IGN Launches In-Game Advertising Technology

By Ian Bell April 12, 2005

IGN’s new software and services will enable developers and publishers to manage their online game content throughout the game lifecycle, as well as execute in-game advertising campaigns. Advertiserswill be able to develop cross media programs that include in-game and online ads and promotions as part of IGN Entertainment’s overall media offering.

“Our In-Game technology is already proven in over 300 games, and includes online matchmaking, chat, CD key verification, unified registration, and statistics and tracking,” said Mark Stieglitz, general manager, publisher services, IGN Entertainment. “We are extending our current platform and solution set to enable game publishers to manage the space within their games dynamically, for In-Game marketing, advertising or for other purposes based on their unique needs.”

The new In-Game Marketing Technology and Service will extend IGN’s media and technology platforms, allowing publishers to enhance the gameplay experience by continually updating their games with new levels, patches, alternative player skins, weapons, buildings, maps, and even soundtracks. These same tools can be used to advertise the next version of a game by dropping in trailers and assets as they become available, as well as offering special in-game promotions.

In addition, IGN’s technology will enable publishers to add incremental revenue to their games by selling in-game advertising themselves, or by having IGN leverage its advertising infrastructure and experience to manage and sell in-game advertising programs on their behalf. The technology also will track impressions, time spent viewing items and type of each interaction, so that advertisers can watch the return on their investment, make smarter buys and design more effective campaigns.

IGN Entertainment’s In-Game tools and services build on its proven GameSpy backend infrastructure, service teams, data centers and core technologies. Rich dynamic marketing technology is currently available for the PC and PS2; versions for next generation platforms will be also developed.

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Publisher

I work with the best people in the world and get paid to play with gadgets. What's not to like?

Gaming

Nintendo Switch’s weirdest launch game is getting a surprise sequel

Key art for Everybody 1-2-Switch!

Nintendo has quietly announced Everybody 1-2-Switch!, a sequel to one of the oddest launch titles for Nintendo Switch.
1-2-Switch! was a Nintendo Switch launch title that served as a tech demo of sorts for the Joy-Con controllers, with players completing minigames based on direction from actors in live-action clips. It's a very quirky and critically divisive Nintendo Switch game, so it's a bit surprising to see a follow-up. According to the eShop listing for Everybody 1-2-Switch!, this game lets players use their Joy-Cons or smartphones to complete a variety of team-based minigames. And that's about all we've seen or know about this $30 game ahead of its June 30 launch alongside some new pastel Joy-Cons.

Everybody 1-2-Switch!'s announcement was quite unorthodox for Nintendo. It simply tweeted about the game's existence and opened up preorders on the eShop. This all happened with no reveal trailer less than a month before the game's launch. It's unknown why Nintendo's taking this approach instead of including the game in a Nintendo Direct or other major showcase, but a 2022 report from Fanbyte may reveal the answer. According to that report, Everybody 1-2-Switch! tested horribly, and Nintendo worried that the game could "damage the company’s reputation as a great software developer."
Almost a year after that report, it seems that the game has improved enough to release, or maybe Nintendo is just willing to take the hit after the impressive launch and critical reception of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. Either way, this is a weird sequel to a weird Nintendo Switch launch game that's being mutedly marketed so it doesn't elicit much hype. We'll just have to wait and play it for ourselves if we want to know whether Everybody 1-2-Switch! is an enjoyable game or not.
Everybody 1-2-Switch! will be released physically and digitally for Nintendo Switch on June 30.

Gaming

How many games featured in Xbox’s 2022 showcase actually launched within 12 months?

Players approach a vampire in Redfall.

At Microsoft's June 2022 Xbox & Bethesda Games Showcase, the publisher made a lofty promise. It said that every game shown off would be released within a year of the showcase.

That's not exactly how things panned out, though. During a May 4 interview on Kinda Funny's XCast podcast, Head of Xbox Phil Spencer admitted that Xbox "didn't deliver" when that promise was mentioned. Though there are still a few weeks left for Xbox to make good on its promise, it seems unlikely that every game shown at its 2022 presentation will indeed launch as planned.

Gaming

April’s PlayStation Plus games include a PS5 launch title and a new release

Sackboy: A Big Adventure

Sony has revealed the games that are going to be part of April's batch of PlayStation Plus Essential titles, and it includes a game that was a PS5 launch title, as well as a brand new game from the developers of Dead by Daylight.
Specifically, the three games that will be available starting April 4 are the PS4 and PS5 versions of Sackboy: A Big Adventure, Meet Your Maker, and Tails of Iron. Sackboy: A Big Adventure is a 3D platformer spinoff of Media Molecule's LittleBigPlanet series that launched alongside the PS5 in 2020. Unlike other LittleBigPlanet games, Sackboy: A Big Adventure doesn't rely on user-generated content. Instead, it's a tightly designed cooperative platformer that functions much closer to something like Super Mario 3D World. If you are looking for that user-made content kick this month, then the other PS Plus Essential game, Meet Your Maker, will be more appealing to you.

This game from Dead by Daylight developer Behaviour Interactive is a postapocalyptic base-building game where players both build and explore player-created outposts full of deadly traps and guards. I called Meet Your Maker one of the "most original multiplayer games launching this year" after playing its open beta during Steam Next Fest. Finally, there's Tails of Iron, a fantasy side-scrolling action RPG featuring rats that should appeal to indie game and Soulslike fans. Overall, April's lineup of PlayStation Plus games feels quite diverse. Hopefully, we can say the same for April's PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium titles when they are revealed.
Sackboy: A Big Adventure, Meet Your Maker, and Tails of Iron will be available through PlayStation Plus from April 4 until May 1. If you haven't already, it's also a good idea to download March's PlayStation Plus Essential games -- Battlefield 2042, Minecraft Dungeons, and Code Vein -- before these three games replace them.