In-Game Ads Reach Larger Than Expected Audience

A new study from media research and marketing firm Interpret suggests video games and in-game advertisements reach a much wider audience than previously thought due to factors such as rentals and multiplayer gaming. Prior to Interpret's report, the value of video game advertising had been evaluated via the performance of a game through retail channels. Interpret takes a different approach to determining a game's exposure, instead calculating the total number of people that have played the game and their demographic data. For example, Treyarch's Call of Duty 3--released by Activision last fall on the PlayStation 2, Xbox, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Wii--has sold over 2 million units, but Interpret estimates almost 9 million people have played the first person shooter. According to Interpret, though EA Tiburon's Madden NFL 07 (PS2, Xbox, GCN, PS3, X360, Wii, NDS, PSP, GBA, PC) has sold 6 million copies since its August 2006 release, over 14 million have played the football simulation. Of the 6.8 million the firm claims have played Harmonix and Activsion's Guitar Hero II on the PlayStation 2, they believe 56% are males between 12 and 34 years of age and 30% females within the same age range. “Retail sales capture only a portion of the total audience playing individual game titles, suggesting current in-game advertising deals which are primarily tied to these sales figures, under-value the medium” said Interpret CEO Michael Dowling. These numbers illustrate that "the impact of social game play, rental, used sales and pass-around is not inconsequential and can vary widely by game title/genre," he elaborated, noting "a more comprehensive measure of game play activity is crucial for in-game advertising to be seriously considered." News of in-game advertising's larger than expected reach comes just days after Google officially acquired in-game advertising company Adscape Media. In a statement, Google described video games as "a perfect medium to deliver relevant, targeted advertising that ultimately benefits the user, the video game publisher and the advertiser." Such "non-intrusive and targeted advertising," explained Google dean of games Bernie Stolar, provides a means "to make gaming accessible and affordable for all."