LG's Gaikai powered cloud gaming service hands-on
Between OnLive's upcoming Google TV integration and LG's recently announced cloud gaming application, the gap between gamer and game is narrowing rapidly. We dropped by LG's CES booth to try out the outfit's Gaikai powered offering and have to admit, it was pretty smooth. We hadoken'd our way through a few rounds of Street Fighter IV with winning results -- as far as we can tell, the input delay was about as snappy as OnLive's best offerings, although a few artifacts betrayed the stream's clarity. Gaikai engineers were on hand to remind us that the floor demo is a very early beta of the service, and that the final app will feature less compression, less artifacts, and even less delay. Even so, the game was playable, reasonably clear, and service bled potential.
LG didn't have a solid date for when its cloud gaming service would launch, and a price structure was sadly absent as well. Gaikai representative told us its not the only service coming out that they'll be powering -- but they remained tight lipped on the identity of other partners. In the end, they told us that Gaikai wants to be the power behind the best gaming streaming services of tomorrow, and won't be creating a standalone service of their own. More game streaming services? We can dig that. Trying to form your own opinion? Hit the break, we've got a demo video that might help you make up your mind.
