Sony Computer Entertainment Inc (SCE), the video game unit of Japanese electronics giant Sony Corp (TYO:6758), said on Monday it had agreed a $380m (€300.5m) deal to acquire California-based cloud gaming firm Gaikai Inc.
With this move, SCE will combine its game platform knowledge and experience with Gaikai’s technological strength, engineering talent and other resources to provide users with “unparalleled cloud entertainment experiences”, the buyer’s president and CEO Andrew House said. The new cloud-streaming service will offer rich content on various Internet-connected devices, he added.
The takeover is subject to certain customary closing conditions, including regulatory nods.
Set up in 2008, Gaikai is the developer of a cloud platform that enables streaming of games to a broad variety of devices through the Internet. Its new owner produces, distributes, develops and markets the PlayStation 2 (PS2), PlayStation 3 (PS3), PlayStation Portable (PSP) and PlayStation Vita (PS Vita) gaming consoles. The company has its headquarters in Tokyo, Japan.
Through its affiliated firms Sony Computer Entertainment America LLC and Sony Computer Entertainment Europe Ltd and its divisions Sony Computer Entertainment Japan and Sony Computer Entertainment Asia, the company makes hardware and software products and manages the third party licensing programmes for the particular platforms.
