The amount of money companies put into game advertising is expected to grow from US$ 370 million in 2006 to more than US$ 2 billion by 2012. This data comes from Parks Associates report called Electronic Gaming in the Digital Home: Game Advertising.

While this may not seem important to most people, you have to realize that this growth rate surpasses that of other major advertising media, including TV, radio, print, and the Internet.

If the trend continues we may be looking at a barrage of in-game adverts from multiple fronts, not a good sign indeed. However, the director of broadband and gaming from Parks Associates Yuanzhe (Michael) Cai sees it in a different light:

Advertising in electronic games had an average monthly household expenditure of less than 50 cents in 2006, while broadcast TV was at $37, meaning advertisers are not using the gaming medium to its full potential. If executed correctly, game advertising can provide a win-win solution for advertisers, developers and publishers, console manufacturers, game portals, and gamers.