• VentureBeat, Monday, October 13, 2008 10:15 AM

Game designer Richard Garriott has taken video game promotion to a new level--literally. The creator of the Ultima series of games was launched into orbit this weekend aboard a Soyuz TMA spacecraft.

The trip makes for a nice marketing tie-in with at least one Ultima online game, Tabula Rasa, which begins when aliens wipe out humans from outer space. In order to prevent such a disaster, Garriott brought with him the DNA of several well-known Americans to be stored in the space station and, potentially, used to re-up the human race should the need arise.

Garriott clearly knows how to generate press, but one does have to wonder about his commitment to ROI. His trip cost him $30 million. As only the sixth private citizen to become a so-called "space tourist," his trip is likely to garner plenty of publicity. But one suspects the boys in procurement will have something to say upon his return.

Read the whole story at VentureBeat »