We all know about the real-life brands that dominate our everyday lives. Whether it’s billboard advertising, YouTube ads, or interstitial ads on web pages, we’re all familiar with brand advertising and how it affects our day-to-day lives. When we play video games, some of us do so in order to escape real life, so when brands pop up in games it can be a little distracting.
One thing that delights us as gamers, however, is to see in-game brand advertising. Whether it’s mirroring real life or going off on wonderful tangents (hello, Grand Theft Auto), we love to see a well-constructed advertisement as we’re cruising down a street at an irresponsibly high speed. This, it seems, is a love shared by the minds of Betway eSports.
Yes indeed, the good folks at Betway have just released a pretty darn cool infographic all about in-game brands and their financial status. They’ve called it “Brand Theft Auto” (very clever, guys), and it’s full of fascinating insights and unique information about what makes our favourite non-existent brands tick. It makes for seriously absorbing reading, so make sure you set aside some time for it.
Here’s how it works. Betway’s clever and unique scoring system applies real-world metrics from real reference brands like Coca-Cola to video game brand identities. The system compares the real data with the fictional stuff to see how successful each company would actually be in the real world. Here are some of our favourite highlights from the infographic.
Most successful in-game brand: eCola, Grand Theft Auto
Perhaps surprisingly for a brand literally named after e. Coli, eCola takes the crown as the most successful in-game brand. Betway puts the overall score of eCola at an impressive 8,303,087 points (that’s eight million) based on metrics like net worth, company age, and lifetime sales. eCola has made appearances in both the “3D Universe” (Grand Theft Auto III and related titles) and the “HD Universe” (GTA IV and V), so it’s not showing any signs of stopping. Perhaps it will continue its dominance into Grand Theft Auto VI.
Most valuable in-game brand: Red Rocket, Fallout
The Fallout universe’s pre-war vehicle supply station chain Red Rocket takes the crown for most valuable in-game brand. That’s a real surprise, given that there really aren’t many vehicles left in the blasted hellscape of Fallout’s world. Still, fuel is very valuable, so maybe it’s not such a surprise to see Red Rocket at the top spot. Betway values the chain at $189 billion, which is pretty impressive (it’s weighted against BP, which doesn’t have a post-apocalyptic wasteland in which to operate). Fun fact: Betway’s second most valuable video game brand is the Umbrella Corporation, so it seems there is literally nothing Resident Evil’s zombie cleanup crew can mess up that will impact their sales data.
Most Instagrammable in-game brand: eCola, Grand Theft Auto
Once again, eCola sweeps the top spot for the most Instagrammable (most social media-friendly) brand in video game town. Again, with a score of 8.3 million, it wouldn’t be uncommon to see eCola popping up on people’s Grand Theft Auto Instagram (or LifeInvader) pages. GTA also takes the second spot in this category with its Smokin’ Beef Grill brand. Funnily enough, third place goes to DOOM’s Nabcom corporation. One would imagine it’s quite hard to access social media in a world overrun by demons, but then again…
Highest net worth per employee: Virility, Devil May Cry
This tainted energy drink was used to control the populace in 2013’s ill-fated DmC: Devil May Cry reboot. Given that the corporation was literally run by demons, it’s no surprise to learn that it paid its employees highly; money is, after all, the root of all evil, and if there’s one thing we know about demons…Runner-up in this category is Prey’s Transtar corporation, which owns a space station and a moonbase. We won’t spoil the game by explaining why they’re rich, but they do get up to some pretty nefarious stuff.
Top in-game employer: Grand Theft Auto
It will come as no surprise to learn that Grand Theft Auto is the series that employs the most people in its fictional universe. Betway places the numbers at around 426,600 based on the series’ real-world equivalent businesses. Next up is Dead Rising, which has a staff count of around 328,000, followed by a surprise entry in Two Crude Dudes with 267,000. Dishonored sits at a pathetic 20, taking last place easily. Still, in a world like Dunwall, where you could be eaten by an insect plague at any time, would you want to get up for work in the morning?
Most valuable in-game brands overall: DOOM
Given that DOOM involves interplanetary travel and a huge amount of ridiculously expensive sci-fi tech, it’s no surprise that it’s the franchise with the most value overall in terms of its in-game brands. Every company in DOOM adds up to a cumulative net worth of around $131 billion, so that’s pretty solid. UAC can rest easy knowing that no matter how many demons they accidentally summon into our world to wreak havoc, at least they’re one of the most profitable and valuable corporations around. Hooray!
We hope this has been an informative and fun look at Betway’s infographic for you. If you’ve enjoyed it, why not return the favour by checking out Betway eSports.
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