Cloud gaming, a service kickstarted by Onlive but recently picked up by Sony, too.  Except, maybe not, as the official company line from Sony appears to be that the traditional console is the way to go.  “Whilst the remote storage and access of files is becoming increasingly common,” said Ray Maguire speaking to MCV, “when it comes to delivering an entertainment experience on par with the quality consumers have come to expect and that they demand, dedicated games consoles remain the only systems powerful enough to do this.”

Microsoft’s Neil Thompson remained a little more open minded than the Sony spokesperson.  “I’m convinced the cloud will play a central role in the games industry of the future and already is today through services such as Xbox Live,” he said. “How you connect to the cloud and the services it can deliver across multiple devices is the exciting new world we are now entering.  Our strategy is certainly to enable people to connect to their key entertainment content through innovative services that span across multiple devices.”

David Yarnton, from Nintendo, added that “whilst we can give people unique and ever-surprising experiences, we will continue to innovate in the way that we provide both hardware and content to them. At the moment our consoles, physical hardware and software provide the means for developers to do that.”  Naturally, then, it’s the often more forward thinking Microsoft that seem most behind the concept of cloud gaming, with Sony and Nintendo dragging their heels a wee bit.  Time will tell whether their thoughts will change.