E3 rumour: Sony to announce partnership with Gaikai or OnLive

It’s all up in the clouds.

Tarryn van der BylMay 31, 2012

In news that could be big news for the next generation of consoles, Sony is reportedly in the process of acquiring a “high profile cloud gaming firm”, specifically either Gaikai or OnLive.

That’s according to MCV, who seem to have a whole lot of insider information about Sony’s E3 show announcements. The site’s anonymous source is claiming that a deal between the companies is “is close to being signed”, and will include an “extensive” feature set.

Both Gaikai and OnLive provide cloud-based streaming services, offering users high-end gaming performance on low-end, internet-connected devices, including PCs, Macs, smartphones, and tablets.

The acquisition could be a huge thing for Sony, as it could theoretically open the PlayStation catalogue to non-PlayStation platforms, massively expanding its potential market. With Microsoft now holding 47% of the console market worldwide, this could be a total game-changer.

Yes, that was a really lame pun, and I apologise. Quinton, please don’t get the hose again.