Advertisers Moving Into Online Games

Massive Inc., a New York-based company, has just announced the introduction of the world’s first online gaming ad-serving network. This network will be somewhat similar to online ad banner networks; advertisers can embed their advertising messages within gamescapes based on dayparts and other targeting criteria, which is unlike product placements in games.
The company has inked deals with gaming companies like Ubisoft, Universal Games, Atari and Konomi. Already, it has signed on its first client – RealNetworks.
This looks promising; there are 10 million PC gamers who play online today, and another 3 million who are connected to the Internet via their consoles, according to industry estimates. According to Massive, the number of console players connected to the Internet is doubling every 12 months and likely will grow faster when the next generation of Internet-ready gaming hardware is released in 2005 and 2006.
Read:
Cross-platform Video Game Ad-serving Network Launches [Adage.com]
Video Game Advertising [CoolBusinessIdeas.com]