The new Sky cards are built on AMD’s Graphics Core Next architecture and use RapidFire technology in order to deliver the best cloud gaming experience possible. The series includes three enterprise-level graphics cards, with the top-tier model being the Sky 900, which packs in 3,584 stream processors, 6GB of GDDR5 memory, and a memory bandwidth of 480GB per second.

The plan with these cards is to deliver cloud gaming to a number of devices, including PCs (obviously), smartphones, tablets, and even Smart TVs. The company said that they’re “working closely” with a handful of cloud gaming companies to build the best cloud-focused graphics cards out there. AMD announced partnerships with Otoy, Ubitus, G-Cluster, and CiiNow.

AMD’s new cloud gaming initiative comes a couple of months after NVIDIA announced its GRID cloud gaming system at CES 2013, which will allow gamers to stream games over the interwebs to their computer and other mobile devices, including the new Project SHIELD from NVIDIA, which can play graphic-intensive games on a small handheld. AMD’s plans for Sky are a bit scarce at this point, but we should be hearing more about it soon.

It’s ben confirmed several times over that games will be able to be purchased in physical form as well as digitally – both for some titles, in some cases. This means that there will, indeed, be opportunities for people to have a disk (Blu-Ray, as it were), play it, then pass it on to someone else with their own PlayStation 4 console. But a question remains surrounding licensing. While every major game console today (pre-PS4 and Xbox 720) is able to swap games and consoles without trouble, rumors and tips leading up to this generation’s inability to play games that weren’t licensed specifically to them continues to linger.

On the other hand, it would appear that each instance of an answer from Sony thus far has been traced back to Shuhei Yoshida, Sony’s head of Worldwide Studios. Saying in one instance that “[used] PS4 games will work on [the] hardware” (via Engadget) and in another that “used games work on PS4″ (via Eurogamer), in both cases Yoshida was unable to clarify further.

What may be happening is that Sony is still in negotiations with game companies to decide whether they’re going to implement disk/console tying or not. Another possibility is that none of this used game selling/buying and using business is complicated at all, but simply that at this stage in the development of the PlayStation 4, Sony’s representation simply can’t legally comment on it.

Have a peek at the timeline below for more information on the PlayStation 4 – and peek at our ever-growing PlayStation 4 tag portal as well!

The PlayStation 4 has been confirmed. It will have 8GB of GDDR5 RAM, an x86 CPU, an enhanced PC GPU, a local storage hard drive, a feature a supercharged PC architecture. Sony says the new PS4 will represent a “significant shift from thinking of PlayStation as merely a box or a console.” The PS4 will be a “gamer-centric” system, made by game developers for game developers. The gamer is in charge.

The new Dual Shock 4 controller revealed at the event gives players more in-depth control when they’re playing their games. It features a touchpad on the front that allows players to do many things, like control the player’s camera during cinegraphic events. It has a 3.5mm headphone jack for connection to products that will improve social gameplay, and a “share” button that lets you live-broadcast your gameplay to your friends on the PSN network.

The “share” button also lets you share games with your friends, meaning if you’re having a tough time in your game, you can invite a friend to help you out. Along with the “share” button feature, there is also a feature called “Remote Play” that lets you share games with others, or lets you play games from your PlayStation Vita device. If there are distractions in your general area, you can pause your game and switch on over to your PS Vita. You’ll start right where you left off.

The sharing feature is all part of Sony’s 5 key principles for the PlayStation 4′s UI. The principles are: Simple, Immediate, Social, Integrated, and Personalized. Sony’s new user interface emphasizes simplicity and speed, with everything you need to do only being a “button click away”. The user interface also emphasizes social gameplay, with Sony’s goal for the PlayStation Network to be one of the most powerful social gaming networks around.

While the PlayStation 4 won’t natively have backwards compatibility with PlayStation 3 games, it will definitely have it through the Gaikai cloud-gaming service. Sony and Gaikai are working together to bring a revolution to cloud gaming. Sony says that Gaikai is an investment in its players, and that millions of players would love to have all of their PlayStation games, from the past, present, and future, be available to them at any time. All of the old PlayStation games, from PlayStation 1 to PlayStation 3, and even the PlayStation Portable games, will be available in Gaikai’s cloud storage in the future. Not only will you be able to play these games on the PS4, but you will also be able to play it on your PS Vita, smartphone, tablet, and even PC.

