New technologies make it easier for ads to be integrated with games and for publishers to build in ad-related content, which can be sold on the fly and for which payments can be collected.
Microsoft said it plans to make advertising a central part of its Xbox Live service, something that was discussed several times.
Advertisers might sponsor tournaments, Microsoft suggested. Xbox Live offers a spectator mode, and the software giant is hoping game tourneys could draw hundreds of thousands of viewers, just like professional sports.
One recent innovation panelists lauded was Sony Online Entertainment's "slash-pizza" command in the multiplayer online game EverQuest II. When players enter the command, they can order a Pizza Hut pie for delivery.
Another example is a partnership between Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications and Ubisoft Entertainment in which players of Splinter Cell use a branded cell phone to get out of dangerous situations in the game.
"You use it and the phone becomes the hero," told Brandon Berger, a senior strategist for OgilvyInteractive.
