Sony Corporation (NYSE:SNE) (TYO:6758) confirmed its acquisition of the cloud gaming Gaikai for $380 million in an all-shares transaction. The actual purchase amount was below the speculated $500 million quotation last week.
Headquartered in Aliso, Viejo California, Gaikai is developing the world’s fastest and highest quality interactive cloud streaming platform via internet allowing users to play graphically intensive games even on weak hardware. Its data centers serve dozens of countries and it has key partners worldwide. The company allows players to test their demo games for free to help them decide to buy the product.
Andrew House, President of SNE said that the acquisition enables the company to provide a more enhanced gaming experience to online players. He said, “By combining Gaikai’s resources with SNE’s extensive game platform knowledge and experience. SNE will provide users with unparalleled cloud entertainment experiences.”
In addition, House also stated that the Sony “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.”
On the other hand, David Perry, CEO of Gaikai said, “We’re honored to be able to help SNE 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.”
Sony did not provide details on how it will implement Gaikai’s gaming technology and infrastructure. Analysts assume that it will use Gaikai gaming technology to its TV and PlayStation Console due to the fact the millions of online players are using the PlayStation.
Next year, the company is also expected to reveal its new PlayStation, a replacement to the current PS3. According to online games experts, Gaikai technology will help Sony to easily develop its new PlayStation console, enable cross-platform multiplayer connectivity with Vita and to reduce costs.
