Why piracy and sales are both dead ...

But working to gain sponsors in a game like that would still put the sponsors even more in the spotlight. People would think about the sponsor's name more, and it would be a goal for the player to reach. Take an example from Doom. Nobody remembers much about being able to punch the monsters, when finding the chainsaw is just so much better. Spending hours on gaining a sponsor would make them meaningful to the player, and that would be a good thing to sponsors of the game.