Gaikai announces game streaming licensing deal with EA

Going to be hearing more and more about "cloud based" gaming in the coming days.  I know OnLive goes live tonight, with some limited membership deal that I signed up for.  Gaikai is another major player in the "cloud based" gaming world with this deal:

LOS ANGELES, June 17, 2010. Gaikai Inc. today announced a multi-year licensing agreement with Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS). This agreement enables streaming of several of EA’s PC-based video games directly to any web browser via Gaikai’s technology. Gaikai will offer a number EA franchises, including The Sims^TM, The Battlefield: Bad Company^TM Series, Dragon Age^TM Series, Mass Effect^TMSeries, Medal of Honor^TM and Need for Speed^TM for Gaikai’s new game advertising service. This relationship will result in EA being the first video game publisher in the world with control over instant-on video game streaming technology ready to embrace and push forward the future of digital distribution.

"Gaikai’s innovations open whole new experiences for both current players and new customers looking for the best of interactive entertainment. It also brings new opportunities and capabilities that will improve both our craft and products, including secure beta-testing and the ability to instantaneously bring the latest games into the hands of our waiting audience”, said Richard Hilleman, Chief Creative Director for Electronic Arts.

“EA has some of the most important franchises in the video game industry, and we're excited to be able to use our streaming technology to help new audiences discover these amazing properties. We are also excited to be powering a cutting-edge digital strategy with EA developers", said David Perry, CEO of Gaikai Inc.

Gaikai offers the ability to play any game instantly inside the web browser with just one click, no big game download, no game install and no patching. This server-based, cloud-gaming technology is designed to dramatically increase both reach, and audience participation, while bringing down acquisition costs dramatically. By playing games remotely from Gaikai servers around the world, players simply play wherever they are browsing, removing the need to pay for advertising clicks to move gamers around on the Internet. This freedom to play anywhere opens up exciting business models as you can play on any video game retailer site, any news site, publisher sites, or even inside Facebook.