Microsoft gets Massive, moves into video game advertising

Redmond (WA) - As was suspected last week, and reported in The Wall Street Journal and TG Daily, Microsoft has confirmed it has acquired New York-based in-game advertising services company Massive Inc. No price tag has been announced, though the Journal speculated that Microsoft could have spent between $200 million and $400 million.

The move opens up a world of virtual billboards, including 3D-rendered soft drink dispensers and virtual warning labels on unreal firearms, for advertising to be served through what will now be a Microsoft division. The Massive team will continue to operate through its New York office.

In a statement this afternoon, Joanne Bradford, Microsoft’s chief media revenue officer (CMRO), implied the investment helps Microsoft address an untapped market, an unforeseen wilderness, a vast, untamed forest of the unheard : young males. "Advertisers are having a tough time connecting with the elusive 18- to 34-year-old male demographic," Bradford said, "because this group continues to spend less time watching TV and more time playing video games. Massive and Microsoft can help lead with our shared vision of delivering more targeted, measurable and effective opportunities for advertisers to reach today’s youth audience in a largely untapped market."

If Microsoft paid top dollar for Massive, then the investment leaves, borrowing Merrill Lynch analysts’ estimates, less than $2 billion for further investment in any other untapped wilderness in, of, or around the Internet.