Gaikai, Aurora Feint Among Dow Jones '50 Start-Ups To Watch'

Streaming game service Gaikai and mobile game toolkit maker Aurora Feint are among the game-related companies includes on Dow Jones VentureWire's recently released "50 Startups To Watch" list. Other game-related companies on the list include MMO developer Tiny Speck, online payment services gWallet and Zong, and game-like location-sharing services Four Square, GoWalla and Shopkick. Released ahead of the News Corp.-owned business news services' FASTech conference, the list was chosen by 10 "leading venture capitalists and technology experts." The team evaluated hundreds of companies for value, innovation, existing investment and the previous track record of their founders. All the companies on the list have been invited to present at the conference, which takes place November 3 and 4 in Redwood, California. Since its initial announcement last June, Gaikai has received significant attention and investment from companies including Intel, Limelight and Triplepoint Capital, among others. But a recent study by Screen Digest magazine suggests the streaming game market may struggle with technological challenges for years before achieving success. The service, currently in beta, is widely expected to launch to by the end of the year.