Toyota releases Xbox Live Arcade game

Toyota City (Japan) - After an unbelievably successful run for Burger King last year, Toyota is trying its hand in the "advergame" business with the release of "Yaris".

The game is a free download and is available now at the Xbox Live Arcade. Inside players will find various advertisements for Toyota vehicles. It is a push for the Japanese auto maker to appeal to a younger audience.

Corporate communications director for Toyota Kim McCullough told the New York Times, "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."

Last year Burger King teamed up with Blitz Games to create a trio of inexpensive Xbox 360 titles that were sold at the fast food chain for $3 - $5 each. In about a month the games had sold over a million copies.

Yaris is a racing/shooter game in which players must destroy a slew of enemies with a range of various weapons.