Besides all of the new features and hardware shown off at the event, Sony also invited a lot of its partners on stage to show some of the new games you can expect on the PlayStation 4. There was Killzone Shadowfall, which looks absolutely beautiful in terms of graphics, and is complimented with intense gameplay, both of which will fully utilize the PlayStation 4′s hardware. Knack, which is a graphic’s intense game, blurs the line between story-line and gameplay. DRIVE CLUB, a team-based racing game, is filled with extremely detailed sports cars and challenged-filled tracks for all of you car-fanatics. InFamous: Second Son, an action-packed game filled with lots of killing and special abilities, is sure to bring back fans of the franchise as well as bring in a whole new audience.

Capcom showed off its new Panta Rhei game engine, which includes very detailed faces and realistic scenery, all of which will be utilized in its upcoming game, Deep Down. Square Enix showed off its next-gen technology that blurs the line between cinematics and gameplay. Blizzard announced its partnership with Sony, and that it will be bringing Diablo 3 and more games to the PS4. Last, but not least, Activision and Bungie show off Destiny, it’s new multiplayer, shared-shooter that will be available for the PS4 in the future.

While the PlayStation 4 event was jam-packed with new and exciting information, it was still disappointing that we didn’t actually get a look at what the PlayStation 4 will look like. However, from all of the features that we learned about, and all of the games we previewed, the PS4 looks to be an amazing and promising console.

For those unaware, Dave Perry from Gaikai is all about cloud gaming. From Remote Play, to Playstation Cloud and more we can expect tons of good things since Sony acquired them last year. While he was on stage detailing Remote Play, he quickly mentioned the backwards compatibility issue. Don’t worry though folks because you’ll still be able to enjoy those old classics, just through the cloud.

Sony’s next-generation PlayStation 4 cloud-gaming console will stream original PS1, PS2 and PS3 games all from the cloud. Using their upcoming and next-gen cloud gaming system you’ll be able to enjoy all those classic titles right from Sony. We don’t know all the details yet but the PlayStation Cloud Service will be the center of it all.

Interestingly enough we didn’t get any further details regarding compatibility and how this will all work. Will gamers automatically be able to stream games they own from the cloud? Or will we have to buy them again digitally from the cloud service and PlayStation Network. We’ll be looking for more details as they become available to stay tuned to our PlayStation 4 Portal.

Your PS4 experience is set to be a Shared Experience as outlined in the article we’ve just posted about Remote Play. Players across the world will be able to take over for you when you’re in the middle of a game – but that’s only one part of the puzzle. With Gaikai gaming technology, you’ll be seeing your favorite PlayStation 3 games being able to be played from your smartphone, your tablet, your PS Vita, and your PC.

If you’ve been following Gaikai, you know that they’ve been purchased by Sony (last year) and are now revealing that the work they’ve done is not just made for the PlayStation 4, but for the whole PlayStation universe. You can expect to work with games like Knack with its multi-player action and Hawken – already available in free Beta mode on PC – to be available through Gaikai’s software in the future for all devices. It’s time to stream!

Have a peek at the timeline below to see more information surrounding the PlayStation 4 and the abilities and features it contains throughout the day and into the future. Make sure you’re aware of the details piece-by-piece as Sony stretches this event into tomorrow, and the next day, and the day after that as well. This is the big one!

With cloud-gaming, and Gaikai, Sony will allow you to experience any game that you want. It allows players to try out games without having to purchase it first. This way you’re able to test out the game and see if you like it before you spend your hard-earned cash on it. Sony’s take on it is that they want players to “only pay for games that they fall in love with.”

Sony’s vision for Gaikai is very game-changing. It said that there are many titles available in the PlayStation 3 category, and even discussed the amount of titles available for the PlayStation 1, PlayStation 2, and PlayStation Portable devices. It’s vision is that one day, through Gaikai, all of these games will be available through the cloud, and be compatible with the PlayStation 4. This will “change the nature of longevity.” This not only confirms that the PlayStation 3 titles will be backwards compatible (not natively) with the PlayStation 4, but games from the older PlayStations as well.

The Gaikai Cloud Gaming service is still in-progress, and Sony says that its availability will be distributed in stages. Gaikai is revolutionary, with Sony believing it to be an investment in its players. It says that there are millions of players who would love to have all of their PlayStation games, from the past, present, and in the future to be available to them in at any given time.

The PlayStation cloud service does more than just stream games, you’ll also be able to share games with friends. Yup, if you get stuck and can’t figure out a situation just hit that share button on the new controller and invite a friend to help you out. While we’re still waiting for more details on their cloud service one thing is clear – Things are about to get crazy.

Remote Play works on multiple levels. From sharing games with others, to continuing where you left off right on your PlayStation Vita. This means everyone that has that awesome device can stream their game right to the 5-inch display on the go. If the kids take over the living room, or your dad wants to watch Monday Night Football – simply leave the PS4 on and continue right where you left off with the Vita.

