During the GDC, there was a Focus on Game Advertising Summit. In it, Kevin Browne (Microsoft) stated five traits of in game advertising that need to change for it to reach its full potential.
We hammered on this in a previous podcast, but it definitely looks like advertising is here to stay. My stance is still the same... I hate it... argh.(The Ideal : The Reality)
1. Dynamic and Flexible : Mostly static advertising
2. Broad Reach : Requires unique integration title by title
3. Accountable : Effectiveness is only measured by sell-thru
4. Easy to Integrate : Game teams pushing back, resisting due to it being a lot of work to integrate
5. Agencies Drive Value : Agencies have a very limited role
...
Later in his keynote, Browne said, "We could double the size of our industry if we found the right [ad-driven] models. Is this going to happen? I don’t know.”
--Raz.