Sony buys cloud-gaming service Gaikai for $380M
updated 07:30 am EDT, Mon July 2, 2012
Possible inclusion of Gaikai on PlayStation 3, future consoles
Sony Computer Entertainment has bought cloud-based gaming company Gaikai for $380 million. The announcement, previously rumored to be made at E3, suggests the possible inclusion of the technology on the PlayStation 3 and future Sony consoles. It could also signal the possible inclusion of games from the Sony Computer Entertainment back catalog on Gaikai.
Running since 2008, California-based Gaikai was looking for a $500 million valuation in rumors last month. Competition with alternative cloud-gaming service OnLive saw both sides make agreements with other companies to offer their services to consumers, with OnLive recently being added to the Sony NSZ-GS7 Internet player and Vizio Co-Star, and Gaikai to be powering the Samsung Cloud Gaming service for Samsung HDTVs.
Last month, Sony Worldwide Studios vice president Scott Rohde said the company recognises that cloud gaming just makes sense and that cloud services in general are absolutely inevitable, with the cloud being seen as becoming more dominant in virtually all computing sectors in the next five years. A document from Microsoft leaked last month suggested that cloud gaming was important enough to warrant considering buying OnLive, which was perceived as a potential "threat" to the Xbox 720. [via The Verge]
