Test Drive: Unlimited

Just 18 months after updating ad-platfrom Radial, in-game advertising firm IGA Worldwide launched Radial 2.0 offering a much wider range of ad formats.

According to ClickZ, ads can now go beyond the basic billboard, the standard unit in the previous version of the in-game ad service, to build TV spots or animated 3D objects that can be dynamically switched out. "If you walk into a room, on a table there could be a frothing can of Coke you can drink," said CEO Justin Townsend. "We have the ability to make that Sprite the next time a player visits the room."

With the revamp, IGA will be able to branch out from PC-based games and serve ads into other platforms, IGA's Vice-President of publisher relations Ed Bartlett told MediaPost. "We're also looking to the future, to mobile, and to consoles." Some games, like Atari's Test Drive: Unlimited will launch with the new platform.

Also on the list of enhancements are city-level geo-targeting, metrics for hard-coded ads, live inventory forecasting, enhanced data mining and an encrypted local ad cache.

A web-based ad booking system will smooth the campaign management process. "It's very similar to interfaces [media buyers] are used to using for other advertising mediums," Townsend said.