Yahoo and Sony have unveiled initiatives to expand their provision of ad-supported computer games, with Yahoo planning to offer more than 400 such games by the end of the year.
Yahoo announced that in-game ads would help it and game publisher partners to benefit financially from the vast appeal of online games. It also hopes the move will allow advertisers' improved access to sought-after demographics, such as females aged between 35 and 54.
In-game technology providers, Double Fusion and NeoEdge, will sell and integrate pre-roll, mid-roll and post-roll video ads into the Yahoo Games catalogue. Paid downloads without advertising will also be available to users on Yahoo Games.
The worldwide in-game advertising industry is expected to grow by 1,150 percent to $971.3m (£487.4m) by 2011, according to US research outfit Yankee Group.
"In-game advertising is a win-win for Yahoo Games, our partners and our users," said Kyle Laughlin, head of games at Yahoo. "Yahoo Games will safely and simply monetise our games experience, while providing the best and most popular games free to game enthusiasts."
Jonathan Epstein, President and chief executive of Double Fusion, said the in-game ad offerings would allow it to reach Yahoo's audience of "18 to 49- year-old game-loving consumers".
Separately, Sony Computer Entertainment America and Sony Computer Entertainment Europe today announced a partnership with Double Fusion to deliver dynamic in-game advertising on Playstation 3 games.
Source: Brand Republic