Posts Tagged ‘theregister.co.uk’

Microsoft in ads deal with Digg.com

Monday, June 29th, 2009

Microsoft in ads deal with Digg.com
26-07-2007
ENN.ie / theregister.co.uk
by Cian Ginty

Microsoft and news sharing site Digg have signed a three-year deal that will see the software giant manage advertising on Digg.com.

The text-based Google advertising that currently appears on Digg is due to be replaced in the coming weeks. Digg says it gets over 17 million unique monthly visitors.

“As the Digg audience continues to grow and diversify, we believe that this initiative with Microsoft, and the resources that it provides, will enable us to focus less on developing an advertising infrastructure and more on developing new and innovative features for the site,” commented Digg CEO Jay Adelson.

The new agreement follows Microsoft obtaining the right to sell and provide advertising for social network Facebook last August. Financial terms were not disclosed on this latest deal.

Federated Media, the current advertising agent for Digg, is to continue to work with the site in collaboration with Microsoft.

“It’s no secret that Digg is the kind of property — like Facebook — that was bound to get the attention of the Big Guys as they continue to play an ever more fascinating game of internet chess. That’s why I’m even more pleased that FM is continuing to work with Digg and with Microsoft to further Digg’s goals,” said John Battelle, Federated Media’s founder, chairman, and CEO.

In other news, Microsoft has also announced that its games advertising division Massive Inc has secured the contract for the display of adverts on some of the top games from publisher EA.

The five games — mostly popular US sports titles — are Madden NFL 08, Nascar 08, NHL 08, skateboarding game ‘Skate’, and Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08. At the time Microsoft bought Massive last year, the Wall Street Journal reported the deal was worth between USD200 million to USD400 million. No financial details of the EA deal have been released.

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Halo 3 hits 1 million pre-orders

Monday, June 29th, 2009

Halo 3 hits 1 million pre-orders
10-08-2007
ENN.ie / theregister.co.uk
by Cian Ginty

Halo 3 has already reached 1 million pre-orders in North America alone, making it the fastest selling pre-ordered game in history.

Over a month before it’s set to hit shelves, Halo 3, one of the most eagerly-awaited titles of the year, has apparently reached the million mark of pre-orders and set a new precedent for the video games market, according to Microsoft.

“What we’ve experienced is nothing short of phenomenal,” said Bob McKenzie senior vice president of merchandising at games retailer GameStop, in Microsoft’s press release. “Halo 3 has eclipsed many previous records and will prove to be one of the must-have items of 2007.”

Originally intended for a PC launch, the first Halo game went on to be the showpiece title for Microsoft’s Xbox console, and the series has continued to be a keystone title on the Xbox ever since. The third Halo game from Bungie Studios is expected to hold the same key place on the Xbox 360 console.

After some minimal online and “guerrilla” marketing Microsoft is now lining up large mainstream campaigns to push the game even further both in North America and Europe. In order to promote the game in the US Microsoft is making deals with large brands such as Burger King, 7-Eleven, and Mountain Dew.

“This September, Halo 3 will push video game entertainment into the forefront of mainstream culture,” said Chris Di Cesare, Microsoft’s director of creative marketing. “Teaming up with some of the world’s strongest and most recognizable brands is trailblazing new paths and cementing video games as big entertainment on par with major event films, and is a testament to the excitement and anticipation intrinsically linked to Halo 3.”

The game is to be released in three editions; standard, limited and ‘legendary’ — the extra edition coming with extras such as artwork and behind-the-scenes documentaries, and even a figure of the main character’s head. Halo 3 is due on 26 September in Europe and a day earlier in the US.

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