to reduce interference to players. It is purchased in the form of a commercial “rental” page. Players can obtain in-game rewards by watching advertisements, so that the game and advertisements can be effectively matched. Sony is still evaluating whether to take a portion of the profits from these in-game advertisements, or let developers and publishers take it all alone.
A week ago, the free game mechanism of Microsoft’s xbox was actually not much different from the placement introduced by Sony this time. Advertisers need to buy space in the game, and the advertisement is “non-public” so that the advertisement and the game can match as much as possible without affecting the playing experience (such as placing an business board on the racing track next to the racing game). The time to start testing ads sits around the third season.
As for whether these game companies can attract more creators to join through advertisements, it depends on how the profit sharing mechanism and the mode of in-game advertisement placement are distributed.
