In-game ads could help devs hold on to IP - Bartlett

Ed Bartlett, vice president of IGA Europe, has told GamesIndustry.biz that in-game advertising could help independent studios to keep possession of their own intellectual property.

Speaking in part one of an interview published today, Bartlett said, "Part of the reason I set this up with Hive originally was so that we could get more revenue to fund games perhaps without getting publishers involved, and retain control of the IP."

He observed that IGA has helped to make two titles - Stoked Rider and Trackmania - available via free download, which in turn has improved their developers' finances.

"Obviously the more players you have the more ad revenues you get, which makes it almost a self-fulfilling model. By having a bigger audience you bring in more ad revenues which means you can offset the costs even further," Bartlett explained.

"When you look at a big triple-A console release you're never going to be able to offset the entire cost of the release through advertising. But I think with a PC-only release, where you're reiterating a technology which has already been paid for and developed as it was with Trackmania, then I think you're looking at some exciting new models."

Bartlett conceded that not all developers are keen to explore the area of in-game advertising - but IGA is attempting to change attitudes by offering evidence of its achievements so far.

"We've seen some resistance from the smaller independent studios rather than the bigger studios, who are obviously our targets, so generally we're getting a very positive response," he said.

"When we first go in there's often a bit of wariness but once we show people what we've done, case studies and past work, and once they understand the business model, there's very little push back."

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