The world of advertising and video games has recently suffered a setback with the announcement of the closing down of Microsoft’s Massive, but on the other hand, we have Sony reporting a 60 percent increase in advertising revenues. Clearly, it seems as though more and more firms are moving away from in-game advertising to an in-game branded item/virtual goods solution. Such is the case for social games maker CrowdStar who recently announced a partnership with WildTanget to bring a similar solution to their titles.

Facebook’s second largest game developer, CrowdStar will soon feature WildTangent’s BrandBoost advertising technology in it’s top social games including Happy Pets, Happy Aquarium, and It Girl. Players of these games will have the opportunity to be rewarded with virtual goods and premium content in exchange for watching a video or rich media ad, all from the comfort of their favorite title.

“We created BrandBoost to allow brands to build a beneficial dialogue with social game players, and we’re thrilled to work with CrowdStar to provide this solution,” said Dave Madden, executive vice president at WildTangent. “By aligning the dramatic growth in social gaming with a scalable, engagement based advertising model, we are approaching an inflection point where social games can rival TV for marketers’ budgets.”

Part of the reasoning behind WildTanget’s BrandBoost technology stems from various papers and data that points out that although virtual goods sales are projected to reach $2.1 billion in 2011, a large number of players are not making ecommerce transactions. WildTangent wants to fill this void with their BrandBoost technology, offering brands an opportunity to play a much more active part in cashing in on online gaming. Through BrandBoost, WildTangent is able to offer advertisers the ability to support access to virtual goods or additional play time – both items that would otherwise be paid for in real-world cash.

“Branded virtual goods are a hit with CrowdStar’s gaming audience,” said Niren Hiro, CEO of CrowdStar, the leading provider of social games in the U.S. and Japanese markets. “Such items are a win-win for consumers and brands as the virtual items play a central role in engaging and addictive game experiences that create affinity way beyond traditional web advertising.”

According to WildTangent, the BrandBoost platform is gaining significant ground across the social gaming space, and can deliver ads to an audience of over 100 million monthly Facebook players. Not only sponsoring virtual goods or extra play time, BrandBoost can also deliver custom branded virtual items, and supports third party ad serving and reporting. Topping off the sundae, the ad platform also supports long-form video and social engagement activities.

With CrowdStar’s reach and sheer volume on Facebook, it should be interesting to see not only how the firm implements it’s first WildTangent based campaigns, but also how gamers will react to it.