It looks as if everyone's convinced that the Sony PlayStation 3's bound to make a comeback this year, and advertising companies are going to make a profit of it. They plan in-game advertising for the most popular of PlayStation 3 games. They may be hopping into Sony's bandwagon at the dismay of many players, but it's only because Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) has a plan that will open their next generation console to that opportunity. More at the full story.

  

Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) joins Microsoft in the in-game advertising business, after it announced the creation of an in-game advertising business unit within the company. Coinciding with the announcement was the appointment of consumer electronics industry veteran Darlene Kindler to the position of Director of Network Advertising.

Kindler, having spent 25 years with the likes of Nintendo of America, 3Dfx Interactive, and Adscape Media, will now answer to Phil Rosenberg, SCEA's senior vice president of Sales and Business Development. Her responsibilities will cover Sony's advertising strategy for products of the PlayStation brand and the PlayStation Network.

This isn't a surprising turn for Sony, since the online debut of PlayStation Home has been targeted for worldwide release. And though the service has been pushed back to 2008, PlayStation Home is likely to offer more content and services to appeal to a multitude of demographics - a prime market for advertising firms.

More on business news as we get them.

A few weeks ago, we reported to you folks that Google was negotiating to buy Adscape so that they could move their advertising program to the world of videogames. Well, a recent report by the Red Herring's Ryan Olson reveals that the deal is now official.

Google has apparently signed its deal with Adscape for a whooping US$ 23 million. However, as good as this sounds, the report notes that sources familiar with the in-game advert business comment that an Adscape acquisition would give Google little beyond a few potentially interesting patents.

Furthermore, the report adds that though the deal with Adscape is signed, it is not completely closed. Olson notes that Adscape's executive team will likely remain together until March. They say that we shouldn't expect the Internet search engine giant to announce huge in-game advertising deals with publishers anytime soon.

When asked for a response regarding the situation, Google representatives said that the company does not comment on market rumor or speculation.