Remember shareware? I think iD started it with Doom (at least, that's the earliest high profile game I can recall). You play the entire first episode for free, then you make copies for your friends. If you like it, you could buy the other two episodes. This was a potential marketing disaster, but it created so much buzz for the most violent game of its time that it went on to become a controversial legend.
Today, we get demos for free. We can play the first ten levels of N+, or the first mission of The Force Unleashed, or a few tracks on Guitar Hero. We can't play the first third of a whole, complete game. There are, of course, exceptions... and I think they can be an answer.
Yaris is free. Doritos: Dash of Destruction is free. Complete games. Downloadable, yes, but complete and free. See any similarities between the two games? Yeah, advertising. Many games already have piles of advertising packed into them. Madden's stadium walls are covered with ads. SSX is loaded with billboards. These ads really add nothing to the experience (except maybe some realism to liken the game world to our already ad-laden reality). The ads make more money for the developers. Why can't these savings be passed onto the gamers? Instead of charging $60 for the new iteration of Madden every year, why not charge $30 for an ad-supported version? Or $20? Or free? EA can make its money on downloadable content.
Even more, the ads can be dynamic, changing daily or weekly as long as you're connected to the internet. Maybe even a banner on the top of the screen that can annoy you continuously, reminding you constantly that you were too cheap to pay for the entire $60 ad-free version.
All right. This idea is lame. Sorry, games are expensive. And there's going to be ads in games no matter what. Why can't we get something out of it?
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