Microsoft is reportedly to become the first gaming company to run real-time adverts for a title on its platform, showcasing Gears of War 3 online gamers playing the game online when clips are broadcast.
Brand Republic reports that the campaign will launch on Tuesday but the live elements of the game will be shown in 30-second executions starting on September 23, running through to October 3. The campaign is said to mimic that of Paddy Power, which updates viewers on its live odds during sporting broadcasts.
Stephen McGill, Microsoft UK Xbox marketing director, said:
“This is going to be our biggest controller-based game campaign.
It is on the scale of what we did for ‘Halo Reach’ and ‘Halo 3’ – television is the main centrepiece of the campaign.”
Gears of War 3 went on sale at 400 stores at Midnight on Monday in the UK, and in 20,000 stores worldwide.
A digital campaign created by AKQA will support the television broadcasts will involve fan activity on Facebook, allowing gamers to expose artwork of the game’s characters, which can then be viewed on the Gears of War 3 website.
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