Sony bought Gaikai for more than games - Analysts

Sony is forking over $380 million to purchase the cloud-streaming company Gaikai, and analysts are giving the deal a thumbs-up. Wedbush's Michael Pachter and Electronic Entertainment Design and Research's Jesse Divnich both expressed approval of the move to GameSpot.

"This was an intelligent move on Sony’s end to future proof itself against the natural yet unpredictable evolution of technology," Divnich said, adding, "Don't think of this acquisition as a play on cloud gaming, but rather a play on cloud entertainment and Sony's Gaikai acquisition will position Sony to deliver music, movies, television, and gaming through a multitude of devices including consoles, mobile/tablets, set-top boxes, or just the television itself."

Pachter agreed that the deal had implications beyond gaming, saying, "I think that Sony is buying Gaikai for strategic reasons, as it will help with smart TV sales, and will allow them to integrate a cloud based solution into PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Network. I truly expect that they will benefit by eliminating one threat to their console business, and will benefit further from offering consumers greater choice."

Between the multiple uses Sony could have for Gaikai technology and the chance to cut off a possible competitor, Pachter said the price for the streaming company didn't seem overly expensive. As for when gamers will start to see the fruits of this union, Divnich said it will take a while for Sony to integrate the company's tech, so he doesn't expect to hear any news of Gaikai implementation in Sony products in the next six months.