• by Aaron Baar , February 2, 2010

If one needed any indication that video games were becoming big entertainment business, look no further than EA Games.

In the past few weeks, the company has booked television advertising time during the NFC Championship Game, the season premiere of "Lost" and the Super Bowl, all with the hopes of gaining a mass audience for franchise (or potential franchise) titles.

For EA, the decision to run on the Super Bowl (and the NFC Championship and "Lost" premiere) comes down to timing. Much like the "Mass Effect 2" trailer running two days before the game launched, it's no coincidence that the "Dante's Inferno" comes out two days after the Super Bowl. "It's a big chunk of your budget gone in 30 seconds, so the timing has to be just right," says Phil Marineau, senior product manager at EA. "But it can be a better return on our investment than a $2.5 million cable buy."

All of this high-profile advertising, however, underscores the big business that video games have become. With so much riding on the game's initial release, game companies are beginning to market a bit more like Hollywood film studios, trying to have a strong launch and extend the sales curve beyond the first weekend.

The strategy of booking appointment television -- such as live sporting events and highly anticipated programming -- is intended to broaden EA's ability to reach the "hit buyers" of games, who tend to only buy three or four titles a year, says Marineau. "By no means will this define the campaign, but it definitely changes things in terms of this game being able to break through into the mass market."

The Super Bowl spot advertising "Dante's Inferno," an adaptation of the epic poem which launches on Feb. 9, is the culmination of a nine-month promotional effort that includes a Facebook app, online advertising, and blogger outreach, as well as tie-ins, such as a book deal, animated DVD and action figures. "[The Super Bowl ad] serves as the capstone for our campaign," he says. "We've done stunts, demos, online. Now here it is. It's the most accessible piece of the 'Nine Circles of Hell' we have to show."

It may not be long before game companies are using the Super Bowl to tease releases that aren't expected for months, as the Hollywood studios have done for years, Marineau says.