Sony announced earlier today that they’re buying the game streaming service Gaikai for $380 million. Andrew House, President and Group CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment explained that the eventual goal is to “provide users with unparalleled cloud entertainment experiences.” There’s no word on if this means a Gaikai like service will make it to the PS3 and Vita, or if we’ll have to wait until the next generation of consoles.
The folks over at Joystiq also bring up a good point regarding Gaikai’s existing partnerships with other television manufacturers. Announced earlier this year, LG’s Cinema 3D TVs were set to have Gaikai apps, and it’s unclear what affect Sony’s purchase will have on this.
There were rumors circulating in the weeks before E3 that Sony had a deal with either OnLive or Gaikai, both game streaming services, but Sony refused to comment on the matter. Once the Sony press conference revealed no deal, it was thought the topic had been put to rest. That being said, it’s great to see one of the major console manufacturers taking a chance with a streaming service, but the PlayStation Network is not known for it’s reliable speeds.
If Sony released a Gaikai application for the PS3, would you use it? Do you think this is a score for Sony, or a mistake? Leave a comment or head over to the forums to let us know.