A console game is a video game made for a dedicated gaming machine, such as a PlayStation, Xbox or Nintendo Switch, usually played on a TV with a controller. For brands it is a gated route to players: the platform holder approves every release, and the game is judged against titles people paid for.
How it works
You buy or download the game from the console's own store, or put in a disc or cartridge, and play on a TV with a controller: alone, with friends on the same screen, or online. Wikipedia defines a console as a device that outputs a video signal or image to display a video game, typically played with a controller; the Switch is a hybrid of home and handheld.
Behind the screen, the platform holder decides what gets in. Since the NES, most console makers have run licensing schemes that limit which games reach their machines, charge a fee per copy sold and let them reject games they consider unsuitable, the same article explains. Microsoft publishes the Xbox Requirements every title must follow, and incomplete submissions are rejected from certification. In North America ratings are voluntary, but the ESRB says all console manufacturers require one.
Where brands use it
In 1983 Purina mailed Chase the Chuck Wagon and Kool-Aid mailed Kool-Aid Man on Atari 2600 cartridges to families who sent in proofs of purchase; Kool-Aid asked for 125 points, or 30 points plus $10. In the 1990s mascots went to publishers as licensed games; Pepsiman came out on PlayStation, in Japan only, in 1999.
From 2006 the stage was Xbox: Burger King sold discs in its restaurants, while Toyota and Doritos gave games away on Xbox Live Arcade. By 2009 Dash of Destruction had become the fastest Xbox Live Arcade game to reach one million downloads, according to PepsiCo. Today brands also build inside console games people own, such as IKEA's free Skyrim quest KALLAX Storageborn. The early work fills the classic advergames collection, mostly food and drink.
When it fits
A console game fits when your audience already plays on console and you have a brand world strong enough to carry a real game: Burger King had the King and its ad cast, Toyota the oddball enemies from its Yaris ads.
It also needs a channel or a partner. Burger King sold its discs at the counter for $3.99 with a value meal, a low impulse price with a fixed end date; our story of Burger King's Xbox games explains why that mattered. Doritos teamed up with Xbox, which used the tie-in to promote its download service. When the game is one screen of a wider campaign, a console build can run beside a web game, as Hulu's did.
When not to use it
Skip it when the campaign must launch within weeks or on a small budget: certification, ratings and platform approval sit between a finished build and the player. A web game or mobile game ships faster and opens from a link or QR code.
Expect reviews like any other game. Yaris was free, yet it holds a Metacritic score of 17 out of 100, Wikipedia notes.
Plan for the ending. Yaris was delisted in late 2008, Microsoft set 29 July 2024 as the closing date of the Xbox 360 store (Game Developer), and Big Bumpin' now plays only from an original disc. To reach console players without building a game, use in-game advertising or an in-game event.
Examples from the library
Big Bumpin' — Burger King (2006)
Agency: Blitz Games (developer), CP+B · Platform: Xbox and Xbox 360, disc sold in Burger King restaurants
You pick one of six Burger King ad characters, among them the King and the Subservient Chicken, and climb into a bumper car on one of five arenas. Every short mode rewards destruction: hold a puck, knock rivals off the platform, pass a shock ball before it goes off, or play 2-on-2 bumper-car hockey. Up to four play on one console, eight over Xbox Live.
Result: Burger King reported sales only for its three Xbox games together: more than 2 million copies in four weeks, QSRweb reported. Its results for the quarter to 31 December 2006 put sales above 3.2 million copies and called the set the best-selling video game of the holiday season.
Yaris — Toyota (2007)
Agency: Saatchi & Saatchi LA, Castaway Entertainment (developer), Backbone Entertainment (publisher) · Platform: Xbox 360, free on Xbox Live Arcade
You choose one of three real Yaris body styles and race down tube-shaped tracks against the clock, while a robotic tentacle on the bonnet fires at oddball enemies from Toyota's Yaris ads. Coins buy paint, wheels, ammo, shields and guns between runs on eight tracks, and a duel mode pits you against a friend on the same console or over Xbox Live. It can no longer be downloaded.
Result: In the first three weeks, hundreds of thousands of people downloaded the game and logged more than 21 years of combined play time, according to the game's One Show entry.
History of the World, Part II: The Experience — Hulu (2023)
Agency: Monks · Platform: Web (desktop and mobile), plus a free Xbox version
Mel Brooks narrates as you click and drag through a comic timeline of human history, from "The Big Burp" onwards. The timeline stops for quick arcade challenges built on sketches from the Hulu series, such as catching falling pugs in Noah's Dog Park or a Big Boss Battle brawl. Finishing a run entered you into a sweepstakes with an Xbox among the prizes. It was built for desktop and mobile browsers; the console was one more screen, with the Xbox version a free download until 31 March 2023.
Result: The game was launched more than 173,000 times across desktop, mobile and Xbox in its first live weekend, and the sweepstakes drew more than 37,000 unique entries. On Xbox, 84.7% of viewers watched the videos to the end, against an app benchmark of 67%, according to Hulu's Shorty Awards entry.
FAQ
What was Xbox Live Arcade?
Microsoft's download service for smaller games. It launched on the original Xbox on 6 November 2004 and was relaunched on Xbox 360 on 22 November 2005. Most games had a free trial and cost about $5 to $20; brands used it for free advergames such as Yaris and Dash of Destruction. With Xbox One, Microsoft dropped the Arcade name.
What are the major brands of gaming consoles?
Nintendo with the Switch and Switch 2, Sony with PlayStation and Microsoft with Xbox, known as the "big three", according to Wikipedia. Earlier makers include Atari, Sega and Mattel, and brand games in this library ran on their machines too: Kool-Aid Man on the Atari 2600 and Intellivision, Treasure Land Adventure on the Mega Drive.
Can a brand publish its own game on a console?
Yes, through a developer registered with the platform holder. Microsoft's ID@Xbox programme is its route to publishing on Xbox, and Nintendo lets companies and individuals register as developers. Xbox titles still pass certification, and console makers require age ratings (from the ESRB in North America), so build that time into the plan.