Scott Wingo Business: WSJ: Sony will use Gaikai streaming tech to play PS3 games on the PS4

We're just a few days away from Sony's February 20th "see the future of" PlayStation event where we expect to see the next edition of its home console, and the rumor mill is buzzing. The latest one tonight comes from the Wall Street Journal, with a report that connects Sony's $380 million purchase of cloud gaming service Gaikai last year with a method to provide backwards compatibility on the PlayStation 4. The WSJ reports Sony has been "investing heavily" in preparing Gaikai for an influx of PS4-equipped gamers, while also developing better cameras for its Move and the DualShock+touchpad controllers we've seen recently.

What's not revealed, however, is any potential pricing plan, or whether cloud games will work using existing cloud saves. While buying fully digital copies of games we already own is less than appealing, if Sony can implement something like the abandoned UMD-to-PSP Go "good will" plan, then there may be benefits for all. In the last gen Sony used hardware, then software and then nothing at all for backwards compatible gaming, while Microsoft went all software -- we'll see how it balances out this time around.

Filed under: Gaming, HD, Sony