CES 2012: OnLive now standard with Google TV

News out of CES 2012 is that cloud gaming will soon be featured in all Google TV devices thanks to a new deal between the internet giant and the online game streaming service OnLive.

The partnership will see all hardware and devices sporting Google TV - TVs, Blu-ray players, Media Streamers, and all enhanced with the ability to play OnLive's 200+ library of videogames without having to worry about pesky things like installs or "system specs". Players will be able to control the games using OnLive's proprietary wireless controller or through regular USB pads.

“OnLive integration into Google TV is a huge leap forward for videogames,” wrote Steve Perlman, OnLive Founder and CEO, on the Google TV blog. “Consumers have come to expect instant gratification with music, movies and video. Now, with OnLive, players in the US and soon in the UK can just as easily stream the highest-quality games to their Google TV devices for play instantly on demand, without discs or downloads.”

Currently, only the OnLive Viewer app is available for existing Google TV users, with full OnLive gameplay functionality set to follow in the near future. Essentially that means you can watch, cheer, and harass other OnLive gamers on Google TV devices right this very instant, but will have to wait until later to get in on the fun.

OnLive is currently available for PCs, Macs, iOS, and Android devices. Watch us test out the service on the latter platform in our hands-on demo.