In case you missed it yesterday, there was a very promising report released on behalf of Nielsen Games and IGA Worldwide. The report details the findings of a study performed by Nielsen on the reactions of gamers to dynamic in-game advertising. The primary finding of this study was that 82% of gamers react positively to contextual in-game ads and that there is no loss of enjoyment when playing a game with in-game ads.

Gamasutra has a nice little write up here if you are looking for some more specifics.

The Nielsen/IGA Worldwide study further reinforces the findings of the Massive Inc/Interpret LLC study that was released back on June 3rd. Both of these studies will more than likely deliver some much needed reassurance to game developers worldwide as they debate whether or not begin further integration of in-game advertising into their revenue models.

If anything, these studies may at least help take some of the sting off of the painful memories around the release of Battlefield 2142 and the backlash related to EA’s release of that game two years ago complete with in-game advertising. I think for any developer contemplating the integration of ads into one of their titles, the controversy surrounding Battlefield 2142 comes to mind.