Gaikai Will Launch In Late 2014

Sony’s eagerly anticipated streaming service Gaikai will launch sometime in late 2014, that is according to Eurogamer. The game site has been told by “trusted sources” that the service will in Q3 2014 for the U.S only, followed by an early 2015 release in Europe. Several developers have reportedly already been briefed on Gaikai, and even some were asked for their participation in a beta for the service that will begin in 2014.

The service will roll out first on PS4, followed by Playstation 3 and Playstation Vita later on.  The service was first announced back in February at the initial PS4 reveal event. Details concerning Gaikai have been scarce, as Sony have largely remained quiet on what users can expect from it when it does become available. However, they did state that once it does roll out players will have access to a catalog of “critically acclaimed” titles on day one.

Sony Computer Entertainment president Andrew House, while speaking with Eurogamer, did confirm that the service is on track to release on time. He also revealed that even though Gaikai will first launch on all three Playstation platforms, the end goal would be to have the service available on a  “multitude of network-connected devices,” which includes device incapable of streaming games initially.

“We think there’s a great opportunity to broaden the market, because you essentially remove the need to make the console purchase in order to have access to that experience,” House said. “It may sound counter-intuitive, because, aren’t you replacing a business that is your bread and butter? But part of being an innovative company is being a pioneer in new forms of distribution of content, and we would like to be there first and take a leadership role.”