AOL has relaunched its online gaming site Games.com offering new in-game community features and—part and parcel of AOL’s makeover into an online advertising company—substantially revved-up integrated advertising.
“The newly relaunched Games.com is the ideal portal for advertisers to target an engaged audience,” said vie president of AOL Games Ralph Rivera, in a statement.. “The site’s current and expanding game roster and easier navigational capabilities will make it a mainstay for gamers of all ages.”
The new site enables users to offer their own reviews, ratings, and gaming tips, and currently offers more than 400 online and downloadable games, with another 20 single and multiplayer exclusive online games due by the end of the year. (One of the new games is multiplayer Solitaire…figure that one out.) The site plans to add new puzzle games, card and board games, as well as casino-style games, and offer tournament functions, a prize system, and player profiles.
AOL is hoping the new Games.com will catch on with casual gamers and prove to be a “sticky” site where users spend a lot of time: that would be a boon for its online advertising business, which AOL has shoehorned into the new site with a vengeance, including deep in-game advertising in online games and pre-roll ads that appear before games. AOL is also hoping Games.com will appeal to a broad demographic spanning all age groups, while it keeps its games.aol.com site targeted at “traditional” adult gamers.