Just like NVIDIA’s recently announced Project SHIELD you’ll be able to enjoy beautiful HD games with stunning visuals being powered by the PS4, but streamed to your VITA. We have a feeling we’ll be hearing much more on this, and hopefully Sony will also be integrating Remote Play with their wide array of Xperia Android-powered smartphones. The image above certainly hints to tablet support, although then that would skip over the possibility of selling more Vita units. We’re unsure how many titles will initially be supported, but they claim to eventually offer all PS4 games with Remote Play. Stay tuned for more details as they all come available.

Today’s announcement has NVIDIA backing Agawi True Cloud with no less than their own NVIDIA GRID processor system. Also joining in on the fun are PEER 1, Blue Box, and XO Communications, all joining together to bring developers an opportunity to “build games ONCE and offer any game, anywhere, instantly.” Quite the miraculous feat they’re attempting here as NVIDIA’s Project SHIELD nears reality as well.

When we first heard of NVIDIA GRID, it was a mind-bending experience to think about the possibilities inside. As Phil Eisler, general manager of NVIDIA GRID cloud gaming at NVIDIA speaks about this week, GRID K340 servers are one of the jumping-off points for the public’s understanding of what it means to work with 12 GPUs (in each server) as they usher in “the smooth, seamless interactive experience of a high-performing gaming PC on mobile devices”.

One of the most important points of this announcement is the fact that True Cloud architecture will, as Agawi promises, “eliminate heavy data storage and costs” for cloud gaming. With True Cloud, game publishers will be able to stream their games “from social to mid-core to AAA” in a much more affordable environment than any solution available before.

Previously, it was speculated that PlayStation 3 games would not be backwards compatible with the PlayStation 4 because the PlayStation 4 would be utilizing a new AMD x86 chip. The chip would be incompatible with the architecture in the previous consoles. Gaikai’s cloud-gaming service would be the solution to that. Also, it’s speculated that with the Gaikai cloud-gaming streaming service, PlayStation 3 titles may not just be limited to the PlayStation 4. It could be streamed to the PlayStation Vita, PlayStation 3 itself, and even tablets and smartphones. Of course, it’s up to Sony to utilize it that way.

Gaikai will not be streaming PlayStation 4 titles because the max resolution it can output is 720p. Streaming the games would also require Gaikai servers to be relatively close to Playstation 4 users, and for the users to have a great internet connection. Gaikai only has experience streaming PC games, so even streaming PlayStation 3 will be a new challenge for the company.

The PlayStation 4 is speculated to cost about 40,000 yen, or $400, and it will be announced at Sony’s press conference in just two days. There, we will hear the details of the console and all it’s glory. It was just recently brought to our attention that Gaikai would be attending the conference as well, leading us to believe that the two have a huge, joint announcement for all of us.

When we were introduced to Project SHIELD at NVIDIA’s press conference during CES, the company’s CEO Jen-Hsun Huang prefaced the situation with assurances on the future: “Next-generation gamers play literally on whatever they can, whenever they can. Just like we enjoy movies on multiple screens, just like we listen to music on multiple devices.” Though the delivery couldn’t have been as powerful as the initial reveal of the iPod, a revolutionary device for the music industry (referenced in the conference earlier as such), NVIDIA intended and intends to push Project SHIELD as a revolutionary device for the gaming industry.

We had a chat with Nick Stam, Technical Marketing Director for NVIDIA (as you’ll see above), in which we were told that not only is Project SHIELD a real project, but it’ll be coming to the market in the second quarter of 2013 as an NVIDIA-branded piece of equipment. Though the idea of creating a bridge between large hardware (PC and console) and small hardware (mobile) gaming may be more significant than the actual SHIELD device, the device is being prepared for a real release.

“What you’re seeing here is a Beta version that we’re showing at CES – and there may be some modifications to the physical design elements, some of the software elements, but our plan is to ship this Project SHIELD under an official marketing name in Q2. That’s our plan: in Q2 2013 in retail. So in retail and e-tail, with an NVIDIA name.” – Stam

NVIDIA has appeared in the news essentially the same amount of times for its mobile processor business as it has for its high-powered computing components over the past year. As we see them tie the two together with SHIELD as well as NVIDIA GRID for cloud-based gaming companies and NVIDIA GeForce Experience for high-powered gaming optimization, the circle can be made complete. With the continuation of NVIDIA’s rather successful GeForce GPU lineup and the new Tegra 4 mobile processor (also just revealed this past week) as well, NVIDIA has created a new ecosystem for themselves.

