Games Sustained By Ads
by Jem Bem · in General Discussion · 06/18/2005 (4:40 am) · 16 replies
How doable would it be to create a self-sustainable game through ads?
The prices of a master server (the ones that just list everything), as well as the bandwidth for said server, should be considered.
That's pretty much the only foreseeable expense I can find for this game, as it involved multiplayer play.
It's an interesting idea that a few free games use, like www.runescape.com, which does it with an entire MMORPG.
Maybe advertising on the website? Or in Game Lobbies?
The prices of a master server (the ones that just list everything), as well as the bandwidth for said server, should be considered.
That's pretty much the only foreseeable expense I can find for this game, as it involved multiplayer play.
It's an interesting idea that a few free games use, like www.runescape.com, which does it with an entire MMORPG.
Maybe advertising on the website? Or in Game Lobbies?
About the author
#2
there were even dot-coms that would pay you to read your email! (w/ads)
everyone was throwing money around for banner ads then, but companies aren't so naive now to unproven ventures
06/18/2005 (9:47 am)
Sustainability through advertising died in the dot com burst, IMOthere were even dot-coms that would pay you to read your email! (w/ads)
everyone was throwing money around for banner ads then, but companies aren't so naive now to unproven ventures
#3
For example: If you game had a soda machine in it... what brand of soda would it be? Well, you make a generic brand as a space filler. Sell your game and get a player base. Then take your numbers to the various soda brands (Pepsi, Coke) and offer the ad space. Of course you should have prepared a pricing plan based on the number of impressions and duration of "screen time" the product placement has and make it competetive with industry pricing patterns.
Another example: Basic logo decals placed on suitable objects. Vehicles could have advertiser logo decals - such as on airplane tail/wings, car doors/hood/windshield. And tee shirts of npc's in the game could have small logos.
So long as the automation for updating and tracking the ads is done well and the game sells enough to provide you with an actual audience for advertisers to sell to, I believe you could supplement your game's income with advertisements. However, I must stress the suitability of such ads must be examined and re-examined. Sales of the game itself probably should always be considered the number one way of generating revenues. As I see it, pretty much only modern day settings could utilize a scheme like this.
06/19/2005 (2:35 am)
I think you have to be pretty savy about how you place ads in your games. For the most part, I think only suttle product placement ads are suitable enough for games. Destroying the immersion by throwing in big, flashing banner ads and popups would alieanate players and instill a sense of apathy for you.For example: If you game had a soda machine in it... what brand of soda would it be? Well, you make a generic brand as a space filler. Sell your game and get a player base. Then take your numbers to the various soda brands (Pepsi, Coke) and offer the ad space. Of course you should have prepared a pricing plan based on the number of impressions and duration of "screen time" the product placement has and make it competetive with industry pricing patterns.
Another example: Basic logo decals placed on suitable objects. Vehicles could have advertiser logo decals - such as on airplane tail/wings, car doors/hood/windshield. And tee shirts of npc's in the game could have small logos.
So long as the automation for updating and tracking the ads is done well and the game sells enough to provide you with an actual audience for advertisers to sell to, I believe you could supplement your game's income with advertisements. However, I must stress the suitability of such ads must be examined and re-examined. Sales of the game itself probably should always be considered the number one way of generating revenues. As I see it, pretty much only modern day settings could utilize a scheme like this.
#4
I realise that Diablo 2 was not sustained by ads, but it did have banners in the lobbies, and since it was in the lobbies it did not seem to take away from immersion. Thats for your opinions.
06/19/2005 (5:53 pm)
@Peter the subscription service is a new thing they have, they also have a free version sustained by ads.I realise that Diablo 2 was not sustained by ads, but it did have banners in the lobbies, and since it was in the lobbies it did not seem to take away from immersion. Thats for your opinions.
#5
07/05/2005 (1:24 pm)
Agreed. It's pretty hard to sustain a game just from ads. That said, if it's right for your game, ad revenue can be a great way to defer costs. Massive and some other companies are doing cool stuff in that regard.
#6
Let us say that you have a health potion that raises your health by 50% or something like that. Well, instead of making that a generic magic potion...you approach Pepsi and tell them that for $100,000 a month...all of your health potions will be pepsi's (of course, certain allowances would have to be made for different game premises). So, this pepsi potion is not a special potion that would effect balance in any way, it is an item that would exist regardless, only now it has the name pepsi on it.
