As I walk through the dense jungle, I suddenly hear them joking. "How could they be so careless? Well, we're at least 50 miles away from our nearest base, so they shouldn't expect an attack. They surely won't even know what hit them," I say to myself, as I silently check my silencer. "Only 4 of them, and plenty of bullets available. I only need one shot for one kill, especially from this distance," but as I get closer... I see it, and I just can't believe my eyes! "Is this really the enemy, or just some civilians deep in the jungle, wearing Coca-Cola shirts???"

All the above could be the thoughts of a hero from the latest shooter you bought for Christmas, since Google is making its move by entering the gaming advertising market! Just read this - AdSense for Games, and you'll probably be able to imagine how is the future going to look like. I can only laugh when I think about how far this could get one day, but its refreshing to find out that, for now, the Google In-Game Advertising program is limited to Web-based games. Pheeew...<-125x125 Button - right->

For now, AdSense for Games is targeting Web-based Flash games, but Android titles may follow pretty soon, as the games market for that platform grows. The list of advertisers who signed up already includes Sprint and Sony Pictures Entertainment, while ad network operators Demand Media, Boonty and Mochi Media became Google partners in providing AdSense for Games ads.

Double Fusion's CEO, Jonathan Epstein, said that this move from Google is "further proof that in-game advertising is becoming the mainstream multi-million dollar ad medium the industry has been predicting for some time."

I fully agree with him, and I only hope one thing - as I usually find Google Ads bearable, I hope that gaming industry won't turn into such an annoyance as TV, where ads are sometimes eating more of your time than actually useful content.

Before anything else, I must repeat one thing - there are games coming from Microsoft Game Studios, especially those belonging to the Age of Empires franchise, that I am crazy about. I don't have anything against Microsoft and their involvement in the games world, but I am always extremely amused by their declarations inflating the contribution to the gaming world. I usually call them "microlies," and today I'll tell you about their latest occurrence.

Right after his keynote presentation at the Tokyo Game Show, Microsoft's John Schappert said "The innovation criticism is almost ironic to me. You've got the Xbox, which is the console that pioneered hard drives, broadband gaming, online gaming, Achievements and gamercards. It's the console that arguably pioneered first-person shooters in your living room, wireless controllers...<-250x250 Square - right-> I could go on." To top it all with a nice cherry, he even said Microsoft games "shaped the industry forever." Oh, really? Good to know that!

While saying that Nintendo's Miis are "wonderful," Mr. Schappert claims Microsoft's introduction of avatars is far from a copycat move, being simply an extension of the 360 gamercard. "With respect to Avatars - Miis are wonderful. Nintendo has done great things. But avatars are just a logical extension of what we've had already. We've had a gamercard and a gamer pic; I want to take that to the next level. Now we've got Live parties, we launched the first video store... "

Sure - nobody denies the contribution Microsoft had to home gaming, especially by introducing the "gamer's delight" that is Windows Vista... but other than that, it's more about having the manpower and the financial resources to take something that already exists and make it larger, not necessarily better.

That's what I think, and I'm not claiming to be right, but before pushing me to the wall, take a look at the interview with Microsoft Games' John Schappert, and then get back here to tell me what is wrong and what is right. What do you think the gaming world would lose if Microsoft Games would simply vanish from the gaming history books?

I don't know if I recall it well, but I think Microsoft said a few months ago they have no plans to bring the Xbox 360 and a Blu-Ray drive together. Correct me if I'm wrong, nobody knows everything...but let's see what's happening with the Xbox 360+Blu-Ray combo, because things are changing a lot these days for everyone, it seems. I don't know if Microsoft finally decided to listen closely to its customers, or there's another reason behind this, but...

...the latest rumors are saying this: Microsoft got in touch with Toshiba-Samsung Storage Technology Corp, asking them to help with the Blu-Ray unit missing in action for the Xbox 360 users. Well, the rumor goes even one step further,<-125x125 Button - right-> saying that the price of the device is somewhere between $100 and $150. I don't know how much is this going to affect the price of the Xbox 360, but I am surely happy to hear that Toshiba is going to be in charge - if you ever had one Toshiba optical drive, I am sure you know what am I talking about here!

For now, there's no official confirmation of these rumors, but nobody denied them, either, so I guess the Xbox 360 & Blu-Ray are not very far. Maybe we'll have them together for Christmas? I can't tell yet, but I really hope to see this coming true...