You’ll need GeForce GPU power to stream games from your PC to your Project SHIELD device, and though any number of games will work on the device from the Google Play market for Android, NVIDIA’s Tegra Zone will surely be the place where you’ll find the best of the best, optimized for the Tegra 4 processor you’ve got under the hood, made perfect for the physical controls you’ve got in front of you.

It’s difficult to say how much of an impact this device will have in and of itself as far as sales go – certainly not until we see the price, at least. The confidence with which NVIDIA presents this device as a knot that ties together its two major product lines – PC and mobile – that’s what will have the biggest effect on their future. No other company made such a unique product ecosystem presentation at CES 2013.

The world’s first custom-based reflex system lives inside this device, this understanding and knowing when you set the device down so it can stop rumbling around, and right on par with a dedicated Jambox – so sayeth Huang. This machine works with Android and is able to “drop back into Android” at a press of the SHIELD button right up front and center.

UPDATE: Have a peek at the construction video we’ve described right here front and center – and experience one of the more impressive looking reveal reels we’ve seen in recent history:

This amalgamation of gaming magic works with a 5-inch 1080p touchscreen display and has mini HDMI out, micro-USB, and a headphone jack for good measure – not to mention a microSD card slot. The whole system has one giant customizable tag on its back (or on top if you close the lid) – this being another “SHEILD” that, when this beast comes to fruition, you know good and well we’ll be blasting with SlashGear and Android Community marks galore.

Project SHIELD is set up to work with Android, so you’ll be working with Android games, of course, but it’s also connected to the cloud – so you’re able to play games with the same prowess we’ve seen made possible with NVIDIA GRID. Have a peek at more information on NVIDIA GRID from earlier today (if you’ve not already) in the timeline below and make sure you stick close to SlashGear for more on this device and the ecosystem that surrounds it all week long and into the future through our NVIDIA Tegra portal!

That would rely on the sort of cloud gaming technology already seen from startups like OnLive and Gaikai, where remote servers do the heavy lifting in terms of graphics crunching and powering environment-rich gameplay, and freeing up local devices to merely display the results of that processing. Rather than demanding that each subscriber have a $200-300 console, cable services could use internet-connected set-top boxes to display the streamed gameplay with minimal latency, navigated via simple controllers.

Unsurprisingly, none of the cable companies have been willing to admit they’re building up to an actual launch, though they’re making the right noises. AT&T says it is “exploring unique ways to offer cloud gaming services to our TV and broadband customers,” while Cox echoes that sentiment and claims it too is “exploring” cloud possibilities.

Although all are used to on-demand content delivery, they’re taking no chances getting cloud gaming right. Experts Playcast Media Systems, CiiNOW, and Agawi have all confirmed that they are in talks with US cable companies, though refuse to say which. Some of the cable firms are exploring using smartphones as controllers, further reducing the potential cost of entry to subscribers.

Meanwhile, console manufacturers aren’t standing still as smart TV solutions challenge their home turf. Microsoft already offers video content with Xbox LIVE, and will add SmartGlass to spread multimedia across multiple screens. More recently, Nintendo revealed Nintendo TVii, its new on-demand and TiVo-integrating home entertainment system based on the upcoming Wii U console, which will turn the GamePad tablet-styled controller into an advanced remote.

Of course, that statement was specifically vague, as OnLive didn’t clarify who its new investors were or just how many employees would get to keep their jobs. One of those fired employees has given a better idea of what’s going on behind the scenes, telling PCMag that “definitely over half” of the company’s employees were let go during a meeting on Friday morning. It appears that the employees who were fired on Friday won’t be getting their jobs back as the company makes this transition, as some employees received job offers on Friday while others received notices of termination.

Not only that, but this ex-employee says that those who were fired weren’t given any kind of severance package, only pay for their last week of work. Things seemed to have changed around the OnLive offices pretty quickly as well, with those given the boot being told to vacate the premises by the end of the day. So, things may not have gone as well as OnLive executives would have us believe, but as with every story, there are two sides to hear.

Indeed, there still is a lot we don’t know about this whole OnLive deal, and we’re hoping that things become at least a little more clear in the coming days and weeks. If what this ex-OnLive employee says is true, then that’s a real shame for those who lost their jobs. We’re hoping that’s not the case, but we won’t know for sure until OnLive gets a bit more specific – if it ever does at all. Stay tuned, because this OnLive story is definitely far from over.

Kotaku has spoken to a source from within the company, who says that OnLive has filed for a special alternative to bankruptcy that exists in California. Called Assignment for the Benefit of Creditors, it affords some protection from creditors to broke companies. This employee also says that everyone at the company has been laid off, though some of them will be returning soon to start a new business from the ashes of OnLive.

