Chief Financial Officer Richard Bressler told advertising executives that Viacom was seeking ways to make money off the $10 billion U.S. video game industry.

" I think the jury is in, people are spending a lot of time in interactive," said Bressler at the Global Digital Summit, sponsored by OgilvyOne, the interactive marketing division of ad agency Ogilvy & Mather. " The interesting thing for us is to figure out if there' s a market for advertising in video games."

Viacom owns the CBS television network, MTV music channel and Paramount movie studio.
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This could be both good and bad. Good because game companies can score some more cash to make better games. Bad because stuff like this tends to reach a ridiculous point, soon load times (like mentioned in another thread form a certian some1) will be filled with annoying ads. Then again thats not to horrible.

What do you all tink about this?

I can' t wait to see a McDonalds commercial as the next Castlevania game loads! Of course I am wondering what happens when the game gets to be a few years old? If I am playing my copy of Halo 3 in the year 2016 and I see an ad for how Dealin' Dougs Cherry Creek Dodge is offering 0% financing and accepting trade ins at double the value no matter the condition on any new car, and then I go down to Dealin' Doug and find that the offer is no longer valid, what am I to do? What if I see an ad for a certain type of burger that McDonalds no longer offers? What if I see an ad for a product and company that no longer exists? Not very feasible.

Product placement already exists in videogames. Some games have had McDonald and Pizza Hut stores that you could drive past. And both Sony and MS have advertising commercials on their demos. Viacom just wants to go over the top. Like putting Spider-Man 2 ads on bases on a baseball field.

There' s my opinion:

http://www.gamerseurope.com/articles/430

I think its actually cool to have real products in games instead of made up ones.

In GTA3 there are nokia bulidings in a few spots in the city. Placement like this doesn' t bother me at all, b/c the advertisements didn' t at all feel out of place. But, when we have a 15 second unskippable commercial that comes before the title menu in video games that' s when I' m gonna have a problem