Or, consider Location Based Gaming. Let us say that you have an MMO, and each city is effectively its own world. (if you were to fly to LA and play this game, the world would be different from if you were going to play it in NYC). Now, since this would be of course a handheld market niche, you would have a GPS implanted in the handheld, allowing it to track your location (very Big Brother, but with dragons ;) ) Now, let's say that to complete a certain quest, or receive a special item, you had to fight this specific monster. You could approach like McDonalds and pitch them the idea that you would place this special monster in their restaurants, so in order to fight this monster, you needed to be inside a McDonalds. Can you imagine the possibilities of a market like that? you could have a game that you could sell for 30 dollars and, thanks to the corporate backing, you wouldn't need to charge a monthly fee.
Now, I thought that these ideas were brilliant, but I cannot claim them as my own. They were originally presented to me by a friend and teacher - Hue Henry. Most brilliant game designer I have ever met.
Just some food for thought
08/19/2005 (4:57 pm)
I would disagree that you couldn't sustain a game through ads. It would possibly be tough through traditional versions of ads that most games use...but consider this for a moment....Let us say that you have a health potion that raises your health by 50% or something like that. Well, instead of making that a generic magic potion...you approach Pepsi and tell them that for $100,000 a month...all of your health potions will be pepsi's (of course, certain allowances would have to be made for different game premises). So, this pepsi potion is not a special potion that would effect balance in any way, it is an item that would exist regardless, only now it has the name pepsi on it.
Or, consider Location Based Gaming. Let us say that you have an MMO, and each city is effectively its own world. (if you were to fly to LA and play this game, the world would be different from if you were going to play it in NYC). Now, since this would be of course a handheld market niche, you would have a GPS implanted in the handheld, allowing it to track your location (very Big Brother, but with dragons ;) ) Now, let's say that to complete a certain quest, or receive a special item, you had to fight this specific monster. You could approach like McDonalds and pitch them the idea that you would place this special monster in their restaurants, so in order to fight this monster, you needed to be inside a McDonalds. Can you imagine the possibilities of a market like that? you could have a game that you could sell for 30 dollars and, thanks to the corporate backing, you wouldn't need to charge a monthly fee.
Now, I thought that these ideas were brilliant, but I cannot claim them as my own. They were originally presented to me by a friend and teacher - Hue Henry. Most brilliant game designer I have ever met.
Just some food for thought
#7
To add new quests they could simply add in a new sponsor (A monster or group of bandits inside of a burger king for example)
It would be very difficult for a low profile game company to get funding like that.. especially if only maybe a thousand people are playing the game. Pepsi wouldn't spend $100,000 a month to advertise to merely a thousand people, would they? You'd need at least, say, 50,000 maybe? It might sound ignorant to a marketing expert as I have no idea about that stuff.
08/20/2005 (3:09 pm)
Those are indeed some very good marketing ideas... A game like that would be fun and different.To add new quests they could simply add in a new sponsor (A monster or group of bandits inside of a burger king for example)
It would be very difficult for a low profile game company to get funding like that.. especially if only maybe a thousand people are playing the game. Pepsi wouldn't spend $100,000 a month to advertise to merely a thousand people, would they? You'd need at least, say, 50,000 maybe? It might sound ignorant to a marketing expert as I have no idea about that stuff.
#9
08/22/2005 (8:31 pm)
@Thomas - you are correct that you would need a high profile game to attract that kind of cash from corporate sponsors, but if you can convince them, they will do the marketing for you. Of course this kind of approach would only work if you could prove a large viable market for them, but with sucesses of games like WoW, that shouldn't be too hard. Now consider that you have convinced them, you would save a ton on marketing. Since Pepsi made this investment in your product, they would undoubtedly want it to be successful... so would make a bunch of promotions like a code with every can of pepsi that when typed in the shop of our game gives the player an item for our game. Also, as the game gained popularity, there would be all sorts of advertising promotions of people wanting to tout partnership with your game. I think that the possibilities are endless...imo that is 
#10
you to put banners in a game will almost certainly make you install other adware/spyware on users machines as well. If you're considering banners as a main source of revenue you really better re-think your strategy. What's wrong with selling shareware, or looking for a publisher?
I doubt you'll get product placement from Pepsi on a new game from a small developer. Plus call me crazy but I'd almost prefer to see "generic" ads with some humor instead of the same junk I see plastered all over real life. How many Pepsi bottles do you see in WoW? What will your game offer in terms of gameplay (besides ads) that will make everyone want to give up WoW? Just my 2c, and I digress.
08/22/2005 (10:09 pm)
I have no experience with ad-ware (thank GOD) but I can tell you now that any company willing to pay you to put banners in a game will almost certainly make you install other adware/spyware on users machines as well. If you're considering banners as a main source of revenue you really better re-think your strategy. What's wrong with selling shareware, or looking for a publisher?
I doubt you'll get product placement from Pepsi on a new game from a small developer. Plus call me crazy but I'd almost prefer to see "generic" ads with some humor instead of the same junk I see plastered all over real life. How many Pepsi bottles do you see in WoW? What will your game offer in terms of gameplay (besides ads) that will make everyone want to give up WoW? Just my 2c, and I digress.
