Yesterday, Sony announced plans to purchase game streaming service Gaikai for a lump sum of $380 million. They would use this money to establish a "cloud service," presumably one that would use Gaikai's streaming technology to zap games directly to our Playstation consoles in a similar way to OnLive. The official quote from Sony is as follows.

"SCE will deliver a world-class cloud-streaming service that allows users to instantly enjoy a broad array of content ranging from immersive core games with rich graphics to casual content anytime, anywhere on a variety of internet-connected devices."

Since the initial announcement yesterday, Sony has teased a few more details on their plans for the service. Speaking to the Wall Street Journal, Sony Copmuter Entertainment's president/CEO Andrew House said that the acquisition was "recognition on Sony's part that the cloud and cloud streaming tecnhologies are going to have profound and possibly a very positive impact on not only our game business, but also in the way our consumers interact with and obtain content in general." 

When questioned about whether or not this cloud-streaming tech could make it into other Sony products like, say, a Bravia television, in the future, House replied that this was "absolutely within the frame." 

This just serves to fuel speculation of what form Sony's next Playstation console will take. Will it be a big beefy console like the Playstation 3, or will it utilize cloud streaming technology to essentially become a more versatile version of the Roku box? Or perhaps it will simply be an app that one installs on their television? The future for Sony is as exciting as it is uncertain. Be sure to stay tuned to GameShampoo for future updates on Sony's new direction and new console.