Perry throws down gauntlet to OnLive

Streaming game service OnLive may have stolen his thunder at GDC last week, but industry vet Dave Perry is confident his rival firm, Gaikai, will "win" the battle for consumers in the long term.

Both companies are promising to stream high-end videogames to home PCs, but Perry believes OnLive's requirement of downloading an initial set-up is a barrier to users who are demanding frictionless gaming.

"Our solution is arguably better than anything OnLive has - they're never going to be able to beat us on this," said Perry in an exclusive interview published today.

"They have to download one megabyte and install it on your computer. What does that mean? It means that everyone in schools, or any kind of uptight or professional business location is not going to be able to download some random game via the internet and install it.

"And they'll have to go through patches and updates and everything else. Ours has no download. That's the difference. It seems trivial, only one megabyte download, but it's not, it's the act of having to download it," claimed Perry

Working for free-to-play outfit Acclaim has highlighted the fact that users dislike downloading or installing software, said Perry, revealing that 60 per cent of users are lost when forced into updates.

There are doubts over OnLive's technical claims, and Perry is likely to face the same questions with Gaikai. Although he promises a big reveal at E3 this June, he does claim that top level publishers are interested in partnering with the service, and that companies, the military and scientists are eager to support the Gaikai technology.

The company is based in Amsterdam, and has been founded along with entrepreneur Rui Pereira and former TMNS consultant Andrew Gault. Gaikai's Streaming Worlds service is in early private beta.

Perry said that he's glad of the competition in the market, and that "overall it's a very exciting thing," but he also warned that now OnLive has gone public with its plans, it needs to follow through with its promises.

"I would be concerned if I was them, I would be very concerned, because they've placed their bet on the table and committed to it now.

"At the end of the day it's going to come down to a technology decision by the consumer, what's easiest? And I think that's where we're going to win."

The full interview with Dave Perry, where he discusses the Streaming Worlds service, broadband capabilities and the evolution of videogames, can be read here.