OnLive brings cloud games to new Philips-branded Android TVs in Europe

OnLive hopes to expand its cloud-gaming efforts in Europe in a deal being announced today by TP Vision, which has taken over the venerable Philips name in the television business. Under the deal, OnLive will be preinstalled as a cloud-gaming service on new Android-based models of Philips-branded smart TVs, which will be released in Europe in 2014 and beyond.

The cloud-gaming service will deliver “instant on” games, or high-end video games that are instantaneously playable over a broadband connection. The deal is a boost for OnLive, which is trying to make a comeback after faltering with its first efforts at cloud gaming. Under new management, OnLive has relaunched its cloud-gaming services in the U.S., and now it is moving on to Europe.

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The OnLive Game Service Android app will be available on the TVs, along with other on-demand entertainment apps for music and video. By connecting a game controller or Bluetooth keyboard and mouse, users will be able to sign up and connect to their OnLive accounts for access to hundreds of games, playable directly on their Philips TVs.

Philips Electronics, a big tech company based in the Netherlands and now known as Philips, exited the TV business a few years ago, but TP Vision is now the exclusive brand licensee of Philips TVs in Europe, Russia, the Middle East, Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, and select countries in Asia-Pacific. The new TVs run the Android operating system from Google, and they feature Ambilight, a light-emitting diode technology that throws off glowing light to match the colors on the screen.

“Integrating OnLive directly onto Philips TVs powered by Android is a perfect example of how even the most graphically demanding games can be delivered into the living room without the need for dedicated high-end gaming hardware,” said Rick Sanchez, the vice president of product and marketing at OnLive, in a statement. “OnLive delivers gaming with the same instant-on convenience and benefits that is driving consumers’ surging interest for on-demand video and music services.”

OnLive launched its cloud-gaming service in 2010. It uses cloud processing in Internet-connected data centers to offload the processing for video games. That enables low-end, broadband-connected devices like TVs and older laptops to run high-end games. OnLive will show off its service on Philips TVs at the IFA trade show in Berlin from Sept. 5 to Sept. 10.