• by Erik Sass , Staff Writer @eriksass1, March 17, 2010

Consoles will probably dominate the hardcore gaming experience for the foreseeable future, but they present problems for advertisers, especially in terms of scalability, as the different console makers are reluctant to cooperate in ad networks, according to the panelists at OMMA Global’s in-game advertising track. Matt Story, a director at Denuo, pointed to online, console-agnostic games on the Web as an easier, more attractive proposition, offering ubiquity, scalability, and receptivity:  “It’s in your social networks, it’s on your phone, it’s everywhere.  From a creative standpoint, it allows us to always have a message on.� Here the gamers “are in a context where we can drive them to a Web site, give them a coupon, that kind of thing.� In terms of receptivity, Sam Kennedy, editorial director at 1Up.com, warned, “As a gamer, the expectations are very different.  If I pay $60 for a game, and you start experimenting with ads that hurt my experience, I’m not going to be too happy about that.  But if it’s a free online game, where the barrier to entry is lower, by all means.