Activision lands Massive ads

Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock has already proven itself to be a money maker for Activision. In its first week, the publisher announced the game had garnered $115 million in sales, and analysts are predicting that the big breadwinner of October will be the Neversoft-developed rhythm rocker. However, unit sales won't be the only revenue stream contributing to Activision's bottom line.

Microsoft-owned in-game advertisers Massive announced today that the Xbox 360 and PC versions of Guitar Hero III are now part of its dynamic ad-serving network. Having already received the dubious honor of Blatant In-Game Advertising in GameSpot's review, GHIII will receive additional dynamic advertisements that Massive promises to be "contextually relevant to the rock venues in which players perform, further increasing the game's realism."

Massive also revealed that the similarly Neversoft-developed Tony Hawk's Proving Ground will now feature dynamically served in-game ads in its Xbox 360 iteration. As with GHIII, the ads will attempt to be contextually relevant and "tailored to real-world skating environments."

Thus far, Massive has signed brand-sponsorship deals with Coke, McDonalds, Verizon, and General Mills Pizza Pops for serving ads to the two games in the US, Canada, and Europe.