Volvo has commissioned the development of an Xbox game, “Volvo Drive for Life.” Initial run: 100,000 copies. It includes a tour of the Volvo Safety Center and film from actual crash tests. Dealers are being asked to set up Xbox systems in their showrooms and to distribute copies to customers.
This is not the first Xbox advergaming title, but it is the largest production run by far. PC advergames are more widely distributed; in fact, Jeep has a whole slew of them available online.
Cars are somewhat of a no-brainer for the advergaming industry … other products are harder to embed into gameplay. Unfortunately, many advergames (like this Absolut one) are simply glorified product placements couched in unrelated content. Come on, Absolut: when I take a shot, my virtual opponents should become more attractive. 🙂
Those curious about the “typical” advergame might want to check out Blackdot’s portfolio; they are the largest dedicated advergaming company that I know of.
