Nvidia and Playcast Media team up with cable providers to bring cloud gaming to TV

Nvidia and Playcast Media Systems have partnered with several television set-top box makers to bring Playcast's cloud gaming service to TV.

Graphics processor maker Nvidia and cloud gaming company Playcast Media Systems have partnered with several television set-top box makers to bring Playcast's service to televisions worldwide, Playcast announced today.

Playcast will run its service on Nvidia's GeForce Grid gaming platform using new graphic chips crafted specifically for cloud gaming. Companies including major French telecommunication firm Bouygues Telecom Bbox can offer these games as free to play on their set-top box hardware, and Bouygues will be able to offer higher-quality games playable through low-end hardware to its over 1.3 million subscribers.

"Recently, cloud-gaming services have come under media scrutiny with acquisitions and bankruptcies," Playcast CEO Guy De Beer said in a press release. "We, however, continue to grow globally as operators see the value of adding games to pay-TV offerings."

Playcast has also partnered with networking companies like Cisco and Pace to bring cloud-streamed gaming worldwide.

"Game developers have long relied on consoles, PCs, and mobile devices to bring their games to consumers," De Beer added. "But cloud gaming - and more specifically, our technology - changes that model."