Analyst: Console In-Game Ads To Reach $850m By 2011

According to a new report from ABI Research, dynamically served advertising in console games is a growing opportunity that will see ten-fold increases to $852 million by 2011, along with similar increases in console downloadables to $1.1 billion in the same time. ABI research director Michael Wolf noted in a statement that "the incorporation of ad clients directly into game engines — and through connections to ad servers" represents the first time advertisers can reach through the "walled garden game network," and will bring the market from its current $80 million up to the $852 million figure over the coming 5 years. The analyst group also adds that in-game advertising is "just one of the new revenue streams that will come to fruition from the conversion of console gaming into connected gaming," with online downloading of casual and classic games through consoles also expected to grow from its current $93 million to $1.1 billion by 2011. “At present, all three game console vendors are investing heavily in online gaming and commerce infrastructure,” said Wolf. “While these investments are not profitable today, we expect mounting acceptance of the online channel as one of the primary mediums to get new content on the console, causing online gaming to become a significant contributor to revenues for all three vendors within 3 to 4 years.”