It’s not all that surprising that an Electronic Arts NASCAR title would be its first downloadable video game for mobile phones to feature product placement. Beginning March 1, Sprint Nextel subscribers will be able to play EA Sports NASCAR 07. For the sake of product integrity the sponsors of the various drivers will be featured within the game. Jeff Gordon’s DuPont, Tony Stewart’s Home Depot and Kyle Busch’s Kellogg’s cars are all there. Twenty brands in total are represented. EA has created 30 titles for mobile phones to date, however none have had product placement. This is changing though as an EA rep said more in-game advertising is on the way. Considering EA revolutionized the way brands are woven into games for consoles like the Xbox 360, PS3 and Wii, it’s even less surprising that they are applying these tactics to world of mobile—like it or not.
How popular are these downloadable video games for mobile phones and even so, the product placement must be so small that is it almost a waste of money for these advertisers??
Posted by: Alex Gordon | February 07, 2007 at 12:07 PM
Gaming on mobile devices is a smallish segment (depending on the demographic) right now, but it's growing quickly as the phones become more advanced.
Posted by: Kenneth Hein | February 07, 2007 at 12:35 PM