With in-game advertising on a roll these days, it was probably only a matter of time before a company like NCsoft joined in. Thanks to a recent agreement with Double Fusion, the publisher will now be featuring real-world ads within City of Heroes. The article continues after the jump.

Let's face it: in-game advertising is all around us, and it appears to be here to stay. Exactly how is the market view evolving, and what should the industry do about it? Double Fusion Chief Executive Jon Epstein took the time to answer those questions in a recent interview.  More on that after the jump.

Some gamers may find in-game advertisements to be nothing more than shameless plugs, while others still believe it's necessary.

In the Independent Game Conference in Austin, Gordon Bellamy goes into the subject a bit more and discusses how advertising could benefit not only the company who does the advertising, but also the game itself. He also explains why Doritos can't go multiplatform. Find out why in the full article.

Definitely upping the ante for the in-game content providing firm, Double Fusion is now upgrading their senior levels with game industry marketing veterans from all fronts: consoles, PCs and even MMOs. Still pending as to which company this dynamic ad content provider will be merging with, as least now they have Directors worth the company's reputation.

 

According to an official press release, Euro-based Double Fusion has appointed Daniel Best, Europe">David Miller and Itzik Ben Bassat to positions in the senior European management team. Daniel Best, former Online Commercial Manager of The Independent, is now the Sales Director for the European front.

As former Director of Brand Marketing for SEGA Europe, David Miller will now be heading the Director position of Business Development and Marketing in Europe. He has also worked for Capcom, Electronic Arts and Virgin. But perhaps most out-worldly of appointments was Itzik Ben Bassat, who is best known for being a part of Vivendi's image upgrade of Blizzard Entertainment.

Surprisingly, Ben Bassat was considered "the architect" behind World of Warcraft's success internationally, and also responsible for upgrading Big Blue from a simple games development studio to a company focused on online entertainment. If you wanted someone to blame for the lack of focus on Starcraft 2 and Starcraft: Ghost, now you've got a name.

It looks like the titles that Double Fusion touches are sure to sport lots of in-game ads for sure. This news is almost enough to make us wonder, how would PlayStation Home look if Double Fusion got the "go signal" from Sony? Downtown Tokyo? *shudder*

Netamin, the folks behind the baseball MMO title, Ultimate Baseball Online (UBO) recently announced that they are introducing new features and activities for players who prefer going solo in their latest edition of the game. Some of the new stuff you should expect are the following:

• One-player mini games - this will let players test their hitting prowess inside the UBO camp. Leader boards will track the top players in terms of homeruns, triples, doubles, singles, and batting average. Of course, online trophies would be awarded to the winners.
• Free Agent games - players without teams can now get in on the fun and in the loop. If you prefer going solo instead of touring with a team, you could still experience real-time online sports tournament in the world. The best part - you'll meet more UBO players, plus you need not deal with stubborn and power-tripping teammates.
• Power Ranking points for teams - this will be based on the team's performance in a variety of UBO leagues and tournaments. Points will be accumulated throughout the year, with the top 64 UBO teams earning a berth in The Best of UBO 2007. The global event features $10,000 in cash prizes and will run from November 26 to December 21.
• Graphical updates, new effects, and real-world advertisers in stadiums courtesy of Double Fusion

When given a choice, MMO players will usually shun away from in-game advertisements. They, with some analysts, have argued before that it actually disrupts gameplay experience as the presence of ads are somewhat out of place. Imagine your virtual world having banners of real-life commodities such as snacks ans soft drinks. It just feels weird.

Now, we guess it's kind of different for reality-based MMO games. Linden Lab's Second Life, for example, will definitely look fine with ads and all, because they are supposed to be there in the first place. Developer Netamin recently announced that they want to spice up Ultimate Baseball Online by adding in-game ads. Its CEO and president, Andy Wang, has even mentioned that this is something being asked by players:

UBO players have been eagerly awaiting in-game advertising as a way to increase the realism of their game experience. Through our partnership with Double Fusion, these stadium ads and videos have the potential to reach a huge international audience because of the worldwide popularity of baseball and our free-to-play game model.

Sadly, this is the reality for free MMO games. With them not getting subscription fees from players, they have to resort to other means to sustain their game. IGAs, as we've said before, are not inherently bad. They just have to be done in good taste.