Online In-Game Advertising

By Derek Box

I clearly remember the first time I saw an online in-game billboard. It was during a Battlefield 2142 Titan match and I was sprinting across the street under heavy small arms fire from an enemy infantry platoon. As I whirled around to heave a grenade into their midst I was stunned by the giant image on the roadside billboard in front of me. I literally stopped in my tracks and stared at the image in amazement as bullets whizzed and pinged all around me.

In the middle of this raging global war for the precious few natural resources left on Earth was an ad for the new [at the time] movie "Eagle Eye." The funny thing is that the first thought I had was, "What a great location for this movies demographic, I wonder what the monthly rate is for this board?"

The enemy gunners shifted their fires, shattering my body armor and shredding my vital organs. As I lay on the ground waiting for my respawn timer I started thinking about online in-game advertising. I did some quick research and found out some interesting information.

Studies have shown that video gaming is mainly an adult-oriented form of entertainment and almost 60% of the U.S. play’s video games. Surprisingly, 39% of the people who play computer games are women and even more surprising is that 40% of online gamers are women. 35% of gamers are under 18 but 65% are over 18 and the 18- 34 year old demo spend more time playing games than watching tv.

Something to consider in the future when launching a new product or service.