Some big dollars are being spent on TV advertisements, especially when it comes to video games. What may surprise some of you, however, is that mobile game publishers are actually spending more than the likes of Sony and Microsoft.
A new report published by VentureBeat (in conjunction with iSpot.tv) indicates that game companies spent nearly $30 million for TV advertising last month, with 33 different brands airing nearly 90 spots nationwide over 18,000 times. The total is about the same as last month’s, with overall spending for the year reaching $430 million thus far.
Mobile actually accounts for a big chunk of that, with three of the top five advertisers being from that field. That includes Machine Zone, which accounted for over 22 percent of TV spending, along with King.com (nine percent) and InnoGames (seven percent). The other two companies in the top five Disney Interactive, advertising the latest Disney Infinity, and Nintendo.
As for the top five ads for the month, only one was made for consoles a spot for Madden NFL 16 that featured a five-minute mini-film. The rest belonged to mobile games like Game of War and Candy Crush Soda Saga.
Here’s a top five breakdown of the commercials that got the most spending for the month:
1. Game of War: Fire Age ($5.1 million)
2. Candy Crush Soda Saga ($2.3 million)
3. Madden NFL 16 ($1.5 million)
4. Forge of Empires ($1.4 million)
5. Splatoon ($1.4 million)
Two of the most noteworthy ads are included below, including Machine Zone’s Game of War: Fire Age ad and Madden: The Movie from EA Sports.
Even with the Christmas push behind some key titles (like Assassin’s Creed Syndicate and Skylanders Superchargers), this is a trend that’s likely to continue in the months ahead, especially with the success of titles like Game of War and Clash of Clans. We’ll see where the next few months lead in terms of numbers.
