Analysts at Screen Digest estimate we'll be seeing a lot more virtual billboards as companies throw greater sums of money at in-game advertising. A lot more. The UK-based firm suggests that spending on in-game ads will push beyond a $1 billion by 2014, accounting for about one and a half percent of total global advertising dollars spent.

This is despite what the firm refers to as "short term softness" of in-game ad spending so far in 2009. In fact, the company believes in its gilded heart that virtual billboards are here to stay, as they help reach groups of people who are "increasingly hard to reach via other media." So, listen rookie, those bullets the enemy are using are very real, so keep your head down behind that fallen Pepsi billboard over there and bring me a soda.

In-game advertising: sometimes we begrudgingly tolerate it, sometimes we hate it. Like it or not, IGA Worldwide claims that 36 percent of gamers exposed to advertising within games "bought or requested information of a product after seeing an in-game ad." And IGA would know, considering the company has partnership deals inked with EA as well as with Sony.

Additionally, the company notes that 90 percent of the folks exposed to in-game ads "recalled brands they had been exposed to" -- maybe that's where we get this hankering to snowboard through Target and blast through the Comcast Center? Check out the full IGA promo after the break for more exciting statistics on ... well ... you.

[Via VG247]

Focusing on riveting hot-button issues like "digital distribution, marketing, and in-game advertising," the MIT Sloan School of Management is kicking off its first ever "Business in Gaming " Conference (BiG) with BioShock magnate Ken Levine as inaugural keynote speaker.

We'll be there, Big Daddy statues and permanent markers in tow, and when we're not ogling KennyL we'll likely check out the panel featuring ex-Boston Red Soxer Curt Schilling of 38 Studios speaking about MMO business models. Hey, maybe he'll talk about that game his company's been making for three years! Code-named Copernicus? No? You don't remember that one? Yeah, neither do we.

Thanks to an ad market in turmoil as a result of the economic recession, in-game advertising company IGA has put itself up for sale. According to VentureBeat, the company is hoping to close a new round of funding, but chairman Justin Townsend has acknowledged that an outright sale of the company may be necessary for the sake of its shareholders. Prospective bidders reportedly have until March 27 to make an offer. Townsend notes that he does not wish to accept "low ball offers" for the company. The news comes after the company lost $11 million in 2007 with revenues of $3 million.

With the economy rearing its ugly head all around the gaming industry, sprinkling our dreaded layoffs tag in its wake, we suppose it was only a matter of time before related industries were affected. Whether IGA's fate is reflective of the in-game advertising business as a whole remains to be seen. Maybe IGA should use its in-game ads to advertise other games. Seems like publishers aren't too shy about advertising those.

Double Fusion, a company specializing in in-game advertising, has expanded its PS3 portfolio by securing exclusive "advertising opportunities" with new publishers: THQ, SEGA, Eidos and Midway. This announcement offers the first details of Double Fusion's partnership with SCEA to provide ads in PS3 games since unveiling their plan in July.

"One only has to look at the recent videogame sales figures to realise that games are the one form of entertainment consumers don't want to live without," states Jonathan Epstein, president and CEO, Double Fusion. "We are pleased to partner with and provide incremental revenue opportunities to game publishers by offering advertisers a variety of hand-selected cross-genre games we know will be a hit with gamers and the marketers looking to reach them."

Double Fusion will be specifically targeting male consumers, ages 18-34 in their various campaigns. Next time you play a Sonic game, don't be surprised to see him wear some Nike shoes.

How much did it cost 2008 US Presidential Candidate Barack Obama to put ads inside of Burnout Paradise and other titles? According to a Federal Election Commission filing (via Gamespot), Obama's campaign sent $44,465.78 to Massive Incorporated to run in-game advertisements, from October 6 to November 3, in 18 separate titles. The real winner of these in-game ads, of course, was Tim the Paradise City Street Sweeper.

Comparatively, the campaign has spent a estimated total of $205 million on TV ads, about $4 to $5 million of which was for last night's 30-minute infomercial on CBS, NBC, MSNBC, Fox, BET, TV One and Univision. Fun statistic: The amount spent on TV ads was 455,555% higher than in-game advertisement. According to previous statements, Massive had approached the McCain campaign about doing a similar advertising deal, but they had passed on it.

It looks like US Presidential Nominee Barack Obama is seeking out the oft-overlooked "virtual maniac driver" voting bloc. Gamers who fire up their copy of Burnout Paradise for Xbox 360 will notice that some of the bilboards now feature an advertisement from Obama that says early voting has begun and features the URL of his campaign website.

Electronic Arts Director of Coroporate Communications told GigaOM, "I can confirm that the Obama campaign has paid for in-game advertising in Burnout," while also noting that they accept ads from "credible political candidates" and that such ads do not reflect the opinion of EA or its employees. As recently as yesterday, Obama is still citing video games in stump speech about underachieving kids.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]

Hot on the heels of YouTube getting into the game selling business, Google has released some details on an additional game-based revenue stream: In-game advertising via Google AdSense. Man, what's with these corporations, lately? It seems like all they care about is making larger and larger amounts of money.

We're poking fun, but this could end up being really good news for indie game developers looking to make some cash off of their efforts. As long as they stick to the non-obtrusive interstitials like in the video below the break, we're more than happy to help the little guys put some cash in their pockets.

