The games depicted above aren't the first advergames (more on that another day), but they are among my favorites. They are Chase the Chuckwagon, created for Purina, and Tooth Protectors, for Johnson & Johnson.

In 1982-1983, enormous numbers of games were created for the Atari VCS by large and small developers alike. The flood of games on the market may have partly contributed to the so-called "videogame crash of 1983." But it also represented a time when anyone could create, manufacture, and distribute a game for the most popular home console system.

One of the groups that became interested in such activities were corporations trying to market their wares to kids and families. Remember sending in UPCs? These two games were created as promotions for purchases. You would have to buy Purina dog chow or Johnson & Johnson dental hygeine products and then send in the UPCs to get the game.

As far as the games go, they aren't world changing experiences, but they are interesting attempts to integrate the products into a game. In Chase, you have to steer a dog to the Purina chuckwagon, avoiding a dogcatcher. In Tooth Protectors, you have to protect the teeth from attacking food bits. A full brushing regimen can be used to revitalize. I've got much more about how both games make claims about the products they advertise in my book.

Since these games were only available by mail and for a short time, they are pretty rare. Some speculate that Chase is part of the inspiration for the title game in the novel Lucky Wander Boy, although I don't think there's any evidence for that claim. Chase actually came in a box, although I don't have it. Tooth Protectors was simply shipped in a foam insert.

Chase the Chuckwagon [Atari Age]
Tooth Protectors [Atari Age]

While U.S. cities are pulling Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories ads from their public transportation systems, other countries seem to have no problem with it. In the U.K., where Bully was made to change its name and Rule of Rose's release was canceled due to media outcry, GTA is apparently A-OK. So ok, in fact, that instead of the regular on bus posters, they have decided to plaster the GTA:VCS ad on to the entire back of a bus.

Ok, kids, just so you know, bullying is wrong! Being mean to other children and torturing them with a rat on a stick is wrong! But hey, would you mind going over there and jacking that car? Don't forget to kill the driver! Oh, and while your at it, go have sex with that hooker. Flynn De Marco

[Thanks to A. Jackson for the pic!]

Here at Kotaku, we're size queens. Bigger means better. (Unless, it's small and cool.) So when we saw this giant PSP display promoting Tekken at a Korean bus stop, we swooned and fainted. This 15:1 scale, non-playable portable, was encased in class around the Han River area in Seoul. Hit the jump for a pic of the folks flocking to this bus stop. More of this please, Sony and less of the stupid! Brian Ashcraft

More Here [Destructoid]