In-game Ads - Cool or Unjust?

Ever hear about how film studios paid to display products during filming and then seen how the roles reversed with products like Coca-Cola paying for top dollar for the limelight. Well gamers have become the next target, except they think it's cool.

CNET News.com reported that "two-thirds of all men in television-owning households between the ages of 18 and 34, and 80 percent of those between 12 and 17--prime gamer demographics--have video game consoles in their homes," according to a Nielsen study released on Monday. But the bigger number is that U.S. households with televisions that also have video game consoles has risen from 38.6 million to 45.7 million homes over those two years. That's a huge audience and advertisters are taking note. But what's the reaction of gamers? Seeing billboards with Coca-Cola logos and other top brands makes the game seem more realistic and cooler.

While these guys may be more heavily focused on watching cartoons in between hours of gaming with buddies, I'm thinking, I should be paid everytime I'm forced to watch an ad on the game I paid $50-60 for.

One Good Idea: HD Internet

After last week's Churchill Club event, I wrote about my idea for HD Internet. Apparently, I wasn't the only one. Mark Cuban wrote how consumers want to be able to use their televisions as computers. Although you can already do this, I'm looking for the next generation, not just the capability. Although, just a consumerized interface for the capability would be nice.

But imagine if you could go to ESPN.com, pick out your favorite team's highlights and then watch it on your TV in HD, instead of a pixelated version when you want to watch it full screen on your monitor. Imagine if you could go to MTV Overdrive and watch a rerun of The Duel or your favorite new music video in HD. What about playing PC games on your TV and plugging a controller into the USB port of your HD flat screen instead of camping outside for the first release of Playstation 3, which you already know has bugs. Or imagine having NBA League Pass and being able to watch it on your couch instead of sitting at your desk or watching it on your laptop. I'd settler for getting rid of...buffering.

Can I claim copyright on this idea? Maybe I should follow in the steps of the Churchill Club panelists and hire some Stanford engineers to develop a prototype.