Alright, now for the serious comment. Google is a fairly innovative company. They're also the biggest pusher of online advertising the world has ever known. I'd be interested to see what sort of creative things they came up with... and I'd also be interested (in more of a negative way) in seeing how they integrate their "we know what you want, here's some ads about it" philosophy into gaming. Let's face it - if they enter the game space they'll be doing so in order to bring adsense to the gaming world.

What The Geek

Yea!! It's good to see the little guy stepping up and challenging big business!!

.... what's that you say? Google *is* big business? Millions a day you say? High valued stock you say? Maybe someone should tell google all of that - they seem to think they're gonna fight the corporate giants. Kinda silly - but I do enjoy a good old fashioned, out of touch execuquote - so bring it on Google!

What The Geek

Challenging "Corporate Mentality" by mining data and selling contextual ads?

Because that's the future of gaming.

hahnchen

I'd be interested in seeing what Google would want to do in the gaming medium. However I'm wondering if they would take the role of developer or publisher...or both!

NeoAkira

I never understood the appeal second life has, I guess i'll find out when home comes out. And if I like it, the i'll check out G. Lively.

Vashu

I have no real problem with anything Google is doing. I could see being concerned about their global take over if they were charging a dime for anything they do but they're not. Outside of some ad revenue, Google has seemed to have good intentions with everything they've done.

I, for one, welcome our new Google overlords.

bowlofpetunias

If not having crap like Lively or Second Life (or LBP or Home) is corporate then lets all wear suits, talk about leveraging and play games that are actually fun.

Recury

I like Google because most of their stuff is free. But I sometimes feel they are trying to take over the world because they seem to try and do everything. Soon Google will rule the world.

DiskoDanyo

@lucasreis: Agreed

DontCrossMyanimals

Google and Apple should just lick each others balls and stay out of this market.

lucasreis

@DontCrossMyanimals: More competition is always fine by me. New companies coming on the scene to challenge megapublishers like Activision Blizzard is a good thing. Also: I wouldn't call Chrome "mainstream." Internet Explorer, on the other hand...

Kegwen

google...grid.

you've seen the video by now. but why gaming? If this is just another way to navigate and do "pre-launch" activities that preclude gaming, not only is google following in the footprints of others, but it's doing so in to a space that most (real) gamers could care less about.

Unless this and PS3's "home" mark some sort of identity platform and marketing channel for (holding my tongue) those precious "casual gamers"

Nubius

You know, I think we found another situation in which we can apply the Borg metaphor.

The Great Aussie Evil

Why wont these company's just leave gaming alone! I fear a future of a gaming industry ruled by the same people doing our mainstream internet browsers, it's bad enough movie studios like Fox and so-on are getting or has gotten into the game industry just to turn their crappy movie franchises into games. Well actually... isnt Fox behind the F.E.A.R sequel? And Disney just put out Pure. So I could be wrong, and it's funny how Disney channel doesnt advertise Pure but they will advertise a Corey in the House game.

DontCrossMyanimals

@kitsuneconundrum: More like Google Not-very-lively! HAH!

...

icegoat

kitsune-chan, I'm with you.
I think Google shot themselves in the foot with Lively.
They should have gone for something rendered in the cloud like that one demo video thats circulating the internets

yuutokun

As far as oversized corporations go, Google rocks. So hold yer tongue.

The Amazing Exploding-Man

google lively, right.

kitsuneconundrum

I'm not sure I understand, do they want something similar to PS Home?

Ketch2k8

@Tull: More blatant than the billboards all over games like RB6 Vegas and Burnout and others?

I was playing Vegas the other day and while flying over in a helicopter there were 4 ads for AXE body spray right in a row.

THAT'S pretty blatant if you ask me.

bowlofpetunias

@skullpanda: Google products are mostly free because of all the ad revenues they get from search. Plus, gaming is a much different industry in that giving games away for free only looks great if the games being given away are actually worth playing.

Tull

@DiskoDanyo: They're more of the insidious type of Evil Empire compared to the Microsoft destroy all type.

Tull

For Google to say that they're looking to challenge gaming's "Corporate Mentality" is like the pot calling the kettle black. I know people who work for Google and while they still love working at the company and see more freedom in how they do their work they already see a certain form of corporate mentality. It's inevitable for any company the size of Google to have to create a more structured way of doing things.

Plus, it looks more like they want to bring a new source of ad revenues into their bottom-line and with gaming still in the infancy of in-game advertising they want to be able to get in while neither Sony or Microsoft has dominated the industry. Really, I think if Google made any headway into gaming we'd see way more in-game advertising and, more blatant ones at that, than we already see now.

Tull

@Recury: Littlebigplanet is "corporate crap"?