#11
08/23/2005 (10:30 am)
@ joe, you don't see any pepsi in WoW, but if you re-read my post you will notce that I said that the premise would matter in doing this type of marketing. A game like WoW with something like a pepsi in it would ruin the immersion, so would not be a good idea. Fortunately, most MMO players are casual gamers, and hold no allegience to any particular game. So, if the premise was interesting enough, you would migrate over a huge amount of the casual players who become easily bored with the grind of any familiar MMO. As for your spyware accusation, I think that only seedy, irresponsible companies would stoop to those tactics, I think that larger, more profitable corporations would recognize the harm that being associated with spyware would bring. 
#12
The problem with something like this is the ability to remove or alter the ads from the clients machine. There were programs where you got paid to browse the web with a banner across the top/bottom of your window. These banner programs had html embeded in the code (and sometimes clear text files) which were easily altered.
Even if the game were to have a decent system in place, with a little experience with a debugger, url catcher, and hex editor, you alter the stream from where the ads were recieved. Once one person figures it out and shares how, it'll go downhill from there.
As Anthony mentioned, there would likely be spyware involved. If for no other reason than to monitor the usage.
08/23/2005 (11:02 am)
I think if a game with the popularity of WoW were to offer a free subscription with the use of a client with banners at the bottom, a considerable number of players would go with the ads. Not a majority of players, but still a considerable amount due to the sheer volume. The problem with something like this is the ability to remove or alter the ads from the clients machine. There were programs where you got paid to browse the web with a banner across the top/bottom of your window. These banner programs had html embeded in the code (and sometimes clear text files) which were easily altered.
Even if the game were to have a decent system in place, with a little experience with a debugger, url catcher, and hex editor, you alter the stream from where the ads were recieved. Once one person figures it out and shares how, it'll go downhill from there.
As Anthony mentioned, there would likely be spyware involved. If for no other reason than to monitor the usage.
#13
Anarchy did have the major advantage of initially being a pretty high-profile, pay to play game. They only switched to the ad model after their player base was built up. It's very important to keep this in mind- I very much doubt you could launch an Indy game and support it from the start via ad revenue.
My 2 cents recommendation is that you should follow Anarchy's pattern, if you are serious about persuing an ad-supported revenue model. At first, you will either have to have a pay to play model, or simply suck it up- venture capital or a business loan. However, you should put in support for advertising from the get-go, including all the things mentioned above as considerations- as your player base builds that already present in-game billboard space starts to look more attractive.
EDIT: Oh, be sure to read the thread about Master Server Costs in this forum- I firmly believe that master server costs can be almost negligible if you use cheap hardware and the same broadband connection you use at home. If all you need to do is keep a master server running, you can probably support that on donations alone.
09/16/2005 (11:33 am)
Be sure to take a look at Anarchy Online. They've switched to a full advertising-supported game system; you can look at what they've done/are doing for some insite on this. Anarchy did have the major advantage of initially being a pretty high-profile, pay to play game. They only switched to the ad model after their player base was built up. It's very important to keep this in mind- I very much doubt you could launch an Indy game and support it from the start via ad revenue.
My 2 cents recommendation is that you should follow Anarchy's pattern, if you are serious about persuing an ad-supported revenue model. At first, you will either have to have a pay to play model, or simply suck it up- venture capital or a business loan. However, you should put in support for advertising from the get-go, including all the things mentioned above as considerations- as your player base builds that already present in-game billboard space starts to look more attractive.
EDIT: Oh, be sure to read the thread about Master Server Costs in this forum- I firmly believe that master server costs can be almost negligible if you use cheap hardware and the same broadband connection you use at home. If all you need to do is keep a master server running, you can probably support that on donations alone.
#14
I am glad this thread exists, cause I'm actually in the position of creating an ad revenue supported game. For the details on the game, please see the helpwanted ad I've posted under Programmers in Marketplace:
http://www.garagegames.com/index.php?sec=mg&mod=project&page=view.job&qid=5379
The company I work for has put me on the track for building an MMPO R G (Racing Game). We're a media corp with 68 newspapers, tv stations, and magazines all over the US. My idea is to allow each property to sell adspace/product placement within their own maps. each map would be connected by Airports.
I have to say that the idea of establishing the game as a pay-to-play scheme first is a pretty good idea. I might consider that.
If anyone here is interested in working with me on this, please contact me. I have just begun the process, and am looking for strategic partners and development companies to help make this a reality with in a relatively short time.
thanks!
