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Blocking access to World of Warcraft on iPad isn't a good strategy for Apple, says Gaikai's Dave Perry

Ubiquitous gaming starts here?

Blocking access to World of Warcraft on iPad isn't a good strategy for Apple, says Gaikai's Dave Perry
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Further to the news that on-demand game streaming service Gaikai has managed to get World of Warcraft working on the iPad, we've found out more details from headhoncho Dave Perry.

"At the moment it's just a teaser as we're still working on video optimisations," he says of the sneak photo he posted on his blog.

The system seems fairly robust though.

"All iPad inputs are streamed through a translation system to the server, so we can re-map anything to anything in realtime," he explains.

The service also includes a virtual keyboard off to the side of the screen, so players can type in terms of chat and logging into games.

Having it all

"We are experimenting with ubiquitous gaming. I believe in that future - everything, everywhere, all the time," Perry states concerning the broader issue of streaming games.

As to the tricky question of whether Apple will try to stop services such as Gaikai working on iDevices, as it has with Flash, he takes a popularist approach.

"I'd prefer to play World of Warcraft on my iPad more than just about any app they [Apple] permit. I'm not sure blocking great stuff is a good strategy.

"I guess the point is that once we get our player written for iPad, we can run absolutely anything on it that same day."

Gaikai is due to entering its beta in the United States over the coming weeks. More details of the service will be announced at E3.

Jon Jordan
Jon Jordan
A Pocket Gamer co-founder, Jon can turn his hand to anything except hand turning. He is editor-at-large at PG.biz which means he can arrive anywhere in the world, acting like a slightly confused uncle looking for the way out. He likes letters, cameras, imaginary numbers and legumes.