Double Fusion Raises $26 Million

[Shawn Andrich]

Double Fusion Raises $26 Million

Double Fusion, an independent in-game advertising network, has raised additional financing. The new money will allow them to expand key areas of their business.

Led by Norwest Venture Partners, the increased investments from new and existing partners will allow Double Fusion to grow their media sales division, delivery technology and international operations.

"Videogames are providing a new advertising vehicle that not only delivers a highly engaged audience, but fundamentally changes the way consumers are able to interact with brands," said Jonathan Epstein, CEO of Double Fusion. "Advertising, in turn, creates new business models for game companies that will continue to accelerate the growth of the gaming audience. The commitment and confidence of these premier financial and strategic partners is recognition of both the huge potential of the in-game advertising market, and of Double Fusion's leading position within that market."

Currently boasting deals with THQ and Midway, Double Fusion is one of the few independent in-game ad providers after Microsoft bought [http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20060426-6680.html] Massive.

"Double Fusion has outstanding market potential," said Jim Lussier, general partner at Norwest Venture Partners. "No other new advertising medium starts with a worldwide audience of half a billion consumers, or is projected to grow as quickly."

The next big game to display Double Fusion ads will be Midway's Stranglehold, a John Woo action title due for the PS3 and Xbox 360 sometime next year.

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[heavyfeul]

My advice to gamers is to not support videogame publishers and developers that place ads in their titles. I did not purchase Battlefield 2142 because of their choice to use in-game advertisements and to track user data for marketing purposes. I hope gamers will rebel against any further advertising in games and that companies like this go belly up for lack of support. I really do not want to jacked out of my private revelry by a Dodge commercial.

 

[Bongo Bill]

I don't mind ads in games as long as I'm not paying for the game. If I'm paying, there shouldn't be ads. Period. (Well, MMOs I might pay for the account key, but if there are ads I'm not paying no subscription fees.)

On the other hand, with development costs the way they are, I can appreciate any attempts publishers make at lowering the costs. I don't like it, and some of them I can't support in good conscience, but I understand the need.

 

[Blaxton]

I agree with heavyfeul. I don't think that the gaming communities should support the games if they keep the prices the same. The point of advertising is to provide income without taking money from the consumer. Ideally this would be a positive change. Perpendicularly, however, the new games for the Sony and Microsoft platforms are ten dollars more than the previous generation.

I found this little tidbit today as well:
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=21838

I don't know what this means exactly. Are we looking at real time streaming ads, or billboard-like spreads across our levels? I expect the latter. Seems like it would only be a minor inconvenience if that were the case; but what would that mean for level designs? Will we be confined to environments that would normally have ads? Will every arena be an urban setting, or will I be pitched a product with an awkwardly out of place ad in the middle of a frozen desert?

What will this mean for game development? There has been a lot of talk lately about how the processing power of the next generation is too much. Developers have to spend more time on graphics than ever, raising costs and reducing the resources devoted to game play. Will publishers have to hire a legal force to deal with contracts with ad agencies? Games that aren't ongoing multiplayer experiences surely don't boast the same continuous "hours per month" figures that a game like C-S does. The contracts with ad agents would have to be written based on projected sales. Also, refunds for failure to meet expected figures may occur (similar to what occasionally happens with TV events). There are, I am sure, other solutions to contracting ads in games; however, I believe firmly that we are not in for anything positive. We are staring at yet another parallel to Hollywood. We have bloated budgets and ad placement. The next logical step is marketability vs. quality. This is already beginning to manifest: http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/8.36938

At a point in time in which game play mechanics are fairly stagnant this is the last thing we need. If this takes off we will surely be treated to a dynasty of mediocrity. I don't want to rely entirely on independent and foreign sources for gaming like I do now with films. I hope that the plan Nintendo has gone with proves to be the right path economically. I'm not saying a new controller will definitely change the world of video games, but a back-to-basics philosophy of mechanics over bells-and-whistles might.