Sony drops Onlive support on Google TV

Don’t expect to see Onlive connectivity in any Sony-made Google TV device.

The company looks to have officially axed support for Onlive game playback on its newest Google TV-powered Blu-ray player.

Here’s the kicker – the player hasn’t even shipped yet; it isn’t due to release until July 9. But after the company announced that it will acquire Gaikai – an OnLive rival – it seems like an infinitely understandable decision. Incidentally, Sony never confirmed any sort of OnLive partnership.

However, it was discovered that in the technical specifications and documentation for the impending Blu-ray device, Sony listed Onlive connectivity as an optional accessory.

Now, however, the company has wiped any reference to OnLive in connection to the player. What most likely happened was that Sony was working on the Gaikai deal behind closed doors, but wanted to have the Onlive compatibility there just in case.

Or, it could very well be that the team working on the Google TV Blu-ray player had no clue about Gaikai and so they just put Onlive connectivity there since it is compatible with Google TV products.

It will be interesting to see Sony specifically exclude one of the newest Google TV services from a Google TV product, but that’s the way the business world works.

Also, now that Gaikai has been acquired, there is new discussion about the potential for someone to purchse Onlive. If that happens, it could likely be a company that doesn’t have an existing stronghold in the video game industry – someone like LG, which has really opened up to Onlive as the first company to make a TV with the software built-in.