When Sony purchased Gaikai, they had run into trouble with their then current console - the PS3. They were selling it a hefty loss - it was just too ambitious and cost too much (and developing for it wasn’t easy either). It was a very rocky time for them.
So while I think that may have been what led them to look at Gaikai to begin with, the benefits you mention would certainly have been appealing to them and a major factor in why they acquired the firm - like you said cost is probably the biggest barrier for console gaming - and so being able to make gaming cheaper, while still offering high end graphics, could only be a good move since it would mean a larger userbase/more subscriptions etc.
Re streaming/input lag, etc they are getting better and better over time. Sony actually make some of the best TVs for gaming now, too.
Going back to LiveView, Drab, Texas etc, do you think it could be a great fit for things like Nerves devices? (As per my post above.)
- if users get used to really snappy interactions they may start interacting before the websocket is setup - that problem is solved with turbolinks (or my current interest is in unpoly)