Sony to Combat Microsoft's In-Game Ads Division with Unit Headed by Veteran of Google, Nintendo

In a move that may be an attempt to match Microsoft's entry into in-game advertising, Sony Computer Entertainment America today revealed its establishment of a new arm dedicated to in-game ads. The unit is to be headed by Darlene Kindler, formerly an executive of Google-owned Adscape Media. Kindler has also served at defunct hardware manufacturer 3dfx as well as at Nintendo of America, where she established the company's European distribution arm. According to Sony, Kindler will be "responsible for SCEA's in-game advertising strategy across all PlayStation platforms including PlayStation Network." SCE London Studio's virtual world Home (PS3) may be an early focus. The upcoming free software is said to contain many purchasable consumables, and is ripe for product placement via billboards, posters, and ads on in-game televisions. Recent examples of in-game ads and the extra revenue it brings include the Xbox 360 and PC versions of various EA titles, the PC version of Splash Damage's Enemy Territory: Quake Wars and Flagship Studios' Hellgate: London (PC). The divergence of campaigns between different platform versions of certain games might be a catalyst for Sony's push into the area. Microsoft's Massive has secured prominent dynamic in-game ads for the Xbox 360 version of Neversoft's Guitar Hero III, while the PS2, PS3, and Wii versions lack such integration. Ads have been met with mixed reactions, though there has been little mass outcry. "The prevalence of ads will be determined by their effectiveness and by gamer acceptance--and for all the discussion and whining that goes on, there hasn't been much genuine resistance," Shacknews' Steve Gibson wrote recently.