This is innovative as long as it does not interfere with the game. HBO has product placement. I see no difference here. NFL teams (and players) are for profit and sell rights, just like every car manufacturer, weapon manufacturer etc…  Isn’t that what Madden and any other ‘realistic’ games are all about? I think that if there is an argument to be made it would be that you are paying for your internet connection and also paying for Xbox Live to put ads in your games. Even that is super weak. It is splitting hairs to argue that billboards in a game that are for something real is any different than the one for brand x, the game manufacturer, the game console, other game manufacturer titles, or made up stuff like Bait magazine.

Ads may very well add to the “realism” of a game, but this is something I’ve bought and paid for. It’s like if HBO had commercials in the middle of programming. It’s OK for NBC to do it, because that’s how the programming stays free. If the games were solely supported by ad revenue, then that’d be great too. But not both.

In our everyday lives as consumers we are bombarded with advertisements of all kinds, at all times. In this particular case, the game price isn’t supplemented by any means. It is just another way for the makers to pad their profits at your and my expense. When I sit down to play a video game the last thing I want to think about is politics or my soda choice.