GamePolitics.com recently had some hands-on time with Gametree.tv's set-top gaming box. While initial plans are to launch with more casual, but high quality, games including World of Goo and Peggle, the most interesting aspect of the product is Intel's injection of seed money. In other words, Intel is looking to enter the market.
OnLive has also been preparing a set-top gaming box for a number of years now, but their plan is to jump straight into the deep end with the most hardware demanding games available.
It will be interesting to see whether the top down approach of OnLive or the casual (and my theoretical) build from the base up approach of Gametree will be more successful. It seems that Intel thinks it knows the answer and that clout alone could spell doom for OnLive.
If just one of those styles of service can bring a product to market, the big three console makers should be very concerned about the next few years. Having dummy terminals providing access to hardware farms is drastically different from the system used now and the supply chain and business model would need to be completely reconfigured for the big three to remain viable.
OnLive and Gametree are tiny fish in a pond barracudas, but if they can find a place to lay low during these next few years, the industry could see some sharks emerging from seemingly nowhere.
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