Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell’s PC game hero needs hi-tech gadgetry to find secret documents hidden in an embassy. In a moment of crisis he turns to his Sony smart phone. Actually the real tension was between the video game publisher and Sony negotiating a deal to get the phone-camera used in the video game.
Paul Hyman, Hollywood News wrote “What Sony Ericsson got for its money, says Wood, is exposure for its newest phones that is the equivalent of 300 30-second TV ad slots for 150 minutes of branding, all in front of an anticipated 13.2 million joystick-wielding gamers worldwide.”
As video games became more realistic, the game makers began to put brand name products in the games. The video game industry is now a $10 billion a year industry. If you want a character in the video game to wear Nike sneakers, cough up $250,000. The trick in the advertising is to make the product placement enhance a game without being intrusive.
The film industry has noted the profit potential. PC games based on movies are now state of the art
