Those who are looking at streaming gaming services such as OnLive as the alternative to running games locally (or in some cases, not being able to run them at all) will have another alternative in Gaikai, which launches its public beta today.
Gaikai differs from OnLive in several different ways, as it looks for other avenues to deliver the hardcore, full gaming experience. For example, Gaikai is working on delivering games on Facebook. Instead of simple casual games like Farmville, Gaikai is working on putting a game like Mass Effect 2 playable in a Facebook window – something that will be demonstrated at GDC.
EA is also contributing some other games to the service, such as FIFA 2011, Dead Space 2, Battlefield, Bulletstorm, among others.
Gaikai will be looking at embedding games into websites, perhaps making the gaming experience a bit like how YouTube works today.
It's an interesting concept that's just in its infancy, but we're excited at the possibilities that services such as Gaikai and OnLive open up.
