Life without a Gaming Console Brought to you by Playcast

 Say for a minute you don't want to go buy a PlayStation 3s or Xbox. Say you want to just sit right in front of your TV and use your set-top-box (STB) to play games on your TV.

You can. Playcast Media is an on demand gaming service delivered via your TV without a games console.  Yes you heard that right, without a console or downloads. Playcast, based in Israel and London, is a games-on-demand system for cable and IPTV operators. It turns a standard STB into a game console, eliminating latency. For end-users the Playcast service is a convenient and inexpensive way to play video games, it also gives users personalization options and community/social features which you can access direct from your TV (or PC).

In a recent Reuters post, Sony said they are setting out to reform the TV segment, well, they meant THEIR TV segment, but the point is that the whole TV segment IS changing. More choices, less people buying TVs, more devices, the list goes on. Add to that the fact that both Bravia TVs and PlayStation game consoles cut its annual forecast for televisions to 22 million sets from 27 million.

This leaves the door wide open for other options for the consumer to play games on the TV, but also for operators who are looking for new revenue streams.

According to Josh Mortensen, cofounder, Digitarian which became LOVEFiLM DK and current founder and managing partner, GlibHippo, TV hardware will soon become commodities like chips. "Sony, Samsung etc. will become like Intel and AMD. Apple and other brands that aren't even born yet, will add the true value in the long run. They are the future of TV."

PROMOTED

He might be right. In CNET's Digital Home, Wedbush analyst, Michael Pachter reported that sales game consoles, TV hardware's previously fastest growing segment, had plummeted in June 2011.

Pachter reported Microsoft led the way in console sales last month, selling 355,000 Xbox 360 units in the U.S. However, that figure is down 21 percent compared to the same period last year. Nintendo Wii scored the second spot in unit sales with 325,000 sold, representing a 23 percent decline compared to June 2010. Pachter believes Sony suffered a 21 percent drop in unit sales last month by selling 240,000 PlayStation 3s.

Good news for Playcast.