Cloud gaming key strategy and area of investment for Xbox

Sony’s recent $380 million acquisition of cloud gaming service Gaikai made headlines all over the universe yesterday, but it didn’t make much difference to Microsoft, apparently. Nah, Microsoft’s been in that business for ever already, and Sony is just playing me-too, me-too. That’s how MS sees it, anyway.

“The cloud has been a key component of our strategy and a big area of investment with Xbox for many years. Through Xbox LIVE we’re serving up gaming and entertainment in the cloud to more than 40 million people,” a Microsoft rep told GamesIndustry, seemingly suggesting (somewhat bizarrely) that Xbox LIVE is comparable with something like Gaikai. Cloud saves are the same thing as streamed gaming now? Oh, you.

“We’re committed to delivering extraordinary entertainment experiences across devices in a uniquely connected way through Xbox, Windows Phone, Windows 8 and other popular devices, and we’re looking forward to continuing to innovate in this space in the future,” the spokesperson added.

According to an alleged internal document leaked last month, Microsoft had actually planned to buy cloud gaming service (and Gaikai competitor) OnLive back in 2010. The document was later removed at the hasty insistence of Microsoft’s legal squad, lending some credibility to the claim. Whether or not that’s something that could still happen remains to be seen, but with Sony’s big buy-out of Gaikai, I’d expect to hear more about it very soon.