If you've played Final Fantasy XV, you've undoubtedly seen the Cup Noodle advertisements around the game world. Among other things, there's a noodle shop in one of the major cities decorated with branding where you can order a cup for yourself.
It's no mistake, either. Nissin made a large marketing deal with Square Enix to have product placement in the game. It's a move that cost millions of dollars, and has gone much further than just in-game ads.
Square Enix is currently running a Final Fantasy XV commercial in Japan that features Cup Noodles. The 30 second ad includes more than 15 seconds of branded imagery, from major characters holding the product, to a car being packed to the brim with them.
You can see it below:
It's highly likely that Square Enix made this deal in order to recoup some of the enormous costs incurred by Final Fantasy XV's development, which stretched to the decade-long mark. It's lightly abrasive, although done in a humorous way that makes it acceptable to a lot of players.
We talked this week about how Final Fantasy XV has done a good job of bringing some Final Fantasy veterans back to the franchise, but was it good enough? Head over to our feature and let us know what you think.
