James Delahunty
18 Mar 2007 19:28
Google has stepped into the in-game advertising business with the acquisition of Adscape, the Internet giant revealed on its website on Friday. Financial details were not disclosed, but technology site Red Herring, previously reported the value of the deal to be around $23 million. Video game analysts said Google's step into the field could boost the business significantly.
"As more and more people spend time playing video games, we think we can create opportunities for advertisers to reach their target audiences while maintaining a high quality, engaging user experience," Google said on its site. "We think this rich environment is a perfect medium to deliver relevant, targeted advertising that ultimately benefits the user, the video game publisher and the advertiser."
Microsoft Corp. previously purchased Massive Inc. for $200 million, sealing itself into the market. Massive struck several deals with publishers including UbiSoft Entertainment SA, THQ Inc. and Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. to place advertisements in their titles. Many experts say that Google dropped the ball when that deal was struck.
Source:
Reuters