Google will play with Microsoft

21st March 2007

Adscape Media, which has become a part of Google, is a small company based in San Francisco. The development achievement is the establishment of a unique engine allowing to place advertising in the games taking into account age and geographical factors. For advertisers Adscape Media product allows to receive enhanced statistics of transfers allowing them to accurately analyze and identify the target audience. New acquisition, according to some estimates, costs Google $ 23 million, although the company itself refused to disclose the sum. In addition to the developers team, who form the base of Adscape Media, Google will have access to customers start-up - advertisers and games developers. This is particularly important considering, that Google only begins to adapting to the game advertising market. No details and plans for the integration of new advertising opportunities with the existing platform Google AdSense were reported. Googleâ€™s competitor at the market of online-advertising, Microsoft paid attention to gamers in summer 2006 by buying the company Massive Inc, one of the leaders in this area. The transactionâ€™s cost was about $ 200 million. At present, the Massive Inc clients base is much higher than competitorâ€™s - among advertisers using Microsoft are such companies as Coca-Cola and Honda. However, in-game advertising market in on the stage of its infancy now, thus, it is relevant to speak of its coming redivision. Experts alo consider advertising in the games as quite prospective. â€œIn advertisers point of view, games are a very powerful tool for gaining new customers, - says Erin Hunter, vice president of comScore, - and active gamers treat advertising quite loyally, if it is related to the game context.â€His words were confirmed by statistics - according to the Park Associates in the coming years in- game advertising market will exceed $ 600 million.