Microsoft announces cloud gaming deal for Windows 8

Microsoft's upcoming launch of Windows 8 has been given a boost with the announcement of a deal which will bring cloud streaming of games to devices running the new version of its operating system.
The company is collaborating with Agawi, a Californian company whose cloud gaming platform has attracted significant funding from investors and currently has more than three million users.
In In a press release, Agawi says the deal will be used to deliver all kinds of games, from social Facebook games to "popular triple-A" releases, over Microsoft's cloud platform, Windows Azure. The firm moves to assure developers that no extra work is required to get their games up and running, inviting those interested to request inclusion in Agawi's developer programme.
Microsoft VP Walid Abu-Habda said: "Game developers want to focus on building great games, not worrying about backend issues like scalability and platform management. With Windows Azure, Agawi enables developers to make high-performance games easily accessible across devices with high-quality graphics and virtually instant game downloads.
"For gamers, Windows 8 delivers a fast, fluid and no-compromise experience that opens the door to exciting new form factors."
It might not be as eye-catching as Sony's $380 million acquisition of Gaikai, but while what Sony intends to do with David Perry's cloud platform remains shrouded in secrecy, Microsoft's intentions here are clear: giving the common perception of Windows 8 a much-needed boost among gamers of all tastes.
With Microsoft's operating system spreading its wings even further with the release of Windows 8 - from PC and mobile to tablets and, it's claimed, the Xbox 360 successor - cloud streaming of games to all compatible devices certainly casts the much-criticised OS in a better light. Whether it will be enough to persuade Valve boss Gabe Newell that it isn't, in fact, a "catastrophe" remains to be seen.

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