Google makes in-game ad move

When Google acquired in-game advertisers Adscape in March 2007, it appeared as if the search-engine giant was ready to move its ubiquitous AdSense Internet ads to the gaming sector. Nearly a year and a half on, that perceived grand migration has yet to take place. However, that doesn't mean that Google has abandoned its efforts to make a move on the gaming space.

After reports from August that Google was on the verge of enlivening its in-game ad push, Mochi Media said today that it has partnered with the search giant to serve AdSense for Games ads alongside its own offerings outside of the US. Mochi, which specializes in serving ads to online-gaming platforms, will primarily offer high-quality videos as part of its Google deal, but the in-game advertiser noted that it is investigating image and text ads as well.

According to Google, it has signed with Konami, Playfish, Zynga, and Demand Media. Ad partners thus far signed onboard AdSense for Games include Esurance, Sprint, and Sony Pictures.

In related news, Reuters reports today that Google will begin selling games, along with other entertainment media, through YouTube, its popular video-sharing Web site. As part of the initiative, gameplay or other game-related videos will soon include a new button that will forward users to Amazon.com's corresponding product page, where they can then purchase the product that they were just watching.

YouTube may already be flush with content, but the video-sharing site will soon find itself with a heaping helping of PlayStation 3 content. In May, Sony said that it had partnered with the video-sharing site to give developers the option of implementing direct PS3-to-YouTube uploads in their games.