Over at Gamasutra, we hear a lot of the same. Gamasutra confirms that all of OnLive’s employees have been laid off, and that the mass lay off occurred this morning. OnLive officials are still being intentionally short when answering questions too, never saying much more than “everything is fine” or something to that effect.

It’s been a very up and down day when it comes to OnLive news. On the one hand, we have employees saying that the company is shutting down, while PR and executives are saying that nothing is wrong. Whatever the real story is, something is clearly going on behind the scenes at OnLive. Whether that’s simply a round of layoffs, a company-wide shutdown, or the formation of a new company is currently up in the air, so keep it here at SlashGear for more information as this story develops.

Update: OnLive confirms that it has indeed been sold to a “newly-formed company” The Verge reports. OnLive says in an email that all of its services and partnerships will continue on as normal, and that this company will be “hiring a large percentage of OnLive, Inc.’s staff across all departments and plans to continue to hire substantially more people, including additional OnLive employees.” Apparently, the reason why OnLive executives were being so vague and short in statements throughout the day is because they weren’t allowed to comment on the deal until it had been completed. OnLive did not name the company that has purchased it.

So there you have it: OnLive has been sold, a lot of people get to keep their jobs, and there is no planned interruption for any of OnLive’s services or partnerships.

Marvell’s ARMADA 1500 HD Media SoC is the star of this announcement. It’s a dual-core CPU with integrated Qdeo video processing technology, capable of more than 6000 Dhrystone MIPS. It also comes with support for 3DTV and full HD streaming to complete the package. Sadly, Marvell has yet to announce which upcoming Google TV devices will utilize the ARMADA 1500, so we’ll have to a while longer for those details to surface.

For the past few years, OnLive has been working hard to make cloud gaming the big new thing. The idea seems to be catching on, with some PC platforms like GamersGate offering streaming demos through Gaikai. Earlier this month, we learned that Sony had purchased Gaikai, so it may not be long before OnLive has some serious competition on consoles. Still, this partnership will make OnLive’s presence in the gaming world that much stronger, so it’s doubtful that the the company is worrying about its competitors (or potential competitors, for that matter) much today.

[via Talk Android]

Retail partners probably won’t be too thrilled to hear that, but it’s the way the industry is moving in general. Gibeau says that while retail is a “great channel” and that the company has “great relationships” with its partners, EA will respond to customers who want to get games directly from the source.

Naturally, the company won’t completely abandon retail: “[I]f customers want to buy a game at retail, they can do that too. We’ll continue to deliver games in whatever media formats make sense and as one ebbs and one starts to flow, we’ll go in that direction.” Gibeau goes on to say that digital is the fastest growing segment of EA’s business, and that the company is preparing for the advent of streaming games via the cloud from the likes of Gaikai and OnLive.

Sony has been talking about its “Four Screen” strategy since late 2011, with then-CEO Howard Stringer using the phrase to describe an holistic ecosystem of PC, tablet, smartphone and TV. Sony “spent the last five years building a platform so I can compete against Steve Jobs” Stringer said at the time, a platform that was just ready to launch the chief exec insisted.

The strategy was one picked up by Stringer’s replacement, Kaz Hirai, arguing that user experience and not hardware would turn Sony around. ”The foundations are now firmly in place for the new management team and me to fully leverage Sony’s diverse electronics product portfolio,” Hirai said when he took the new position, “in conjunction with our rich entertainment assets and growing array of networked services, to engage with our customers around the world in new and exciting ways.”

Sony isn’t the only firm chasing “new and exciting ways” to encourage people to stick loyally to its products and services. Possible candidates for an OnLive grab include HTC, which has already invested $40m into the company back in early 2011, though has so far failed to capitalize on that bar an abortive preload on the HTC Flyer. It’s also questionable whether it would go up against Sony on mobile gaming: last month, HTC became the first third-party company to sign up as a PlayStation Certified partner.

So, who else has a gap in its mobile gaming strategy? Microsoft’s Windows Phone has the promise of Xbox LIVE running between it, Xbox 360, Windows and the new Surface tablets, along with Xbox SmartGlass to sew up the multi-screen gap. That’s not to say a cloud gaming system like OnLive wouldn’t fit in there too, and the two companies have already been working together to some extent on OnLive Desktop. A hosted desktop in the cloud might be an interesting addition to Windows RT tablets, and bypass future need to develop ARM-specific Office releases.

Then again, perhaps Samsung is a better candidate. The South Korean company has already admitted that it is relatively lacking in software “competitiveness”; more recently, its new mobile CEO reiterated that “a particular focus must be given to serving new customer experience and value by strengthening soft capabilities in software, user experience, design, and solutions.” It has a cloud-based photo and video sync system, but no serious gaming option despite, like Sony, having a footprint in TV, phones, tablets and PCs.

