BitSnark

It’s a done thing – though don’t expect much from the deal until the PS4/Orbis makes it’s next-generation bow.

It was supposed to be announced at Sony’s E3 press conference but it was not to be; instead nearly a month later, Sony and cloud gaming specialist Gaikai have confirmed that a deal has been struck for the Japanese hardware manufacturer to own the Dave Perry run outfit for the price of $380 million.

The purchase of Gaikai includes all of their technology and infrastructure; effectively providing Sony with a ready-made large network of datacentres to deliver streaming content to its consumers.  More specifically, it fully enables them to branch out and create a full-on, bonafide cloud gaming platform.

Andrew House, group CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment had this to say regarding the deal:

“By combining Gaikai’s resources including its technological strength and engineering talent with SCE’s extensive game platform knowledge and experience, SCE will provide users with unparalleled cloud entertainment experiences.  SCE will deliver a world-class cloud-streaming service that allows users to instantly enjoy a broad array of content ranging from immersive core games with rich graphics to casual content anytime, anywhere on a variety of internet-connected devices.”

Cutting through the blurb, what this really means is that Sony will be able to supply a cloud-gaming service to its customers which would likely include the streamable PS3 demos and a smattering of PS2 and PSOne library content, as has been rumoured already.  Such a service would be a tremendous boon for the company as it would not only allow them to embellish the forthcoming PS4 and the struggling Playstation Vita handheld with a great new feature that would enable widespread access to a whole library of PSOne and PS2 content, it would also allow them to monetize non-Playstation users too; with the streaming service also being made available to tablets and smartphones.

I would also wager a significant amount of money that the service would be a Playstation Plus exclusive so as to further incentivise that initiative and get that many more subscribers on board.

The specifics for the deal have yet to manifest themselves, but until they do; the potential of the deal is blatant and obvious for all to see.  I’ll have more on this as and when the particulars become available, until that comes to pass however, feel free to try out the Gaikai cloud gaming experience by clicking on the Gaikai logo below: