OnLive, Gaikai, and Otoy each have their own vision of cloud-based game content delivery services. Now a new service can be added to that mix: Seattle-based Spoon and its Spoon Cloud Gaming service. At the basic concept level, Spoon’s service is similar to its competition’s. Gamers can stream games for play that might not otherwise be downloaded to a user’s computer. Currently, more than 200 games are available along with thousands of applications.
The Spoon business model has a greater emphasis on delivering smaller, lighter social and casual games, like Pac-Man, Jewel Quest, and Farm Frenzy. How is it done? Spoon installs a small browser plug-in for its system, then another smaller plug-in for each game that is installed. Because these Flash-based games are small and don’t soak up space on a hard drive, they can be downloaded locally to the user’s system without need for data compression, fast bandwidth, and high-end servers (like OnLive). In fact, these games can even be played in an offline mode. However, there is a downside for some gamers: Unlike the full-size, current generation games that are delivered via OnLive and Gaikai, these Flash games that Spoon offers are generally simpler and cartoon-y.
Spoon behaves like a server-based service in one regard. Games are synchronized across all Spoon-enabled devices, so a player can pick up and play a game anytime and anywhere exactly where he or she left off. The payment model is more like traditional casual games in which players can try out a game for a set period of time, which, once expired, can be purchased for full and unrestricted play.
Spoon has currently engaged the support of publishers from around the world, such as Namco Networks, Alawar Entertainment, iWin, and 1C. Spoon was founded in 2006 with 20 employees and no outside funding.
[Source: VentureBeat]
