NEW YORK Massive Inc. has secured agreements to serve ads within a slew of new game titles to be released this fall and winter for the Xbox 360 console, including two high-profile spin-offs of the popular Guitar Hero franchise.
Starting in October, Microsoft's in-game advertising subsidiary will begin delivering ads within Activision's much-anticipated DJ Hero, followed a month later by the similarly themed music game Band Hero. The company will also continue to place ads within the latest version of Guitar Hero (Guitar Hero 5), due in September.
Massive has also inked deals to deliver ads within the recently released boxing game Fight Night Round 4, published by EA Sports, as well as Activision racing title Blur, to be released in November.
In addition to these new games, Massive has renewed its rights to several popular game franchises, which are set to release new versions, including EA Sports' Madden NFL 10, NHL 10 and NBA Live 10, along with Activision's latest skateboarding-themed Tony Hawk game. According to Massive officials, the company has negotiated better ad placements in several of these titles, including Madden and Hawk.
With the completion of these deals, Massive claims that its network now reaches more than 40 million gamers. In most cases, Massive's partnerships are limited to the Xbox and PC versions of these titles (parent company Microsoft owns the Xbox) and does not include the PlayStation or Wii versions of these games.
More big deals are coming, according to a blog entry posted by Massive general manager J.J. Richards on Tuesday. The company is planning to host its second annual In-Game Ad Upfront event in New York this November. In his posting, Richards attempted to draw a favorable comparison between Massive's lineup of titles and the broadcast networks' upcoming fall season.
"Advertisers covet the fall television season for the opportunities the networks' prime-time lineups give brands to reach their target audiences," he wrote. "What many advertisers may not know is this fall [and winter] there [will be] a host of chart toppers that will help them engage the highly coveted male 18-34 demographic in a more efficient and less interruptive manner than traditional TV ads."
Nielsen Business Media
