A few weeks ago, we noted that an upcoming FiOSTV update would bring Motorola set-top gaming to FiOS customers. The real processor work is done on gear at the ISP end, with the boxes rendering the game as a stream. Obviously, we're talking casual games here, but game publisher EA would love to take the idea to a whole new level.

EA is currently developing titles for fourteen different hardware platforms, and would love to see a unified, open system where games are streamed over broadband. Either users could stream games via set-top, or Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft could get into the integrated box business.

Hybrid cable boxes and game consoles make sense, when you figure ISPs like Verizon would love to gain revenue from gaming, and publishers like Sony and Microsoft are already integrating IPTV functionality into their hardware but need distribution partners. Still, that's a lot of egos and financial ambitions to fit into one room.

I'm not sure I want to imagine the kind of financial model that would be cooked up in an EA (lords of the microtransaction) and Verizon (lords of the ridiculous fee) collaboration.