Experts say the games' interactive nature may be utilised as a platform for product testing; these also have potent market research capabilities.
In-game advertising ( or advergames) is catching on in India. Advertisers consider it to be an effective medium to improve brand recall. Indian gaming companies are looking at it as a promising new revenue stream that could offset growing game development costs.
An advergame is a fusion of non-intrusive advertising, marketing and branding. Advergames also have potent market research capabilities, demographic assessments or statistics for specific regions just a click away.
Recently, Nike distributed a game to a select audience via email. Players began the game by choosing the shoe colour of the basketball player they controlled. After the game was over, recipients could then click to buy the shoes.
Players could also email the game to their friends with their high score and a snapshot of their best dunk. The email encouraged them to beat the score. The game was an instant hit and helped Nike garner the desired promotion.
Quentin Staes-Polet, CEO, Kreeda Games, says: "In-game advertising is a recent concept. As youngsters spend more time playing games at the cost of other media, it is natural for advertisers to move there.
"Initially, it was limited to product placement in console games, but has now evolved to serving ads into virtual worlds. The latest technology used by Kreeda allows ads within Dance Mela, our first Bollywood-based massive multiplayer online game. We are able to serve ads specifically and dynamically to a user at over 50 different locations in the game."
Staes-Polet adds: "We have just started deploying a technology that enables in-game advertising and are now testing the medium with various advertisers. We expect 40 per cent of our revenue to come from in-game ads. The rest will come from in-game digital item sales and subscriptions."
According to Salil Bhargava, CEO, Jump Games, part of the Reliance Big Entertainment, Bollywood is opening up to advergames. With its first-of-its-kind venture, the advergame Jurm, Jump Games was the first to usher in the country the concept of using mobile games as a promotional tool for films.
Manish Malik, general manager, Hungama Mobile, says: "If targeted at the right audience, in-game ads can benefit advertisers immensely." He added that revenues do not come from in-game advertising alone.
The company pitches in a digital strategy to its clients with games being an intrinsic part.
Maruti Sanker L, managing director of 7Seas, says: "Industry figures suggest that advergames could increase profits for publishers by an extra $1 to $2 per game unit sold. Advertisers also see in-game ads as an excellent way to target the male 18-34 demographic, which is neglecting television in favour of computer or video games."
Staes-Polet says: "Imagine drinking an energy drink in the game and gaining strength for dancing or fighting! The interactivity of games may also provide a good platform for product testing. For example, we can release new digital apparel designs in the game that can be worn by the players' avatars in the game and collect feedback from the players before the apparel goes for production."
