• CNET News.com, Monday, February 12, 2007 11:01 AM

Marketers, pundits and analysts have wondered why Google would even take an interest in Adscape Media, a company specializing in dynamic in-game advertising. Compared to Google's other media ambitions, in-game is small potatoes, so is this simply a contest of pride between Big G and Micrsoft?

Microsoft has Massive, the biggest in-game advertising company. The software giant plans to use Massive's technology to serve ads to games connected to its 6 million-strong Xbox Live online gaming platform, which supports both its Xbox and its Xbox 360 game consoles. Google and Adscape would be closed out of the Xbox market, but the Sony's PlayStation 3, Nintendo's Wii, and the Internet-expected to be the future of the entire industry-are other options.

To be sure, Xbox Live is a tiny market, but it reaches the elusive 18-34 male demographic, whose usage, according to Nielsen Entertainment, amounts to an impressive 12.5 hours per week. The online console market will also continue to grow for the next several years as next-gen systems are purchased in more households; how much depends on the quality of games.

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