The gaming industry has long been viewed as a second-class market by the general population for some time, with gamers being thought of as younger teens sitting in their basements playing Mario and Halo all of the time. Today though, that misconception is changing and IGA Worldwide president Ed Bartlett credits in-game advertisers for playing an important roll in that change.
"Aside from the tens of millions of dollars of new revenue it's brought into the industry," he said. "I think that collectively the in-game advertising companies have done a huge amount, possibly more than anyone else in fact, to challenge media misconceptions about gamers and the games industry.
"That assertion might cause a few raised eyebrows, but the fact is that the success of the entire in-game advertising industry hinged upon convincing the world's leading consumer brands that the gaming demographic was no longer made up of 12 year-old boys in their bedrooms. Probably my biggest single frustration is how few industry people even know or recognize that."
Though Bartlett is on his way out from IGA, he feels that the industry is heading towards a bright future.
"The industry is much more stable now," he said. "There is a standardized common currency for advertisers and agencies, a good understanding from developers and publishers on what is required regarding inventory generation in their games, and the market continues to make headlines and break records which gives brands confidence that they are involved with something which has longevity and reflects positively on their products."
In light of this, Bartlett also stated that he might be interested in heading back to The Bitmap Brothers. He even hinted at the possibility of returning to development again.
"I can't say too much except that I plan to get back closer to my roots in development again," he said. "It's been incredibly inspiring working with so many of the leading developers and publishers, however it's hard sometimes not to get frustrated with the missed opportunities. I also still really miss the buzz of putting out a new game."
[Thanks GI.biz]
