The in-game advertising market will grow from $118 million last year to $875 million by 2009, representing a whopping increase of over 640 percent, according to an analyst from the Yankee Group.
Yankee Group senior analyst Michael Goodman, presenting at Thursday's Advertising in Games Forum in New York, said that currently more than 70 percent of dollars going toward game advertising are put toward developing 'advergames,' or games built around a particular product, rather than ads placed within actual video game play.
That dynamic with shift dramatically by 2009, according to Goodman, who predicts that $562.2 million will be spent on in-game ads in 2009, accounting for 64 percent of dollars spent. That shift will be driven largely by increased opportunities for spending as more in-game advertising platforms develop, such as Massive Inc.'s dynamic in-game network or IGN's recently announced move toward developing in-game ads.
Besides serving as a means for marketers to reach consumers in a still emerging medium, advertising is expected to play a crucial role in underwriting games over the next few years, as more titles increasingly require movie-sized budgets. Goodman said that currently, only 10 percent of titles release each year earn a profit.
By Mike Shields
April 14, 2005
Mediaweek
