The January briefing from DFC Intelligence wonders if game companies will be able to make money off the recent online advertising boom (DFC Intelligence reports that online advertising in 2004 was just beneath $10 billion). The article points at digitally distributing advertisements to gamers who are online, but the counterpoint is that gamers who log their consoles online (connecting to Xbox Live, et cetera) are a fraction of the gaming population. The admittedly obvious conclusion that DFC Intelligence reaches is that advertising can only be maximized for games that are online. That's why we see ad-supported casual games popping up at different sites with a big sponsor behind them. Expect the trend to continue and escalate.

Can Games Capture a Share of Online Advertising Revenue? [DFC Intelligence]
A Real Flash Game

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