Google buys into in-game advertising

From the Evil Avatar forums and, of course, the (redesigned and very pretty) Escapist news, we learn that Google is venturing into the in-game ad space.

From the Escapist:

Thus far, the only confirmed forms of advertisement are Adsense windows placed within web games and potentially PC and console games in the future. Marketers may purchase advertising space for videogames from the AdWords interface.

I think the trick here, and the important thing for everyone getting into in-game advertising, is to find the balance between unobtrusive advertising and effective advertising. In my mind, the way to do that is to have either really relevant ads, or product placement.

It’s interesting that you can buy the ads from the AdWords interface. I’m curious to find out how those are going to get put into games.

I also strongly believe that if you’re going to subsidize a game’s production with ads (forever, mind you), you should drop the box price on the game. It’s not fair to pocket the savings and pass none of it on to the consumer.

Also, I’ll happily pay $10 more for a “no-ads” version of a game.