Gaikai launches Facebook app beta
Game streaming service brings 7 titles to social network
Game and demo streaming service Gaikai has launched the beta trial of its Facebook app, which will allow users of the social network to play demos of a selection of games via their browser.
The service is available now in the US and Europe, launching with the demos of Saints Row - The Third (USA), Dead Rising 2 - Off the Record (USA), Magicka (USA & Europe), Sniper - Ghost Warrior (USA & Europe), The Witcher 2 - Assassins of Kings (USA & Europe), Orcs Must Die! (USA & Europe) and Farming Simulator 2011 (USA & Europe).
Currently, only demos of the games are available, but the company has plans to introduce full game streaming at a later date. A note on the app's page also promises the coming launch of MMO streaming, something already strongly hinted at when the company showed a demo of World of Warcraft running in Facebook at the Cloud Gaming Europe conference earlier this year.
"The Facebook social graph fuels our mantra 'Try it for free', 'Share it if you like it', 'Buy it if you love it'."
Gaikai CEO David Perry
"People don't want to leave Facebook to play games - Zynga's phenomenal success is proof of that," said Gaikai CEO David Perry in a statement accompanying the launch.
"Cloud Gaming means that the game doesn't need to be downloaded and run on your computer, it literally means the game runs out on the internet, in the cloud, with the experience being streamed to the players.
"Most video game publishers are now seeking to grow their digital customer base and unlike movie and music services like Netflix and Spotify, Gaikai gives the game publishers relationships with the customers.
"The power of Facebook is not only in the vast size of the connected audience, but also in the quality of the social ties and interactions that occur within the network. The Facebook social graph fuels our mantra 'Try it for free', 'Share it if you like it', 'Buy it if you love it'."
Gaikai has already secured deals which have seen its technology embedded in various places, including GamesIndustry International's sister site, Eurogamer, launching its first pre-release streamable demo with The Darkness 2 in February.