In-game advertising is a ’small, but growing’ portion of revenue ...
In-game advertising is a “small, but growing” portion of revenue generated by Microsoft’s Xbox Live service, Microsoft Senior Attorney Brent Sanders told us at the Assn. of National Advertisers conference in N.Y.C. Thurs. Its growth potential depends on whether…
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in-game ads are labeled as such or integrated into the title itself, Sanders said. The FTC Children’s Advertising Review Unit released guidelines asking that if a spot is integrated into an online game that it be made clear to the “intended audience” that it’s an ad, Sanders said. “Videogames companies have spent a lot of money to be treated as entertainment” businesses and it’s a question of “whether they should have the burden of labeling which is which,” Sanders said. Xbox 360 and other consoles usually are aimed at 18-34s who spend 30% of their monthly entertainment budgets on games and play about 15 hours per week, Sanders said. Videogames advertising has emerged in 3 forms: (1) Dynamic advertising, with spots “fed” into online games. (2) Static product placements. (3) “Adver-games” sponsored by one company. The last costs the most, is the most complex and needs the most development time, Sanders said. Xbox Live’s annual movie and TV services revenue will reach $726 million by 2011 from $92.5 million this year, Emerging Media Dynamics said. Sanders declined to comment. In late Nov., Microsoft debuted movies and TV shows at Xbox Live Marketplace (CED Nov 24 p4) via deals with CBS, MTV Networks, Paramount Pictures, Turner Bcstg. Systems, Ultimate Fighting Championship and Bros. Home Entertainment. As videogame sales -- $7 billion-plus in 2005 -- rise so will product placement in games, said Sanders. Game companies once paid to use products in titles, now “it’s equally likely that advertisers are paying” to have products featured, Sanders said.