One of the larger rumors to pop up before this years E3, was that Sony was going to purchase the online game streaming service Gaikai. The service, which is like Onlive but bigger, would give Sony a cloud gaming service and also give them a step up on the competition moving forward. Today they finally announced a definitive agreement to purchase Gaikai for $380 million.

“By combining Gaikai’s resources including its technological strength and engineering talent with SCE’s extensive game platform knowledge and experience, SCE will provide users with unparalleled cloud entertainment experiences,” said Andrew House, President and Group CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. “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.”

As of press time it isn’t quite clear as to how Sony will use this or when it will come into effect. Will they use it to stream Playstation 2 games as some suspect? Or will it be a cheaper console alternative for lower income families that cannot afford Blu-ray drives and huge processors. What we do know is that Sony actually made a smart purchase here in buying a proven, existing technology instead of trying to build their own.

“SCE has built an incredible brand with PlayStation and has earned the respect of countless millions of gamers worldwide,” said David Perry, CEO of Gaikai Inc., “We’re honored to be able to help SCE rapidly harness the power of the interactive cloud and to continue to grow their ecosystem, to empower developers with new capabilities, to dramatically improve the reach of exciting content and to bring breathtaking new experiences to users worldwide.”

Gaikai has been around since 2008 and features the ability to play games without having an expensive TV or video game console. This app or service will continue on the trend that Sony has been moving towards for years now. To have your Sony video game console be the center of your entertainment needs. It already is for me, I just wish they would team up with DirecTV already and give me the ability to watch my recorded shows on my PS3.

Here is a little bit about Gaikai at the Google I/O event a couple of days ago: