• Mediaweek, Friday, October 17, 2008 11:15 AM

A lot of attention is paid in the trade press to in-game advertising (particularly this week, as it was revealed that Barack Obama's campaign was advertising in an Xbox 360 game). But one of the leading authorities on the category issued a warning this week that in-game advertising still faces significant hurdles to becoming a major part of anyone's marketing mix.

"I've been more bearish than bullish [on in-game advertising]," John Riccitiello, CEO of Electronic Arts, said. "There are hurdles before we get there, [and] those hurdles are not small." Among the hurdles: complex relationships that require that require in-game ad programs to be approved and implemented by publishers and multiple distributors, varying platforms, a lack of metrics, and the simple fact that consumers must pay about $50 just to play the games.

One bright spot is the increasing number of games that are being created to play on the Internet, which allows for much faster advertising insertion and turnover. Riccitiello said 2008 would likely be the last year that EA would produce games that would operate "offline only."

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