Video games will generate nearly $260 million in advertising revenue by 2008, up from $79 million last year.
Some $92 million will come from in-game advertisements and $168 million from Advergaming, the promotion of a product through a video game, according to research firm Yankee Group in Boston.
“In 2003, marketers spent a paltry $79 million on in-game ads and advergaming. Even if we add in the $450 million to $550 million spent advertising on game-related Web sites, this pales in comparison to $42.4 billion on broadcast TV advertising,” said Michael Goodman, Media & Entertainment Strategies senior analyst for Yankee Group in a statement. “That is about to change as advertisers realize video games are effective platforms for reaching consumers with their marketing messages.”
The video game industry is already a mass market comprising more than 108 million gamers 13 years and older in the U.S. who spent $7.4 billion on video games in 2003. By 2008, this market will grow to more than 126 million gamers 13 years or older, generating in excess of $8.3 billion in revenue, Yankee Group said.
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