Aug 24, 2007 6:02 AM, PROMO Xtra

The growing use of the Internet to play video games is giving companies new reason to insert their marketing messages there.

That notion is contributing the explosion of in-game advertising, especially in the console gaming. The tactic on console platforms is projected to hit to $80 million this year, according to a recent ABI Research study. And by 2011, that number is estimated to reach $850 million by 2011, a new study found.

"Console vendors and game publishers view gaming services as an ever-more attractive 'channel' to reach an active demographic," research director Michael Wolf said in a statement. "In the past, static advertising meant that publishers and their ad partners could not create real-time marketing messages. With the incorporation of ad clients directly into game engines—and through connections to ad servers—advertisers will be able to deliver advertising that reaches audiences in-game and through the walled garden game network."

The study, "Console and Handheld Online Gaming," found that the casual game market is also expected to increase. The casual and classic game download market for gaming consoles is projected to grow tenfold from $93 million in this year to $1.1 billion by 2011, ABI Research forecasts.

The report, available at abiresearch.com explores the conditions in the online gaming markets for consoles and handhelds platforms.

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