It looks like Sony is gearing up to fight Microsoft head to head in the cloud gaming business. We have heard today that hot on the heels of Google’s I/O Developer conference Gaikai, Inc. is being bought out by Sony. For those of you that either missed Google I/O or have no idea who Gaikai is we can fill you in on a few details. Gaikai is a leading company in cloud based gaming. Cloud gaming is becoming a big push with many game publishing companies as they feel that it helps to cut down on piracy as well as capitalize on the revenue stream of monthly payments like Netflix, Hulu and even HBO are doing now.We have watched as this technology has taken off and have even been along for the ride with companies like Lucid as they have worked to pioneer technology that enables this. It is an interesting technology and one that we do expect to see put into play more with the big push for the continuous revenue stream that cloud computing brings (yes it IS all about the money). Getting back to Sony, they now have a rather handy little weapon against Microsoft and Nintendo. This will allow them (if they are smart) to serve games to any internet connected device including Xbox, Windows 8, Wii and more as long as they do not get greedy. Can you imagine the impact Sony could have on game sales if they do the smart thing and out price Microsoft and Nintendo for true “online” gaming?
Sony has dropped a cool $380 Million to pick up Gaikai so they had better think long and hard about their next moves with their new toy. If they do the wrong thing (like tie it to PSN accounts) or wait too long to market this they could be worse off than they already are and with not much new on the horizon other than a better camera for their mobile phone line up…
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