OnLive is reportedly in talks with Microsoft and Sony about bringing its streaming service to the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 consoles. The revelation was made by the company's vice president of engineering Joe Bentley in an interview with CVG, where he mentioned how "they would make great consoles" and that they're ready to work with everybody.
"Our controller is a hybrid between a PS3 controller and an Xbox controller. It's all compatible, it would just work. There are OnLive guys chatting [Sony and MS], but we'll see where it goes."
OnLive already has some major publishing partners backing them as well as agreements with key ISPs. However, a possible tie-up with either Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3 would be perhaps their most significant development yet, giving them access to a big chunk of the modern gaming audience.
Although many will argue that current Internet connections are not fast enough to stream HD gaming without affecting performance, the company has shown a range of graphically complex games playing glitch-free on a slew of devices. Independent reviews have also been mostly favorable, noting that with a fast connection, lag shouldn't be a huge issue. One point of contention remains the fact that purchased games remain on OnLive's servers, so you wouldn't be able to access them in case of a temporary outage, and it's unclear what would happen if they go out of business.
But Bentley believes the timing is perfect for the streaming service, with the rapid development of System-On-Chip processors like the Snapdragon and Tegra 2 enabling tablets and smartphones to handle the client side of OnLive's service. Consoles seem like the next logical step, we'll have to wait and see if Sony and Microsoft decide to play ball.