After much rumour and speculation, Sony has today agreed to acquire cloud gaming service Gaiki for the sum of $380 million.
The acquisition gives Sony access to all of Gaikai’s technology and infrastructure, giving the Japanese giant the tools to build and establish a brand new cloud gaming service.
It’s a massive move on the part of Sony, one that will get people talking about its integration into the PlayStation 4. The cloud service could be used to deliver Sony’s massive back catalogue of PlayStation and PlayStation 2 (maybe even PlayStation 3) games to customers, which would’ve otherwise required the console to be backwards compatible.
Andrew House, group CEO of SCE said:
“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.”
Gaikai CEO David Perry added:
“SCE has built an incredible brand with PlayStation and has earned the respect of countless millions of gamers worldwide. We’re honoured to be able to help SCE rapidly harness the power of the interactive cloud and to continue to grow their ecosystem, to empower developers with new capabilities, to dramatically improve the reach of exciting content and to bring breathtaking new experiences to users worldwide.”
What are your thoughts regarding Sony’s acquisition of Gaikai? Does this mean the PlayStation 4 won’t accept physical media? Whatever you think, let us know via the comments section below.
