THQ: TV advertising a waste of money

THQ's core games VP Danny Bilson believes using big TV spots to advertise games isn’t worth it any more.

Speaking in a recent marketing feature alongside Microsoft's Albert Penello and Nintendo's Reggie Fils-Aime, Bilson said he doesn’t believe television necessarily helps sell games.

"One of the bigger questions we have to ask ourselves is how important is television? How important is television to a core gamer on a non-television brand?" Bilson asked.

“I think television has some relevance on WWE and UFC because I consider those TV brands. But our other stuff? I question it severely."

Bilson also said he feels money could be better off spent elsewhere.

"It’s incredibly expensive, and [compared to] what I can do with two million dollars - which will buy a few TV spots on a big sporting event - what I can do in outdoor, or on the web, or direct-to-consumer is way more exciting."

Xbox Live and PSN could be a much better way to use the money according to Bilson, since this is mainly where the core gamer resides.

"You know where I want to market? I want to market on Xbox Live. I want to market on PSN, because every night that’s the switch I turn on at my house. And that front end comes, and those windows come, and all that marketing’s getting right to me because I’m a core gamer," he said.

“That’s where I want to invest. Television is a big question mark for me.”

THQ recently announced a deal to release merchandise for its popular Darksiders title.

Thanks, Industry Gamers.