OnLive and GameSpot reach demo deal

An interesting new agreement between streaming games specialist OnLive and giant consumer games network GameSpot has been announced.

It will see the streaming service position playable demos of games within the pages of GameSpot’s reviews.

The result is that consumers will be able to try a fully-featured version of the game they’re reading about at the click of a button, regardless of the spec of their PC (broadband connection permitting, of course).

No additional software downloads will be required.

Some of GameSpot’s video editorials will also be accessible via the OnLive platform.

Eight streamed games are already available on GameSpot’s pages including Homefront, FEAR 3 and Arkham Asylum.

It’s a model pioneered by Gaikai, which struck a similar deal with Walmart. While OnLive has made great inroads into the consumer market, Gaikai has typically led the way when it comes to B2B strategy. This new deal can be seen as an affront to that push.