Senior execs cautious of digital ads benefits

Senior executives from Sony and Activision have expressed caution over supposed growth of in-game and digital advertising, despite counterparts from other digital companies such as Google remaining optimistic about its potential.

The current market for in-game advertising is estimated to be worth USD 670 million this year according to IGA Worldwide, but at the World Economic Forum in Davos last week, Sony's Howard Stringer and Activision's Bobby Kotick seemed sceptical of any immediate benefits.

"The [supposed] solution to everything at the moment in the digital space is ad-supported," said Stringer, speaking to the Financial Times. "While advertisers are happy to talk that up, there is a limit to the amount of money available," he said.

Kotick also said he's not keen for Activision Blizzard to chase revenues from in-game ads while the medium was still establishing itself.

"It's early days. I wouldn't go in that direction myself," he commented.

While games companies might be cautious of in-game ads, Google's chief executive Eric Schmidt believes that digital advertising via the mobile internet is likely to blow up this year.

"It's the recreation of the internet, it's the recreation of the PC story, it is before us — and it is very likely it will happen in the next year," he said.