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venturebeat消息:微软将关闭游戏内置广告部门Massive

发布时间:2010-10-09 16:20:02 Tags:,,,

据《媒体周刊》报道,因四处找不到买主,微软公司打算在本月底关闭旗下游戏内置广告部门Massive。如果这一消息成真,意味着微软2006年斥资2至4亿美元将Massive公司收入囊中的发展战略正式告败。

in-game advertising

in-game advertising

Massive总经理JJ理查兹(JJ Richards)将另谋他就,其部门的技术和销售团队将接手微软公司的其他工作。

据了解,微软甚至屈尊拜访其游戏内置广告竞争对手Double Fusion公司,希望以低于1000万美元的价格卸载Massive部门的业务。早在2006年,游戏内置广告还被视为具有亿万产值潜力的行业,但尽管Massive的业务量一直在增长,但这一市场的营收仍然不甚理想。理查兹去年曾表示,Massive已经降低原先的发展期望,并采取了相应措施来应对这一情况,比如说创造标准规格的广告位,使其更容易植入游戏内置广告。

massive-logo

massive-logo

这一行的发展前景似乎还不错,游戏开发商可以在游戏环境中预留一些空位,比如说模拟现实的赛车游戏中的广告牌,以便广告商通过互联网宽带连接将广告植入其中。但深受2008年全球经济危机影响,游戏内置广告业的发展期望大幅缩水。即使是Double Fusion和IGA Worldwide这类公司也难逃此劫,因此微软对这一行业的态度开始转冷。与此同时,微软的Xbox Live在线游戏的发展倒是如日中天,摇身变为更具吸引力的广告平台。另外,电子艺届游戏内置广告业务的崛起,再度重创了Massive。电子艺届今年已在《Madden NFL 11》这款足球游戏中植入广告,微软拒绝对此发表评论。(本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译)

Massive fail for Microsoft with in-game ads?

Microsoft appears poised to shut its Massive in-game advertising division. If so, it would be a huge failure for Massive, which Microsoft had high hopes for when it acquired the company for $200– $400 million in 2006.

Mediaweek reported that the software giant will shut down the division by the end of the month, having failed to find a buyer for it. Massive general manager JJ Richards has reportedly been seeking another job, while members of Massive’s tech and sales team are being assigned other work.

Microsoft even approached Double Fusion, a rival in-game ad maker, seeking less than $10 million to unload the business. Back in 2006, in-game advertising was riding high as a potential billion-dollar business. While the business grew, the market never approached a high-water mark. Last year, Richards said in an interview that the company had scaled back expectations and had taken steps, such as creating standard-size ad units, to make it easier to implement in-game ads.

The business seemed cool. Game developers could leave blank spots in the environments of their games, such as a billboard in a realistic car racing game, and advertisers could pipe ads into those spots via broadband internet connections. Gamers would thus see a different ad periodically as they drove past the billboards. But when the recession struck in 2008, it took down the expectations for in-game ads. Rivals such as Double Fusion and IGA Worldwide all suffered for a period. Microsoft stopped talking a lot about the business. In the meantime, Microsoft’s Xbox Live online gaming service has blossomed and is itself becoming a more attractive platform for ads. Electronic Arts also pulled much of its in-game ad business in-house, hurting Massive’s business. EAlaunched in-game ads with its Madden NFL 11 football  game this year. Microsoft declined to comment.(source:venturebeat)


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