Should you rethink your gaming mindset?

Marketers are quickly jumping on the gaming bandwagon but if you aren't careful, you could be missing the boat - even if you're placing ads in-game. Why? Because according to experts at the OMMA Gaming session, gamers aren't who you think they are.

by Kristina Knight

According to some reports, for example, console gamers are between the ages of 18 and 34. However, according to a recent Nielsen report, about 75% of those playing the Nintendo Wii in May were aged 6 through 34.

Meanwhile, in the virtual world (those playing games online), most research indicates that males between the ages of 18 and 24 were the primary players. But according to Makena Technologies, parent company of There.com, nearly 60% of their current registered users were female.

Why are the ages and genders of gamers changing? Most likely because of the new features added to consoles and online games. Users can now watch movies as well as play games, they can play games with friends via the Internet. Making games more social and including more activities makes the games and consoles more appealing to a wider base of users.

However, this means the same old targeting will not continue to work. Rather than targeting in-game ads only to young males, marketers should include younger and older demographics and should also include female targeting information.