It’s not only Xbox Series X that might see an increase in advertising.
This week, we learned that the Xbox Series X may begin displaying adverts in free-to-play titles on the next console. Now, according to a recent rumour, Sony may be working on a similar feature for the PS4 and PS5.
Three sources have been cited in the Business Insider piece on Sony’s reported strategy. Sony hopes that by making it easier for developers to monetise their free-to-play games, they may entice more of them to enter the market.
To advertise PlayStation shop products and services, Sony’s ad inventory consists only of menu advertising and streaming video commercials in certain applications. Ad-tech collaborations are claimed to be involved, so that developers may provide free-to-play games with advertisements.
It’s possible that Sony sees advertising as a “natural” element of the game experience, at least according to the company’s statement. Instead of distracting advertisements, sports events might use billboards to promote sponsors. It’s possible that in-game things may be offered as incentives for gamers who watch advertising and promos.
Personal information will not be collected by any of Sony’s advertising technology partners, according to reports. Even if a developer or publisher may be able to get their hands on data on what PlayStation users are up to. We can only hope that this refers to broad patterns rather than anonymous data on individual users.
Sony is said to have been pondering this strategy for 18 months, according to Business Insider’s sources, and may be launching a fresh advertising blitz before the end of the year.
According to BI’s report, Microsoft’s strategy for free-to-play advertising didn’t contain a timeframe that included this type of timeline. Even while I can’t see a reaction to increasing advertising, rushing towards these things without taking into account the consequences simply makes it worse.
Sony, on the other hand, may have recognised the same thing. No one wants a barrage of offensive commercials to appear in PlayStation games without any regard for the impact they may have on players.