Officially announced in New York yesterday, Microsoft has decided to shutter it’s in-game advertising unit, Massive. According to Microsoft, the technologies developed for/at Massive will be redeployed to their first party ad business, with an initial focus targeted at gaming. Redmond will wind down Massive’s operations, with the brand disappearing by years’ end.
The future of the now closed company will eventually expand it’s offerings and technology to other Microsoft opportunities, but the decision comes in the wake of Microsoft’s decision to work closely with the Interactive Entertainment Business (IEB) and continue developing and expanding the technology employed under the Massive banner. This development will seek to meet the needs of first-party gaming advertisers on Microsoft properties such as Xbox LIVE and MSN Games.
The news of Massive’s impending sunset arrived at the beginning of this month, with Adweek breaking an exclusive reporting the news, with sources coming from inside the company. According to author Mike Shields, Massive general manager J.J. Richards had already started looking for a new job, and that the reassignment of Massive employees had already begun.
According to Shelds’ sources, it’s rumored that Microsoft had been shopping Massive around to potential buyers, least of which included competing in-game advertising firm Double Fusion. Microsoft had been seeking a high six, low seven figure deal – a deal Double Fusion obviously passed on. To put this figure into perspective, when Microsoft acquired the ad agency in 2006, they paid anywhere between $200 – $400 million according to estimates.
Noted above, Microsoft already has an Interactive Entertainment Business unit, and while Massive held it’s own niche specialty, at the end of the day, it appears as though Microsoft was unnecessarily duplicating it’s efforts. Meaning, in 2006 when they purchased Massive, the topic and industry were red hot, with then Massive CEO Mitch Davis prediction that the in-game advertising industry would be a $2 billion market by 2010, a figure that’s never been realized. The rise in popularity with both gamers and advertisers of central “Hubs” such as Xbox LIVE for Microsoft and Home for Sony have contributed to Massive’s demise. Add to this the fact that via Xbox LIVE, Microsoft can keep the entire advertising dollars pie, while via Massive, they’re contractually obligated to share some of this pie with advertisers, the decision to close down shop at Massive was only a matter of time.
While it’s sad to see any firm close it’s doors, it should be interesting to see what the now re-deployed Massive team can do for Microsoft’s Interactive Entertainment Business. Surely, years worth of know-how and experience are sure to trickle their way into new Microsoft offerings.
And this isn’t pre/post roll ads were talking about here. Gatorade’s ads ran as arena signs, player’s water bottles, score updates and other call outs (verbal) – actions that only mirror a real-world sporting event. The Nielsen study targeted NHL ’09 and’10, NBA Live ’07, ’08. ’09, and NBA Street Homecourt, all EA titles.
IGA Worldwide has undergone a major restructuring, so much so that the firm caught the eye of T-Ventures. The terms of the investment were not disclosed by IGA, however industry rumors place the sum somewhere in the seven-figure range.
eMarketer states that advertisers spent around $144 million in 2009, and the 20 percent 2010 increase is based on conservative estimates, as eMarketer themselves point out that the social games business continues it’s juggernaut growth pattern.
Representatives from Double Fusion say that they’ve been working closely alongside 2K Sports developers to integrate the ads in the least obtrusive manner. Double Fusion says that they’re committed to delivering in-game advertising while still maintaining the contextual relevance and realism of ad placements at real world sporting venues.
The survey found that the most popular method of monetizing Flash games is still rooted in in-game advertising. The majority (58 percent) of respondents indicated that they use in-game advertising as their primary monetization method, with sponsorships taking second place at 43 percent. Licensing held down third place with 26 percent, and web site ads landed in forth with 20 percent. Monetization via microtransactions scored dead last in developers methods, garnering only 6 percent.
It’s no secret that there’s a very viable market in the gaming market, and Massive is one of the big three providers of IGA. They insert (in most cases) non-intrusive ads on billboards in urban landscapes for example, or slide up ads just above the scoreboard display in Madden – something very similar to what a user would see in this environment, or television broadcast. However, while the ads have shown to be popular and consumer motivators, due to the lack of solid data, and their relative newness, advertisers have still been weary to pull the trigger on launching campaigns.
Bundled into the new Fury DLC pack, Sony’s tapped IGA provider 
