Opinion: After Flashgate, Apple's next dilemma will be game on-demand services such as OnLive

Personally I've been a little disappointed by the games available for iPad.

Sure, plenty of classic iPhone games have been given an HD make-over, but with the exception of Mirror's Edge, there's been little that’s new and exciting.

It seems a shame considering that lovely big screen. But there's hope on the horizon, although whether Apple will allow it is another issue.

The reason for the uncertainty is that the new wave of streaming game services such as OnLive, OTOY and Gaikai would be ideal for iPad.

Designed to stream PC games over a decent broadband connection, these technologies would potentially give you access to a wide range of titles from highend shooters to casual time wasters on your iPad, although clearly there would be issues in terms of how to modify keyboard and joypad-designed games for touchscreen use.

There's also the tricky issue of whether Apple will allow access.

It's banned Flash from iPad and iPhone; one reason being it's a cross-platform technology so games made using it aren't specifically designed for the devices they runs on, something Steve Jobs doesn’t like.

This would also be the case in terms of OnLive, OTOY and Gaikai, although OnLive and OTOY have already shown their technologies work on iPhone and iPad, in terms of tech demos at least.

I assume this was done either using a jailbroken devices or non-Apple approved apps.

Certainly, in the context of the ongoing Flash debate, the question of whether Apple would allow such companies to release a dedicated streaming client through the App Store remains uncertain.

One neat way around the issue would be for them to enable browser-based gaming.

Of course, Apple has control over this too as its Safari is the default browser on iDevices and its approval is required for thirdparty browsers such as Opera.

However, if the required code was just HTML - especially the new HTML5 standard - it would be much harder technologically and philosophically for Apple to refuse.

One hopeful technology in this context seems to be InstantAction.

Originally known as GarageGames, it's since been transformed into a Javascript-enabled browser-based portal in which games are said to be distributed as easily as the embedded code that runs YouTube videos i.e. into any website.

It uses Gaikai (which requires Java, Flash and Silverlight) in terms of its backend solution, and seems to require the installation of a plug-in. Then, depending on your bandwidth and the complexity of the game, it either enables pure streaming, or downloads as much of the game to your computer as is required to get started.

The first game available in this manner, as a tech demo, is LucasArts' The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition, which is available to play via Facebook too.

The rest of the portal currently remains offline however, while the technology is being further developed. It's expected to launch in the coming months, while OnLive's beta starts 17 June and OTOY is testing starting Q2 2010.

Perhaps more significant is the news that InstantAction - in some form - is coming to iPad.

At least, quoted by Industry Gamers, InstantAction's CEO Lou Castle said, "InstantAction will absolutely support the device [iPad] with dedicated applications that bring a fresh approach to interactive media through the large touch screen and bright display."

It appears he's talking about releasing dedicated apps rather than streaming games though.

This probably refers to standalone versions of some of the games available on InstantAction. This wouldn't be too shabby as this potentially includes titles such as Braid and Starsiege: Tribes.

Yet, at the moment, streaming InstantAction doesn't work on iDevices.

Checking out The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition on the InstantAction website using Safari on my iPad, it tells me the latest version of Flash is required, while the Facebook embedded version has minimum specs of Windows and one of Internet Explorer 7+, Firefox 3+ or Chrome 4+.

So far, Apple's iron fist is successfully blocking access.

But as these various streaming game services go live, and no doubt, some gain commercial success, it will be interesting to see how Apple's attitude changes.

If nothing else, the wave of tablet devices from rival PC and smartphone manufacturers will definitely support these services, and market the fact to demonstrate their competitive advantage over iPad.

In future, Steve Jobs might have further missives to pen for the Apple website.