• Next Generation, Thursday, January 25, 2007 11 AM

What does it mean if Google buys the video and online gaming ad-server Adscape? That Google is gearing up for the future. Many gaming analysts believe "World of Warcraft," with 10 million monthly subscribers worldwide, sets a precedent for the growing world of massively multiplayer online gaming.

Second Life is another such game, with nearly 3 million users. Fantasy games like Warcraft offer little in the way of advertising opportunities, but Second Life, as a world built by its users, offers marketers unique opportunities to engage them.

Still, Second Life's numbers are small potatoes for advertisers, which mostly use the world for experimental--and in some cases--hiring purposes. "Warcraft," with a larger, more targeted, and many believe, stickier, user base of 18-34 males, is much more attractive. Microsoft, which acquired video game ad industry leader Massive Inc. last year, believes online communities are the future of video games, one day providing them with subscription, add-on and ad revenues.

Short-term, Google's focused on casual gaming, says Next Generation, where the numbers are higher, the demographics are much broader and the ad platforms are traditional. Google could easily merge AdWords' display and video with Adscape's advertising platform to reach millions of casual gamers.

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