Play a game, see an ad

The days of ad-free gaming may be ending. A number of companies are working on technology to deliver advertising content on games. As prove of how serious this trend is, Nielsen Entertainment Media has announced that it was working with Activision, Inc. to develop a tracking technology that would monitor how many in-game advertisements a user encounters and when. The advent of this technology may change the way gaming is perceived. In current games, the billboards and ads in the game worlds tend are fake and are parodies of real world ads, they also make references to in-game content. Which would you prefer? An in-game ad for a real world product like Coke, or a funny satire of a soda ad? Will we be playing Half-Life 4 and have the space marine sipping Pepsi to regain health?