• by Wayne Friedman , Staff Writer, March 23, 2009

During a OMMA panel “Gaming Comes to Play: Games as a Media Channel,” Brien Downie, senior digital planner of Initiative Media, says one major objection about gaming from marketers is that placing ads in video games can be “too niche.”

Some marketers believe video games can be young and mostly male. But industry executives say that isn’t true. Downie tells clients some games can pull in a half a billion dollars in a week, such as “Grand Theft Auto IV”: “That’s not too niche to me.”

Tina Liao, media director of Freestyle Interactive, which has Electronic Arts as a client, says the universe is 115 million gamers in the U.S. alone. She notes it’s not just for the young and maleâ€"especially when you consider all the casual gamers out there. Studies have show many casual gamers are mostly older women.