Based on the number of "a gift just for you" or "be my neighbor" emails that can clog up an inbox, people spend a LOT of time socializing (lurking) on Facebook, whether it's chatting, playing games or checking out old girlfriends and wondering why they chose the beefcake morons instead. What better place to sell a product than at the Center of The Internet (or Universe, for some)?
It's no revelation that David Perry is bringing the Gaikai platform to Facebook -- that's been public knowledge for quite some time, and honestly, seems inevitable. But there's a good chance that streaming PC and console games might actually appear on the social network sometimes soon, as the Gaikai CEO indicated its impending arrival on Monday during the Cloud Gaming Europe event held in London.
Once again, he whipped out World of Warcraft streamed directly within Facebook itself to prove how easy it will be to socialize with classmates and level grind within the same window. Watch out farmers and gangsters: the core gamers are coming.
"Our next big launch is on Facebook. We’re going to put real games on it," Perry explained.
Currently there are a number of non-Gaikai websites that play host to streaming demos using Gaikai's platform. For starters, soccer fans can get a taste of FIFA Soccer 12 over on YouTube here, Walmart's GameCenter website also plays host to a number of Gaikai-powered demos like Crysis 2, Alice: Madness Returns and more. EA and Ubisoft even feature playable streaming demos on their websites.
Ultimately Perry wants gamers to have the ability to stream their favorite titles from anywhere on the Internet, not from just from one central location. "[Games companies] need to stop thinking about their website as the center of the universe," he said during the London show. "They need to spread their games across the web."
Just last week, LG announced that it signed a deal with Gaikai to stream titles to its 3D Cinema TVs starting in the second half of 2012. So far pricing is unknown, but the titles will be offered within LG's Smart TV ecosystem. Games will be playable with any standard gamepad that can plug directly into the USB port on the TV itself. Wireless USB-based controllers will also be supported.
