14 DAY TRIAL // Sony might end up using the expertise of its newest acquisition, Gaikai, to improve its lineup of Bravia Smart TVs by allowing the devices to support cloud gaming without needing a dedicated console, at least according to analyst Michael Pachter.
Sony surprised plenty of people yesterday when it confirmed that it was buying Gaikai for a whopping $380 million (€301 million) and that it was going to use the company’s experience to build its own cloud gaming service.
Gaikai is one of the leading companies in terms of cloud gaming, allowing customers to play games on its own servers and then stream the gameplay to all sorts of devices.
With this acquisition, however, quite a lot of people are wondering what Sony is going to do with Gaikai’s expertise.
According to Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter, while the Gaikai team will help out Sony’s Computer Entertainment (PlayStation) division, it might also be used to improve the Bravia TVs and other such devices.
"I think that this is more related to Sony's integrated strategy, and ties into their hopes of selling more televisions. I know that Gaikai was purchased by Sony Computer Entertainment, but essentially, they provide a solution to play games without a console, so they make a lot of sense if built into Sony TVs," Pachter told CVG.
"This could be both a strategic move to sell more TVs and a pre-emptive move to keep others from using the service. It's actually a very interesting deal, and the price is reasonable if it gives Sony an advantage over other television manufacturers while keeping the technology off the market so that others can't eliminate the need for a console."
Pachter also highlighted that Microsoft wouldn’t react to Sony’s move by purchasing another cloud gaming company, like OnLive, as "they are making the [Xbox] console integral to the delivery of television content, so they have a different approach."
As of yet, Sony has only revealed that it will use Gaikai’s expertise to debut a new cloud gaming feature, so we’ll have to wait and see when the first details will be revealed.