Electronic Arts will soon have another way into millions of American living rooms if reports of an upcoming streaming deal with Comcast are to be believed. Reuters cites "five sources briefed on the plans" in reporting that Comcast may soon give some of its customers the ability to buy and stream EA titles through Comcast's new X1 operating system.
X1, which is only available in certain areas covered by Comcast, already includes some basic social media, steaming, and informational apps, on top of DVR and programming guide functions. The new deal between EA and Comcast, which the parties are "close to reaching an agreement on," according to Reuters, would allow games like FIFA, Madden, and Plants vs. Zombies to be streamed from remote servers, presumably to a standard cable box.
The report mentions the potential for tablets to be used as controllers for these games, and it's unclear whether more traditional controller options would be compatible or available. Then again, Comcast's focus will be on "casual and family games" before action and first-person shooter titles at first, according to Reuters, so a button-based controller might not be an immediate priority.
The idea of streaming games run on remote servers has had a rocky track record in the last few years, but that hasn't stopped a number of players from trying to make it work, from the recently relaunched OnLive to Sony's pending, Gaikai-powered PlayStation Now service, set to launch this summer. Local gaming options have also been a focus for some makers of video-focused set-top boxes, such as Amazon's new Fire TV.