If you’ve been paying attention to pretty much any video game related publication you’ve probably already heard of OnLive. This service allows consumers to literally stream video games straight from the cloud to their PC or to their television utilizing the MicroConsole. This means that the instant you want to play a game, you’re playing it – no wait times, no downloads, no nothing just pure unadulterated gaming.
Another service has been in the works for quite some time that is looking to compete with OnLive known as Gaikai. This service takes the same general concept of OnLive (streaming games from the cloud to the consumer) and puts it all in a web browser. This means that instead of having to download a dedicated client as you do with OnLive, all you need is a compatible game browser and a fast Internet connection and you’re ready to go.
While the final product isn’t out just yet, Gaikai has just launched their beta for all to sign up. However, during the sign up process the company announces that they are “restricting game demos to a subset of users with the very best network connections”. In other words, if your broadband has been slackin’ as of late you may not make the cut.
In terms of content, Gaikai doesn’t currently offer much instead just a few game demos from EA incluing Mass Effect 2, Dead Space 2, The Sims 3 and for good measure, they also decided to throw Second life in there.
Unfortunately we haven’t gotten a chance to try out the game service but if you get a chance to do so please do share with us your experience.
