Advertising in video games was a setback

The publishers of the popular video game "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas" are feeling the heat of the Federal Trade Commission recently. A probe was launched in the popular video game and comes on the heels of New York Senator Hillary Clinton and Congressman Fred Upton of Michigan, urging the U. S. House of Representatives to consider whether the video game publisher Take-Two Interactive Software " intentionally deceived the ratings board to avoid an adult "only" rating.

According to the sex scenes were buried in the game and what was not said to the Entertainment Software Ratings Board, which raised its rating for mature adults only.

Starting today retailers such as Circuit City, Best Buy
and even Wal-Mart has stopped selling the game and removed from their shelves.

Will be the latest scandal at the end of "Advergaming"?

This is certain, the video game industry is a sector of 11 billion dollars, which reaches one of the most elusive demographic, men aged 17 to 35.

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas "is a very popular video game, but it is one of hundreds that hit the shelves each year. It is only because of their actions, leading to stricter laws for the table and make it more difficult to obtain rated PG for action games.

While marketing in May would have been afraid, and rightly, should not exclude the potential value of incorporating its own brand in video games. Instead of abandoning the medium, marketing might want to be more selective in video games are associated with their brand. No brand wants to be involved in controversy especially when it comes to pornographic material to be embedded in a video game.

Marketing can be useful to do further research on the game before jumping in head first. They need to perform their duty of care which includes looking at past video games published by a given society and preview the game.

In short, "Advergaming" is only the initial phase and gain popularity more likely in the near future. This is an obstacle that the game industry must overcome, but with everything that you can not judge an area by the actions of a company.

Louis Victor New Age Media Concepts 646-403-9972 www.namct.com