Clearly Sony has warmed up to the idea of garnishing gameplay with advertising, as the company has inked a new deal with in-game ad firm Double Fusion to deliver ads in games running on the PS3. The deal is Sony's second in as many months, following a similar partnership last month with competing ad firm IGA Worldwide.

As mentioned previously, the move, while contrary to comments made by Sony's own CEO Howard Stringer, keeps with the PS3's recently opened advertising platform, which allows company like Double Fusion to sink their advertising teeth into Sony's console. Notes SCEA senior VP Phil Rosenberg, "PS3 is open for the ad business," though we imagine that by "PS3" he really meant to say "our wallet."

Love it or hate it, in-game ads are here to stay, and this morning both of Sony's North American and European arms drove that point home, announcing partnership with in-game advertising firm IGA Worldwide. The move follows some vocal trepidation from Sony CEO Sir Howard Stringer earlier this year concerning the viability of shilling real word products in video games, concerns obviously muffled beneath the sounds of counting money.

Even so, the announcement was not wholly unexpected, particularly given the PS3's newly opened advertising platform, which was announced last February and allows firms like IGA to sell dynamic ads in PS3 games. Through this deal, IGA notes that it plans to offer clients the eyeballs of "16-35 year old consumers with disposable income," though the question as to whether or not gamers are inclined to run out and spend their money on whatever billboards happen to be in the line of fire remains a topic for debate. The bigger question, as we see it, is to what level Sony chooses to embrace in-game ads, especially given that two years ago competitor Microsoft went so far as to purchase in-game ad firm Massive for its very own.

Sony has announced today that they are opening up the PS3 with regards to in-game advertising. With the emphasis clearly placed on seamless "dynamic" advertising (read: no billboards in fantasy titles, etc), game publishers and advertising firms will be able to buy and sell space within games in order to reach the "elusive 18-34 male" demographic. They will be able to do this through Sony's in-game advertising partner, IGA Worldwide. This partnership exists with both SCEE and SCEA, so expect to see advertisements appearing on both sides of the pond.

The first company to jump on the bandwagon is EA, who has announced a multi-year deal with IGA Worldwide to include dynamic advertisements within EA's broad range of titles. This will include Madden, NBA, NASCAR and NHL as well as games such as Burnout and Need For Speed. Intriguingly, these adverts can be updated in realtime, "keeping ads fresh and relevant to each gamer" whilst maintaining "an authentic gaming experience." We don't really have a problem with adverts within games, as long as they truly are seamless (much like the product placement in MGS4). Hopefully this will make the PS3 an even more attractive platform for developers.

[Via Press Release]

Codemasters and in-game ad firm Engage have announced that the upcoming Race Driver: GRID will feature integration with the eBay Motors marketplace, allowing players to buy and sell in-game vehicles in a "realistic setting." GRID's love affair with eBay doesn't stop there, with the online auction house also sponsoring a race series in the game called "The eBay Motor Muscle Series," allowing players to the race the eBay Motors Mustang GTR concept car in downtown San Francisco, Long Beach, Washington D.C. and Detroit.

Codemasters describes the inclusion of the eBay Motors marketplace as an "essential element" and "a revolving plot point" in GRID which players will use to "continually upgrade or swap out vehicles," though whether or not sniping auctions out from under other drivers will be included remains to be seen.

Gearbox Software (Brothers in Arms series) has announced that it has inked a deal with Double Fusion to have them provide in-game advertising for upcoming titles (via Develop). Double Fusion has previously signed with Eidos, Midway and Take Two, among others.

No details on what future Gearbox titles will use in-game ads. Sometimes we wish the in-game ad deals were as outlandish as our Photoshop jobs. Imagine if Borderlands was renamed Burgerlands and featured a dozen Burger King soldiers playing "Capture the Whopper" with futuristic guns and war machines. Or Aliens: Colonies could let you take heartburn medicine to ward off chest-bursters.

In-game advertising. Just saying the words invoke anger to Bruce Banner proportions for some gamers. Today EA and Massive announced a two-year extension you should probably go shopping for purple shorts.

Bringing advertising to such EA hits as Burnout, Madden, NBA Live, NHL and Nascar to the Xbox 360 and PC means that Microsoft owned in-game ad firm Massive and EA will continue to mask our gaming worlds with ads marketed for 18 to 34 year-old males. Gamers from other consoles shouldn't consider themselves lucky though, soon enough Xbox 360 owners will be able to download the Burger King Whopper Launcher in Army of Two for a mere 250 MS Points*!

*Oh, I hope that joke doesn't come back to bite us.

[Via Joystiq]

Competition ahoy! Even though CEO Sir Howard "young people don't like advertising very much" Stringer is skeptical of in-game advertising, that hasn't stopped Sony from pursuing that path with some determination. After appointing Darlene Kindler to head up their in-game advertising efforts last October, AdAge is reporting that Sony will be "opening up" the PlayStation 3's advertising platform, allowing in-game advertisers Double Fusion, IGA, and Google's AdScape to sell dynamic ads.

Two years ago, Microsoft acquired in-game ad firm Massive which powers in-game advertising on the Xbox 360 platform. Sony's model is a "clear departure" from that – eMarketer's James Belcher says, "Making things open only makes things better for marketers or people who want to place ads because they aren't the mercy of a given network." With "baked in" ads, and competing dynamic services on the Xbox 360 and PS3 platforms, the reportedly $400 million game advertising business is going to become increasingly visible (for better or worse).