V1L3

Are people really bitching about big business stepping into gaming? I mean, Microsoft and Sony...?
Secondly, Google has this awesome business model. Free and quality products. Running almost solely off of advertising, while simultaneously making the advertising personalized and non-intrusive? I don't mind that. Takes the dollar burden off of me.
Not that I'm saying Goggle Lively doesn't suck right now and/or have a terrible name, but give 'em a chance.

skullpanda

@V1L3: 5 games in the past decade! Yes!!

dowingba

Guys? MS and Sony are both way bigger companies than Google. Stop bitching about this, everyone.

dowingba

"a 'corporate mentality' that's 'sucking the life out of what should be the most creative and innovative medium out there'."

ICO, Shadow of the Colossus, Beyond Good and Evil, Portal and Braid all managed to somehow survive this harsh, life-sucking "corporate mentality."

V1L3

I see no real difference between corps like Microsoft, Sony and Google. Though I am glad to see more people are getting involved in Gaming. Hopefully they will bring something really new to the table, but I aint holding my breath.

McPaper

pwnd.

lumpi

"sucking the life out of what should be the most creative and innovative medium out there"

Crazy.
Gaming right now is pretty amazing imop

matterask

@DontCrossMyanimals: Yeah companies like Microsoft and Sony have no business is games, they should leave it to Nintendo and go back to make their software applications or TVs.

Narishma

@icegoat: I c wut u did thar

prelude97

@The Amazing Exploding-Man: You say that now, but Microsoft used to "rock" also. Google is definitely headed towards dominance much like Microsoft, and they are very motivated by profit.

Sweetsauce

@dowingba: Actually, Google's market cap is a little over 4 times that of Sony's. Google's worth is 125 billion while Sony's is slightly over 31 billion. But then again Microsoft as a company is worth more then the two combined with MS having a market cap of 243 billion.

Tull

Google is the dude in a mech suit who still thinks he's just one of the guys...

We're happy to have him on our side, but when he comes and sits at the table, everyone eyes him nervously and starts thinking of backup plans...

fuchikoma

@The Great Aussie Evil: agreed.

Sweetsauce

@matterask: nah not really. I mean there's not much innovation going on right now, as far as it goes. There are a lot of sequels and upgrades coming but nothing really innovative, nothing worth a "oouuuuhhh" or a "aaahhhhhh"
I mean let's check the big games making the features right now or in a few months:
Fable 2 with alot of improved features, basically a KotOR made different, lighter.
Gears of war 2, shooter, with more meat physics, great.
Mirrors edge, a.k.a. half life with a girl and no crobar :P

I mean I know it's never only THAT, but if you take it dully, that's what it is, there's no innovation right now in games, LBP loks like a big Ikea Mario game to me. Do it yourself and jump over it afterward. :P

Phibius

Google and Apple both behave like this.

Google/Apple: "STICK IT TO THE MAN!"

Confused person: "You're bigger than most of the people you, erm, "stick it" to."

Google/Apple Fans: "Shut up, fanboy!"

Moonshadow101

I welcome Google to my monkey sphere.

SonofSeth

@matterask:

I agree with the statement from Google. It's a pretty big wasteland of sequels and EA cranking out boring shooter after boring shooter. For every LBP, there's 5 Gears clones, another CoD, another Tom Clancy game, more "survival horror games". Look at how they butchered 'Alone in the Dark' for a quick buck. Gaming with soul happened before "30 million dollar budget" games. Companies like Microprose, Sierra, Westwood Studios, Sir-Tech, the list goes on. That's when games had soul, personality.

I spend far, far less on games than I used to. Too much mass-produced garbage I have to wade through to get to the games that aren't made for the lowest common denominator and needs to "sell a million copies!!@#" to be profitable. That being said, I'm getting out my arms-length stick as I'm pretty dubious that Google will be our Gaming Savior.

malio

Google needs to realize that they've grown too much to claim being a little guy, underdog, company-on-our-side. Especially since they've pretty much walked away from their old "do no evil" mantra...

DarkWolf7

So how much longer is Google going to be able to get away with the "we aren't corporate - we're your friend" story? Last time I checked, they were a very large corporation dedicated to increasing shareholder value through increased advertising sales.

It's not like they are some hippie commune fighting the good fight. It's like Romney at thd Republican Convention complaining about "liberal Washington" when his party has been in charge for the last 8 years.

wheezo

Other than a goal that's seemingly world domination, what kind of corporate mentality are you referring to when you talk about Google's?
From GMail offering all of the most advanced e-mail functions for free (i.e. free IMAP vs. Yahoo's paid and inferior POP3), to bringing one of the most insane open-source playgrounds to the public (Google Earth), to trying to improve accessibility for as many people as possible, to news and RSS managers, to online word processors that export in a multitude of formats (including Word and PDF), to image searching, to an online library of books, to online video players (remember Google Video before YouTube?), to maps, to calendars, to so freakin' much more, can you name a single thing that Google offers (outside of posting your ads) that they make you pay for?
I would like to see some kind of evidence to back your condescending dismissal of Google's endeavors, Mr. Plunkett. You're coming off as a bit arrogant.

Mujah

"But courtesy of Google's corporate mentality. As opposed to Sony's or Microsoft's corporate mentality."

Well said. :)

Mobus