Sony’s Google TV box will support OnLive game streaming, despite Gaikai acquisition?

If our review of Sony’s NSZ-GS7 set top box is any indication, Google TV needs all the help it can get. That’s why we were happy to see Sony explicitly mention that the box will support OnLive’s streaming game service. Now, though, it appears there’s some confusion about whether that’s actually true. Sony told VentureBeat that the media player will no longer support the OnLive controller, and seemingly the OnLive service along with it. Logically, that makes a lot of sense, since Sony just bought OnLive rival Gaikai in a $380 million deal, and obviously Sony would prefer not to directly promote a competitor.

However, we just spoke to OnLive, and the company tells a different tale. OnLive support has nothing to do with Sony, the firm claims, because compatibility with the OnLive controller is baked right into Google TV, and the streaming service will be available as a app that should work on any Google TV regardless of manufacturer. Even so, that app isn’t available yet, as OnLive claims it is working with individual partners one by one to build custom versions for the different silicon inside. For instance, Vizio’s Co-Star, which has a dual-core Marvell Armada 1500 processor, will be the first to ship with OnLive. We didn’t see an OnLive app when we reviewed the Sony NSZ-GS7, and OnLive tells us that’s because it was never intended to be preloaded on the box ahead of time. We’re pretty sure that corporate politics have a role here too, though, since the NSZ-GS7 also has an Armada 1500 inside.

Either way, the result is the same: you can’t play OnLive on your Sony Google TV set top box today, and we can’t tell you when it might arrive.