In-game ads may not reduce cost of console games

Ed Bartlett, IGA Worldwide’s European VP of publisher relations, has defended the role of in-game advertising by stating the benefits it can offer consumers such as reduced price titles and free add-on content.

Speaking to Pro-G at the recent Develop conference in Brighton, Ed Bartlett, VP publisher relations Europe and co-founder of IGA Worldwide, revealed that although we are already seeing free games on the PC as a result of in-game ads, ad-driven price reductions on console titles won’t necessarily happen.

"When it comes to console the scalability isn’t there yet," said Bartlett. "Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo all take a royalty share of every disk that gets manufactured, and so there are other costs that come into play when it comes to console. What you will see is that it will help stabilise the market. It won’t necessarily reduce the prices of those games, simply because the budgets are so huge."