• by Shankar Gupta , February 7, 2007

IDG Entertainment has revamped its gaming news aggregation site, Games.net, adding new community features and an embedded video player. With the upgrade, the site will start offering video ads.

The redesign went live Tuesday; advertisers include Castrol, Comcast, Microsoft, Nintendo, Sega, Scion, Sony Computer Entertainment of America, Sony Electronics, Sony Online Entertainment, and the U.S. Army. The video ads now offered are in pre-roll and post-roll format, as well as "skinning" the video player with brand names and imagery.

In addition to the video player, the site also added new community tools that allow for user-submitted content, and updated site navigation controls.

The redesigned Games.net site will also be a hub for information about "E For All," a game industry trade show targeted at consumers. IDG Entertainment hopes that "E For All" will take up the mantle of the biggest gaming trade show, after E3, the Entertainment Software Association's show, announced last year that it would significantly scale back and allow only industry insiders. The ESA has endorsed the new trade show, and "E For All" has taken up the former site of E3, the Los Angeles Convention Center.