Google and Apple are the two cash-rich heavyweights, and each might be a good fit for OnLive. There’d be no shortage of server-farm space with either, certainly, and both iOS and Android could certainly benefit from an injection of cloud gaming. For Google, it would also turn new devices like the Nexus Q and existing, struggling platforms like Google TV into instant consoles; the same could be said for the Apple TV, and Apple already has AirPlay Video for using an iPad, iPhone or iPod touch as a wireless controller.

Then there’s NVIDIA, though so far it’s shown more interesting in supplying CUDA processing to cloud gaming companies than actually owning one itself. Back in May, in fact, it announced a deal with Gaikai to use GRID processing to power streaming game content. Where that deal stands in the aftermath of the Sony acquisition is unclear right now.

What we do know is that gaming is going to be an increasingly vital element for any company hoping to take the reins of its future in the mobile space, and the cost of acquiring OnLive would likely be quickly outweighed by its value in that ecosystem. We can already hear the rustle of checkbooks.

Who do you think would make the best fit for OnLive? Or should the company continue to go it alone? Let us know in the comments!

Gaikai has reportedly been working with Samsung for the past nine months on the deal with the US launch set for this summer. The partnership involves Samsung buying bandwidth dedicated to the SCG from Gaikai’s 24 data centers and paying on a per-device basis. Any overflow in traffic will be handled by Gaikai.

The deal will be a way for Samsung to more quickly enter the gaming business to compete with Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo without having to push its own separate console. The Gaikai-powered SCG service will be free for users, however, it only offers game demos and not full versions of the games. Samsung is expected to start looking for beta testers very soon.

[via VentureBeat]

Image above from PlayStation 4 concept release post.

This next revelation is what we’re concentrating on now instead – the same sources that spoke up about the axing of a cloud-only PlayStation have stated that they will, indeed, be releasing the PlayStation 4 inside 2013. Analysts have spoken up over the past few weeks as well, citing early 2013 as the perfect time for a new console not only from Sony, but from Microsoft with an Xbox 720 as well.

Downloadable games have also been tested on the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play, an Android-based smartphone with PlayStation-like abilities and gaming controls. At the moment this device is the only Android released by the company in 2011 that will not be upgraded to the newest version of Google’s mobile OS, this sending what consumers are saying is a clear message on how dedicated the company is to supporting the device.

Stay tuned as more PlayStation 4 news pops up from all directions as we inch closer and closer to 2013 – just a few more months, right?

Sources indicate that the deal is close to being signed, and it has far reaching implications for the Japanese company. It would enable Sony to potentially offer PlayStation games on devices other than its consoles, such as Smart TVs, phones, and tablets. Gaikai recently partnered with NVIDIA and LG to bring its game streaming service to televisions, and that could be what Sony is hoping to do with a purchase of such a company.

It makes sense, with Sony already invading homes with televisions, tablets, and smartphones, so why not use them? The company has tried to PSOne games on Sony smartphones, and devices like the Xperia Play failed to take off, but unifying PlayStation games that would work across all Sony hardware thanks to streaming would be a smart play. Whatever happens, Sony is expected to reveal all at its E3 press conference on Monday June 4th. The live press conference will kick off at 9pm EST/6pm PST.

[via Edge]

The two Kepler GPUs on the GRID card will be able to crunch their way through the latest games without too much trouble, while CUDA performs H.264 video encoding duties in realtime. NVIDIA say that takes pressure off CPUs, reducing energy consumption and proving more efficient than other solutions. On top of that, the company says its fast streaming technology cuts lags down to just 10ms, although ultimately your internet connection will be dependant on how well you can play the game.

So what’s the plan beyond that? NVIDIA and Gaikai showed off a virtual console though, streaming games to an LG Smart TV controlled using a wireless game pad. It looks like the duo will leverage Smart TVs and Android devices going forward rather than offering dedicated hardware like OnLive’s Game System.

Several game developers seem to be onboard with the scheme, such as Epic Games, Capcom, and THQ, although it remains to be seen when the final app will appear. In the meantime, wander over to Gaikai’s website for a glimpse of the shape of things to come.

[via Android Community]

The boxed PC version of the Deux Ex: Human Revolution game was prepackaged with a coupon from OnLive that gave customers a free online version of the game to encourage customers to try the OnLive cloud-based gaming platform. When GameStop discovered this, they issued a memo to employees asking them to remove this coupon.

