Google is to [Internet] software as Apple is to hardware.
In that pretext, I say Google is to software because Google really does not have any hardware products except for Google Mini for Enterprise.
Google Games
So why would Google be interested in gaming? More advertising space.
We can clearly get past the point that Google is just a company about organizing information. Google is in it for the money.
With Apple slowly migrating into the gaming industry, it would really be no surprise that Google would do the same.
It was recently [100%] rumored that Google was going to acquire Valve Software, the creators of Half-life and popularly known Counter-Strike.
But, given that something is 100% rumor doesn’t make it entirely impossible in the future.
Google, not too long ago, acquired AdScape, an in-game advertising platform. This is the backing as to why I still do not think it’s 100% impossible for a game software acquisition to happen for Google.
Google ceratinly did not start out as a gaming company, nor a mapping company, nor a product shopping comparrison engine, or even an advertising company, but Google has evolved, changed, and molded into the company they are today. Anything is possible.
September 26th, 2008 at 6:58 pm
Yup. That’d definitely be a Googlistic move. However, I doubt that Google would be going for a company as large and influential as Valve. What would happen if a Google acquisition ended the Half-Life series in it’s tracks. I believe if they are to go into games, they would create their own small mini-games and build an online player base, such as what Jagex has done with FunOrb (www.funorb.com).
September 28th, 2008 at 10:29 am
In game advertising has to be picky. Too many ads in a game makes them unplayable, particularly those that Valve develops. As an avid Counter strike gamer, I feel that the current ads (1-2 per map) are the max tolerance that I could take.
Other examples where they might not want ads are
- adv of modern technology appearing on - Age of Mythology/Empires games :)
I agree that game ads in gaming make more sense. So the best real estate for
Ads should definitely be in social games/virtual environments like Second Life etc.