Toyota launches Yaris videogame

A new wave of product promotion is hitting the games world in what the industry is calling 'advergaming', with Toyota the latest company to jump on the bandwagon.

The firm's title, available to download from Xbox Live Arcade across the US and Canada only at present, is a non-realistic racing-shooter where the player, while driving a Toyota Yaris, takes out enemies using a range of weapons.

Kim McCullough, corporate manager for marketing communications at Toyota, said the firm has released the game in a bid to 'get back in the eye line of younger consumers'.

Speaking to the New York Times, McCullough said: "People can time shift, they can do all sorts of different things to avoid advertising. That's why we have to move beyond traditional advertising to do things that are really engaging for people."

Fast food giant Burger King enjoyed success when it launched its own titles through Blitz Games during 2006.