Tools to measure ads in online games likely to lag until market evolves

Console-based video games have increasingly become fertile ground for advertising and product placement, so it's only a matter of time before online single- and multiplayer games are brimming with ads and promotions that might be tracked. Right? Not necessarily.

The announcement on April 8 of a plan by Nielsen Entertainment and Activision to track the effectiveness of advertising within console-based video games begs the question: When will advertising and promotion be monitored in online games? While online and wireless gaming via handheld devices and cell phones is on the rise, it hasn't reached critical mass yet compared to the installed base people who play console-based video games. And advertising and product placement within online games, handheld gaming devices, and wireless handsets is quite nascent.

According to Nielsen//NetRatings, 46.8 million unique visitors spent time during the month of March on online gaming sites which include properties such as Electronic Arts, Yahoo! Games, Microsoft Corp.'s MSN Games, America Online's AOL Games, Shockwave.com, CNET Networks' GameSpot, IGN.com, Kraft Entertainment, UGO Games, and MiniClip.

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