IGB? Tagged, you’re it? Anyway you look at it, Microsoft is pushing the envelope with their planned release of 2-D barcodes that will be inserted into games, a replacement of in-game billboard advertising…of sorts.

According to a new report by Forbes, Microsoft is turning up the heat on now three + year old 2-D barcoding system. If you’ve been anywhere near Japan, you’ve probably already seen this technology in action. In Europe and the U.S., probably not so much. But that’s not to say that efforts to introduce and mainstream the technology haven’t already been attempted. Essentially, the technology works just like it sounds. A bar code is presented to the end user, which they then ‘scan’ or more accurately, snap a picture of, with their mobile phone camera. Recognizing this data, the mobile phone’s browser will then launch and head directly to a designated URL linked to that specific code.

Microsoft has been developing and refining the technology, first released to the public in 2006. The 2-D barcode technology was introduced in a product called Windows Live Barcode, and was/is designed to transfer information between computers, billboards and magazines, and mobile devices running its Windows Mobile software. Not quite making the splash Microsoft was hoping for, they upped in the game in 2007 by introducing the HCCB (High Capacity Color Barcode). This new format used colored triangles and geometric patterns, effectively allowing the size of the code to be reduced, while at the same time, increasing data storage capacity. Strike two, as apparently marketers couldn’t make heads or tails of triangles and patterns. Further developing, Microsoft debuted the “Microsoft Tag” at this years CES. Unlike previous versions, these new barcodes contain no information, other than links back to data stored on MS’s servers. This format allows marketers to track tag activity. Better, but still not great. April of this year saw Microsoft further revamp the system to ditch the triangles and replace them with circles. The tiny circles now allow for pointillist like image presentations.

Ok, so far so good, but what does this have to do with in-game advertising? A test program held at Wal-Mart earlier this year in conjunction with the Halo Wars release provided ‘extras’ for some lucky participants. These consumers were asked to ‘scan’ or ‘snap’ versions of preliminary test Microsoft Tags, where then were then taken to a special website where they could pre order the game and receive goodies like ringtones. The test program revealed that 85 percent of those that snapped converted to downloading content, in one form or another, to their phones. Apparently the test was a success, as Microsoft, in conjunction with Massive will be the first U.S. videogame company to embed these tags into their product. These tags are slated to appear in most of the 10 Xbox titles that are scheduled for release this autumn. Likewise, since the tags are a simple code insertion (more or less), this tagging technology won’t be limited to new games, as Massive simply needs to flip the switch and activate the tags in any one of it’s existing stable of in-game advertising ready titles.
“Games are a natural place to put tags”, says Mark Kroese, General Manager of Entertainment and Devices Advertising for Microsoft. “You’ve got people who are really engaged, leaning on the edge of their seats … a tag campaign presents advertising in a way that lets gamers “stay in the moment.”

While this sounds cutting edge, and naturally drives the, “Ooo…new tech…let’s play with it!” voice in my head, there’s also something else nagging at me. Whether you’re pro or con in-game advertising, it is what it is, and it can be a very powerful form of communication when done right. When I’m in an urban environment and I see a sprite billboard to my right, there are two things that happen here. One, I’m visually presented with the ad, thereby strengthening brand recognition, and two, this advertisement ads a certain sense of reality, in that this is something you could very well see on any street. Again, instant brand recognition, and real world meaning. By placing one of these tags on a billboard, Microsoft is now asking the user to complete one extra step. See the disconnect here? If I’m blasting my way through said urban environment, am I really going to stop what I’m doing, find my phone (check between the cushions again, will ya?), snap an image, and then wait for the page to load, only to find a media rich ad for sprite? Perhaps the same one I saw on TV three days ago? Not so much. As a matter of fact, that might turn me off snapping anything in the future. Not to mention that we’ve also removed the ‘real world’ plausibility of the billboard ad. Perhaps if playing a futuristic title based in post-apocalyptic Tokyo I might buy it.

Obviously, only time will tell with this new initiative from Microsoft/Massive. But taking it back to the old Borg adage, “You will be assimilated. Resistance is Futile.”