• Ad Age, Tuesday, February 6, 2007 11 AM

Digital media buyers had a lukewarm reception to the possibility that Google may enter the video game ad business. A few weeks ago, The Wall Street Journal reported that Google had entered talks to acquire the video-game advertising shop Adscape Media. Nothing has been said since, but media buyers said they have difficulty seeing how Google's simplified, automated approach to selling ads would be effective in the in-game ad arena.

In-game advertising can be anything from a simple 2-D billboard running in the background of a game, to a customized, immersive experience created specifically for one game. Buyers point out that these are branding opportunities, an area that traditionally hasn't been the province of Google, which makes most of its money from an automated technology that serves direct response ads.

If Google were to buy Adscape, the search giant may be planning to integrate Adscape's technology into image search. Or, Google may attempt to move into virtual worlds. Company executives have alluded in the past to the possibility of expanding Google Earth into a 3-D world, a la Second Life.

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