08/21/2006 (10:25 am)
Hello,I am glad this thread exists, cause I'm actually in the position of creating an ad revenue supported game. For the details on the game, please see the helpwanted ad I've posted under Programmers in Marketplace:
http://www.garagegames.com/index.php?sec=mg&mod=project&page=view.job&qid=5379
The company I work for has put me on the track for building an MMPO R G (Racing Game). We're a media corp with 68 newspapers, tv stations, and magazines all over the US. My idea is to allow each property to sell adspace/product placement within their own maps. each map would be connected by Airports.
I have to say that the idea of establishing the game as a pay-to-play scheme first is a pretty good idea. I might consider that.
If anyone here is interested in working with me on this, please contact me. I have just begun the process, and am looking for strategic partners and development companies to help make this a reality with in a relatively short time.
thanks!
#15
As Joe and Anthony pointed out, to attract corporate sponsors, you've got to be BIG, well-established, and high profile. Major corporations don't want to waste time with struggling start-up ventures. They want massive, predictable, guaranteed exposure, and they want it delivered now -- not in a year, when your user base has grown.
So that leaves smaller advertisers. To be viable there, you'll need quantity. That means a LOT of selling. Small advertisers are not going to seek you out for the privilege of paying you money; you'll have to approach them. Do you have a full-time sales force, and the starting capital to pay them until the cash is flowing? (That's ignoring minor details like benefits, compliance with state/federal requirements, insurance, and other employee-related expenses.)
Smaller companies are also less willing to risk their limited marketing budget on "unproven" media such as online games.
An ad-supported model is an extremely difficult proposition to start or maintain. I'd suggest going with a subscription-based model and phase in ad-based options if/when your subscriber base grows.
If, however, you're dead-set on creating a wholly ad-supported model, I'd recommend gaining a little experience in the world of sales first. Try standing on a streetcorner with a large "Kick Me for $1" sign taped to your crotch. If you turn a profit and find that you enjoy the experience, you might be ready for a more brutal, painful and demeaning venture like an ad-supported business.
08/21/2006 (7:06 pm)
Oof... Guys, where games are concerned, advertising is supplemental income, not a primary source of revenue. I don't believe there's any surviving, profitable MMO out there that's wholly ad-supported.As Joe and Anthony pointed out, to attract corporate sponsors, you've got to be BIG, well-established, and high profile. Major corporations don't want to waste time with struggling start-up ventures. They want massive, predictable, guaranteed exposure, and they want it delivered now -- not in a year, when your user base has grown.
So that leaves smaller advertisers. To be viable there, you'll need quantity. That means a LOT of selling. Small advertisers are not going to seek you out for the privilege of paying you money; you'll have to approach them. Do you have a full-time sales force, and the starting capital to pay them until the cash is flowing? (That's ignoring minor details like benefits, compliance with state/federal requirements, insurance, and other employee-related expenses.)
Smaller companies are also less willing to risk their limited marketing budget on "unproven" media such as online games.
An ad-supported model is an extremely difficult proposition to start or maintain. I'd suggest going with a subscription-based model and phase in ad-based options if/when your subscriber base grows.
If, however, you're dead-set on creating a wholly ad-supported model, I'd recommend gaining a little experience in the world of sales first. Try standing on a streetcorner with a large "Kick Me for $1" sign taped to your crotch. If you turn a profit and find that you enjoy the experience, you might be ready for a more brutal, painful and demeaning venture like an ad-supported business.
#16
I'm not saying it's doomed to fail, but there is a MMO racing game somewhat along these lines called Auto Assault, which already has reported major losses for the company that developed and maintains it (NCsoft). So it may be worth looking at that game to see what can be improved.
Here are two recent articles worth a read if you really plan to go this route.
terranova.blogs.com/terra_nova/2006/08/how_will_freeto.html
pocketwatchgames.com/blog/wp-content/themes/cnnesque/frame_syndicated.php?a=http...
08/21/2006 (8:56 pm)
@Trane DePriest,I'm not saying it's doomed to fail, but there is a MMO racing game somewhat along these lines called Auto Assault, which already has reported major losses for the company that developed and maintains it (NCsoft). So it may be worth looking at that game to see what can be improved.
Here are two recent articles worth a read if you really plan to go this route.
terranova.blogs.com/terra_nova/2006/08/how_will_freeto.html
pocketwatchgames.com/blog/wp-content/themes/cnnesque/frame_syndicated.php?a=http...
Torque Owner Peter Dwyer
The costs are actually considerably more than you have listed here, including, though not limited to. User management, general support, content updates, bug fixes, server maintenance etc. etc.
I'll have a look into runescape as I don't believe for a minute they are sustained by simple advertising.
Edit: Just looked at runescape and as far as I can see, it is a subscription service not an advertiser sustained service. Where did you get the impression runescape was maintained through advertising?