Rumor: Sony to acquire a cloud gaming company

Rumors have been doing the rounds the past few days claiming Sony might be making a move into the cloud gaming space. Speculation first started when VG247 posted an article saying that there would be a partnership deal announced at E3 between PlayStation and a leading cloud gaming service. There aren’t exactly a lot of players to pick from so this was inferred to mean either Gaikai or OnLive.

Adding fuel to the fire came news that Gaikai had been sending out emails to E3 Media attendees, touting major announcements that could "change the future of video games, game consoles and the way in which we play.”

Now, MCV is claiming in a separate report that the deal is actually far more extensive and will see Sony fully acquire one of the two firms. According to the site’s unnamed sources the deal is close to being signed.

Such an acquisition would certainly shake things up in the gaming industry and give Sony a solid footing in the still nascent cloud gaming market. They’d be able to provide PlayStation 3 and PS Vita owners with access to games not available for either platform and would probably make cloud gaming an integral part of their next console. Then there’s the rest of Sony’s consumer electronics business, including their laptops, tablets, phones, and even Internet-connected TV sets, which could all benefit from this.

OnLive seems to be farther along in the cloud gaming market, but from the sounds of things it would seem that Gaikai’s big announcement for E3 might have something to do with Sony. Then again it would be strange for them to hype things up before the deal is even finalized. Neither company commented on the rumors.

As usual we're taking this rumor with a healthy dose of skeptism until we hear more at E3.