Stolar Powered: Google in for Games Development?

Writer Chris Morris over at rich-persons' organ, Forbes, has decided that Google's recent forays outside of its core search engine for its advertising revenue (the Chrome browser vs Microsoft; Lively versus Second Life and Home) means that the company's expansive reach could encompass game development.

More pointedly Morris points out that in, "March 2007, the Internet king acquired in-game advertising firm Adscape for $23 million."

Bear in mind also that Google currently benefits from the servicies of one Bernie Stolar as its "Dean of Games". Stolar was, of course, the president of Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) at the launch of the PlayStation before moving over to SEGA for the Dreamcast development - leaving just before it's North American launch. You don't employ someone like this purely to make the tea and serve the Hobnobs.

Morris also quotes Colin Sebastian, senior vice president of equity research at Lazard Capital Markets (a major league US analyst) as shooting the breeze over Google Games thusly, "Given all the employees they have and the company's policy of encouraging side projects, I would be very surprised if there wasn't somebody in Google who's not approaching [gaming] as an opportunit".

Let's face it, there's a huge market for games cash and Google has the firepower, it's not a stretch to imagine Lively becoming a larger cash generator if some decent development brain and experience is thrown at it. Time to step up Mr Stolar?

^{Source: Forbes}