Google Aquires Jambool

Well Google seems to be on a spending spree as it is being reported that they have just dropped $55million on in-game currency company Jambool. The company Jambool is responsible for their flagship product Social Gold which is an in-game currency for developers of social games to use. This comes after last weeks purchase of Slide and things are starting to look interesting.

Jambool, while being one of the leaders of in-game currency purchasing, recently had their business threatened with the announcement of Facebook credits where users will be able to buy in-game currency right through Facebook themselves which is in direct competition to what Jambool offers.

While the deal for Jambool was not as big as Slide or Googles recent investment into Farmville creator Zynga, it is being reported that Google has shelled out $55 million upfront with an additional $15-20 million depending on future performance. While Google seems to be poised to make their way into the social gaming sector with all these company purchases and take on Facebook, Android could see some benefit from this as well.

The Freemium business model has become quite popular not just on social sites like Facebook but also with mobile gaming with more games going Freemium on the iPhone and iPad. The Freemium business model means taking your game(s) and making the full version free for all users while offering in-game perks like extra content, special items, boosts to gameplay and more for a fee. This free is paid using in-game currency which users buy with real money. While this business model isn't new, it has recently seen quite the upswing when talking about mobile gaming.

If Google Checkout were to have Jambool's Social Gold product integrated into it we could very well see much more Freemium style games being offered on the Android market. Why wouldn't Google do that as Android overtakes iPhone in sales and activations, it needs to compete with the iPhone and iPad in the gaming sector with a much stronger baseline than it currently has.

Let's just hope Android sees some goodness come out of this as it will benefit both developers and gamers alike. So what do you all think about this? Is the picture starting to be painted clearer about Google's intentions or is this just another purchase that Google has made that really won't see any effect when it comes to Android?

Website Reference: PocketGamer

Developer Website: Jambool