Advancing trend: Ads boost vidgame revs

eeky gamers converged with DKNY-clad ad execs Thursday for the Advertising in Games Forum, touted as the first-ever conference of its kind devoted to the placement of ads in videogames.

"This really is the next step in the evolution of advertising," said Jonathan Epstein, an agent in UTA's Games and Interactive Group, during the opening panel.

Speakers at the forum, held at Gotham's Metropolitan Pavilion, argued that the massive amount of ad revenue earned by newspapers and television is disproportionate to the amount of time people actually spend interacting with them, as many consumers -- especially young males -- have turned to videogames. Keynote speaker Mitchell Davis, CEO of Massive Incorporated, an ad agency that specializes in placing ads in videogames, said gamers racked up a whopping 30 billion hours of game play in 2004.

Advertising in games can include in-game produce placements, ads on Web sites where people play games over the Internet or advergaming -- in which the whole purpose of the game is to promote a product.

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