Yahoo launches games service

Yahoo has unveiled plans to launch an ad-supported downloadable games service, says VNUNet.

The firm promised to offer more than 400 ad-supported games by year-end through its Yahoo Games offering.

Yahoo claims that in-game advertising provides advertisers with access to a "coveted demographic" of gamers.

Video game publisher Activision completed its combination with Paris-based Vivendi, forming a new company called Activision Blizzard, says Forbes.com.

Vivendi will own a 52% stake in the new company to be combined with Vivendi Games. It will continue to be publicly traded under the symbol "ATVI".

Vivendi CE Jean-Bernard Levy said in a phone interview that the combined company will benefit from Blizzard's leadership in online gaming and Activision's in the console games business.

Nolan Bushnell, who as the father of Atari is considered by many to be the godfather of video games, believes every advertiser should have a significant amount of money targeted at the casual video-gaming space, says Advertising Age.

"We know no one is TiVoing through our ads, and we know they're not taking bathroom breaks because there's not enough time," Bushnell said. "When you're looking down the barrel of six ads on TV, there's a lot of stuff you can do in that amount of time."

Bushnell serves as the chairman of the board for NeoEdge, which created the NeoArm ad-enabling technology and the NeoAds advertising network.