Many gamers wanting to purchase the title and to receive the coupon were outraged at GameStop. However, the publisher behind Deus Ex, Square Enix, has issued a statement in support of GameStop’s decision. Their statement reads:

“As part of Deus Ex: Human Revolution’s boxed offering on PC, Square Enix included a third-party coupon. GameStop was not made aware of this inclusion and Square Enix respects the right of GameStop to have final say over the contents of products it sells and to adjust them where they see fit in accordance with their policies.”

GameStop has issued a new email to employees asking them to place all the regular PC editions of the Deus Ex: Human Revolution game in the backroom, where they’ll wait to be recalled. The company has also openly stated that the OnLive service directly competes with its own streaming service that is still under development by its Spawn Labs Cloud Gaming Division.

[via Wired]

In an email from GameStop Field Operations Manager Josh Ivanoff, employees were asked to “Please immediately remove and discard the On Live coupon from all Regular PC versions of Deus Ex: Human Revolution. Our desire is to not have this coupon go to any customers after this announcement.”

GameStop has officially confirmed that it is pulling these coupons, stating that Square Enix, the game publisher of Deus Ex: Human Revoltuion, pre-packaged the coupons without first informing GameStop. When asked by VentureBeat, a GameStop spokesperson said:

“We pulled the coupons because, like all retailers, we prefer not to promote our competitors and their competing offerings and services in our stores. Unfortunately, the coupon was packed without our prior knowledge.”

Additionally, GameStop has its own cloud gaming ambitions as digital distribution of game titles is increasingly eating away at the company’s core business of buying and selling physical copies of games. However, OnLive expects to offer more combo package deals like this one that will give customers a digital copy that they can access anywhere when they purchase a physical copy. Some of those upcoming titles include Batman: Arkham City, Batman: Arkham Asylum, Space Marine, and Saints Row: The Third.

[via VentureBeat]

OnLive lets gamers stream games to their MicroConsole and play games off the “cloud” that is OnLive’s servers. It gives gamers the ability to play games at 60 fps on either their computer or HDTV. Homefront is a futuristic first-person shooter where North Korea has invaded and occupied the U.S. The gamer then has to fight back the occupying forces. It is one of THQ’s marquee games this year. You can use OnLive’s system to stream the game to your computer or use the MicroConsole and stream the game to your television.

“This is a watershed event: It’s the first time a game system has ever been given away with a purchase of a game, “said OnLive Chief Executive Steve Perlman. “Homefront is one of the biggest games out this quarter, and we wanted gamers to see just how incredible is to have the hottest title playable with the instant-play, massive spectating audience on their HDTV that is only possible through OnLive.”

OnLive currently has more than 70 games in its games library at the moment and if the company can add to that, it could start to be a serious competitor in the industry. The small MicroConsole is only about an inch high and is much more portable than other high-end video gaming systems. OnLive has been working on its server based gaming for more than eight years and recently inked a deal raising $40 million from HTC with the entire deal totaling around $1.8 billion

[via VentureBeat]

Sony and Valve (creators of Portal and now Portal 2) have collaborated on this version to bring the gamer what they consider to be one fabulous game. Gabe Newell, cofounder and president of Valve notes: “We made a promise to gamers at E3 that Portal 2 for the PlayStation 3 would be the best console version of the product. Working together with Sony we have identified a set of features we believe are very compelling to gamers. We hope to expand upon the foundation being laid in Portal 2 with more Steam features and functionality in DLC and future content releases.”

In addition to instant game saves vis Steam for cross-platform play, players Steam friends will be visible and accessible for game invites and chat. This is all in one package, and the game already looks utterly fantastic, if I do say so myself. Take a peek at a trailer or two below. Portal 2 will be coming out on PC, Xbox 360, and PS3 in April 2011.

Also I’d be remiss in posting about Portal if I did so without making sure everyone heard the closing credits song as sung by the writer, Jonathan Coulton. Behold a masterpiece. I hope he’s involved in number 2.

[Via Ars Technica]

The service, which offers unlimited access to OnLive’s back-catalog of videogames, was supposed to see a full launch starting tomorrow (as of the time of this writing), but for unknown reasons it’s been set back to an unknown date. The result is that OnLive is ready to set the beta onto all of OnLive’s users, allowing them to access the catalog free-of-charge.

Playback was only originally available for OnLive users on the MicroConsole, but now the beta will be open to everyone that uses the service. On any platform that OnLive is accessible. As of right now, the catalog has only about 12 titles available to play, but OnLive says that the content will expand to about 40 titles once it leaves the beta status.

