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Could Google Become a Game Publisher?

Posted by Soulskill on from the either-that-or-they-won't dept.

Forbes is running a story examining the possibility of Google becoming a games publisher. The launch of their Google Lively 3D world and the acquisition of in-game advertiser AdScape has analysts speculating on whether Google will use its enormous reach to tap into the lucrative games market. "Google also has several existing technologies that could be used to create games. Imagine a flight simulator that uses Google Earth as a backdrop or tracking a spy in a major city via Google Maps' street view. While there would still be significant work required to create a game using these tools, the underlying technology is already fundamentally finished."

6 of 85 comments (clear)

  1. Good Lord by David+Gerard · · Score: 4, Funny

    For goodness' sake. They have your business data, your bank account details, your medical information, your DNA sequence and your personal preferences in pornography. Now they want your gamer chat?

    "Gamer chat: the unspeakable in pursuit of the incomprehensible" - Oscar Wilde.
      "stfu n00b" - Mark Twain.

    "LOL PWN3D G3T WOW GOLD ON EBAY.COM"

    --
    http://rocknerd.co.uk
  2. Google Games wouldn't be any good... by amdpox · · Score: 5, Funny

    ...after all, they'd have to run in a browser, would be supported by ads, and would steal all your sensitive information. And money. And clothes.

    1. Re:Google Games wouldn't be any good... by eln · · Score: 5, Funny

      they'd have to run in a browser

      Only until GoogleOS is completed. GoogleOS will run on the new GooglePC hardware platform, which you can purchase at your friendly neighborhood GoogleMart with GoogleBucks, which will replace most major national currencies by 2025.

      Of course, if you can't afford a new GooglePC right away, you can always get more GoogleBucks by installing AdSense to display context-sensitive ads on the forehead of your GoogleBody, which you can replace your regular body with free of charge (Google reserves the right to deep-scan your brain in order to more accurately target the advertisements displayed in your GoogleHouse in exchange for this valuable body replacement service).

      If you have any issues with any of your Google products, you can receive help on the GoogleNet. If that doesn't help, you can arrange a return by sending the item postage paid through GooglePost back to the GooglePlex for repair or replacement.

      By 2030, most major national governments will be replaced by the new GoogleGov (beta). Eventually, Google will work to replace various common words in most languages with "google" in order to continue the strengthening of the brand. This might initially google some minor googles, but in google most googles will google to the changes. After some google, life will google google google google google.

      Google,
      Google

  3. Re:Multiplatform by Naughty+Bob · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Gotta stick my oar in here- Whenever the old 'will this game run on Linux' question is asked, a bunch of, er, people weigh in with a load of pro-microsoft ranting.

    Fair enough, in that no serious PC gamer can really do without a Windows install somewhere on their drives.

    But they should realise that competition can only improve their own experience, regardless of which platform they chose to actually play on.

    I've played the same game, same settings, on both XP and via WINE, with higher FPS on the latter (though the other way around is more usual). Surely this should tell you something?...

    Competition is good for everyone.

    --
    "Be light, stinging, insolent and melancholy"
  4. Snow Crash by darkvizier · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I wouldn't say games, per se. But I definitely see google having interest in creating an online simulated world, ala Second Life, or more ambitiously, Snow Crash. If they are the ones to make something like that a reality, they could see immense business growth and climb far above any 'competition'.

  5. Already funding games via GSoC by morrison · · Score: 4, Informative

    Google is already a direct investor in games by funding open source gaming projects in the Google Summer of Code. Those participating this year included BZFlag, Battle for Wesnoth, Second Life (Linden Labs), Thousand Parsec, WorldForge, and ScummVM.

    That roughly amounts to Google directly funding about 8 staff-years of development effort into open source gaming this year. Pretty damn cool if you ask me.

    You can see some of the results from BZFlag's participation last year at http://my.bzflag.org/gsoc/BZGSoC2007.pdf

    --
    Cheers!
    Sean