[via BigDownload]

“Apparatus for video gaming includes a box having a slot with an interface that connects to a game card providing a platform to run a software video game. The game card outputs video game data through the interface at a data rate of approximately 200 Mbps or greater. A unit processes the video game data for output to a display device. A wireless transceiver is included to receive the software video game via a wireless local area network (WLAN) and to transmit game information to a remote player having access to the WLAN during interactive play of the software video game.” OnLive patent abstract

The newly granted patent joins the company’s existing portfolio – which apparently extends into the hundreds – and was originally filed on December 10 2002 by company founder Stephen Perlman. Core to the experience is the latency involved, which the patent describes as less than 80ms but greater than 5ms, so as to enable a “high twitch-action video game.”

OnLive began broadly shipping MicroConsoles earlier this month; that was followed by an iPad app earlier this month. A version for Android-based tablets is currently in beta.

Press Release:

OnLive Awarded Fundamental Cloud Gaming Patent

Acknowledgement of Over 8 Years of Pioneering Work by OnLive

Palo Alto, Calif., December 14, 2010—OnLive, Inc., the pioneer of on-demand, instant-play video games, today announced the US Patent Office has awarded the company a fundamental cloud gaming patent, US Patent #7,849,491. The patent is a significant addition to OnLive’s worldwide portfolio of patents filed by OnLive and its affiliate entities. OnLive anticipates receiving additional patents worldwide.

Cloud gaming is a breakthrough technology where video games run on remote servers, and users simply connect an Internet-connected device—be it a TV, PC/Mac®, iPad™, Android™ tablet, smartphone—and instantly are able to play the highest performance, new-release games with no discs, no downloads and no upgrades. OnLive’s patented and patent-pending technology makes the games almost instantly responsive, providing a gaming experience comparable to the games being playing locally, even though they may actually be running on servers 1000 miles away.

“OnLive is pleased to be awarded this patent as an acknowledgement of its pioneering inventions in cloud gaming technology,” said Steve Perlman, Founder and CEO of OnLive. “Hundreds of people have worked incredibly hard for more than 8 years to bring OnLive technology from the lab to the mass market, not just overcoming technical and business challenges, but overcoming immense skepticism. It is gratifying to not only see people throughout the world enjoying OnLive technology in the wake of so many doubters, but also receive recognition for such a key invention.”

The OnLive Game Service was released to the public in June of 2010 on PC and Mac, and on the TV and iPad in December of 2010. An Android version is currently in beta.

US Patent #7,849,491 issued after almost 8 years of pendency on December 7, 2010.

About OnLive
OnLive is the pioneer of on-demand, instant-play video game services, delivering real-time interactive experiences and rich media through the Internet. With groundbreaking video compression technology, OnLive harnesses cloud computing to provide the power and intelligence needed to instantly deliver the latest, premium game titles to any HDTV via the OnLive Game System or nearly any PC and Mac via a small browser download, and on the iPad and Android via the OnLive Viewer mobile app. The company is headquartered in Palo Alto, California. OnLive investors include Warner Bros., Autodesk, Maverick Capital, AT&T, British Telecommunications (BT) and The Belgacom Group. More information is available atwww.onlive.com.
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The company is partnering in this launch with publishers including Electronic Arts, Ubisoft, 2K Games, THQ and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. The games will also include new releases like Mass Effect 2, Borderlands, Assassin’s Creed II, Dragon Age: Origins, as well as a bunch of other titles. CEO Steve Perlman anticipates anywhere from a dozen to 25 titles to be available at launch time, and more after that in the future.

Intially the service will run on Macs and PCs as a browser plugin, but the MicroConsole TV adapter will be slated for release later this year, along with other devices. The service will stream at 720p, but 1080p full-HD at 60 fps will be added “as the bandwidth becomes available”.

[OnLive]

The other question was if the graphics of the cloud-based gaming service would be up to par considering it was going to offer some games with decent graphics for play. Some game geeks have spent time with the service and came away with the feeling that for some games and gamers the OnLive service will be good enough.

If you are a power gamer or one of the hardcore, the service isn’t for you according to the story. The crux of the story is that lag is a factor, image quality is an issue for those used to PC graphics, game selection is limited, and bandwidth congestion can really kill the system. Granted the OnLive service is still in beta, here’s hoping it improves a lot.

Reuters reports that OnLive has secured another round of funding to continue to improve and develop its gaming service. The company won’t specify how much funding it raised from the original investors including AT&T Media Holdings, Lauder Partners, Warner Bros, Autodesk, and Maverick Capital.

All OnLive CEO Steve Perlman will say is that it was a “large investment at a large valuation.” OnLive also says that the 100,000 beta users that have registered has exceeded the number of users it had estimated for the first year of its service.