Pip-pip, OnLive reaches agreement with BT, launching in Europe eventually
By Tim Stevens 
posted May 13th 2010 3:08PM
posted May 13th 2010 3:08PM
BT Agrees commercial partnership and investment with OnLive Inc.
BT has entered into a commercial partnership with OnLive Inc., a Silicon Valley based, cloud computing video gaming business, which gives BT exclusive rights to bundle the OnLive® Game Service with broadband in the UK. In conjunction with the commercial partnership, BT has taken a 2.6 per cent shareholding in OnLive Inc.
The revolutionary OnLive® Game Service is a new way to purchase and play video games, which are streamed over the internet, using video compression technology, so the customer can just connect and play. There is no need to wait for games to be downloaded, they run instantly.
It delivers the latest games from many of the world's leading publishers direct to a customer's TV, PC or Mac. OnLive works over a wired broadband connection and customers do not need high specification computers to use the service as the complex processing work is done at remote data centres.
OnLive unveiled their service in March 2009 after seven years in development and it officially launches in the US this summer following a successful beta trial. BT will announce further details about its launch plans later this year.
The move by BT into cloud gaming enhances what the company already offers in the entertainment area with BT Vision its on-demand digital TV service.
Gavin Patterson, CEO of BT Retail, said: "Entertainment is going to be at the heart of what we offer customers in the future. The partnership with OnLive complements our existing BT Vision service. It's great for our customers - they'll have access to a huge catalogue of games, available instantly on their TV or PC without expensive hardware. And it's great for BT - it will enhance our premium broadband position and we'll be entering into a market that's worth more than £2billion."
Steve Perlman, CEO of OnLive, said: "The UK market is extremely important to OnLive and our videogame publishing partners as we expand into Europe. We view BT as the ideal UK partner. As gamers are moving increasingly to online game distribution, OnLive delivers video games as a pure form of online media, playable instantly on almost any video-capable device attached to the internet. The implications are nothing short of transformative to video games and in time, all interactive media. OnLive is delighted to be pioneering this revolutionary technology in the UK together with BT".
Enquiries about this news release should be made to the BT Group Newsroom on its 24-hour number: 020 7356 5369. From outside the UK dial + 44 20 7356 5369.
About OnLive
OnLive is the pioneer of on-demand, instant-play video game services, delivering real-time interactive experiences and rich media through the Internet. With groundbreaking, patent-pending video compression technology, OnLive harnesses cloud computing to provide the power and intelligence needed to instantly deliver the latest, high-end game titles directly via a sleek, inexpensive MicroConsole TV Adapter™, or on PCs and Macs via a small browser plug-in. OnLive technology is backed by over 100 patents and patents pending. The company is headquartered in Palo Alto, CA, and investors include BT, AT&T, Warner Bros., Autodesk and Maverick Capital. More information is available at www.onlive.com.
spelling fail... (see title - eventaully :S)
also... UK For the Win... always getting things after america :(
@hammydbest And for the same amount.. just with a £ instead of a $.
@geekthree yep.... i think these american CEOs don't understand the exchange rate :(.... no offence to America ... i
@hammydbest
off topic
UK gets music first. Kings of Leon were popular across the pond well before anyone even heard of em' over here.
/off topic
I'm not skeptical, i'm just poor, Onlive needs to be economically better than consoles for me to make the switch. Other than that I'm sold.
@hammydbest Bah, thanks, fixed it.
@hammydbest
Woo hoo! Reverse colonisation! I can't wait.
Yesssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss
does anyone really want to buy into this business model? you pay for the "service" and then still pay to rent/buy the games.
it'd be like having a netflix subscription and every time you wanted to actually watch a movie they charged you an extra $3 to view it.
@willowtwf There are certain advantages. You essentially pay to rent their PC hardware, and presumably, for the ability to location shift your play at will. But the drawbacks that come along with it (i.e. paying additional fees for content that you don't get to keep if you cease your subscription) just don't seem worth it.
If it were a GameTap-like service, where you pay a subscription and get access to a big library, it'd be a lot more compelling.
@willowtwf
For games I would only ever play once (and there are lot, especially FPS games) this would be great, and you get the full graphics experience without paying for the hardware. For other games that would be good for modding, then not so much.
I knew that the logo looked familiar:
http://www.artlebedev.com/everything/robur/
@Verythrax
The OnLive logo has 3 twists, the Robur has 2.
@furquanatique I said "familiar", not "the same" ;)
BT and Onlive do not go together....seriously,
@commenter7 It won't be exclusive to BT as they said. BT will possibly just host the data centres and you'd be able to connect/subscribe from any ISP.
BT customer service still sucks though so any issues with the service (and I suspect there will be many with this tech) will be met with long phone queues.
At least the UK is geographically smaller so there should be less latency.
I seriously thought this thing got lost into the abyss or something...
Sort out my utterly shit internet connection BT before you try shit like this.
http://www.speedtest.net/iphone/32746213.png
kthxbai!
@ChazClout I don't think any providers are much better. I'm getting 70 kb/s at the moment - I'm paying for 20mb :(
@ChazClout #WIN And this is just our regular connection. I wish I could test our Internet2 speeds.
http://www.speedtest.net/result/813596045.png
@ChazClout Update: Found a faster server hehe
http://www.speedtest.net/result/813622881.png
FAIL!
I've been in the OnLive beta for a while... it works pretty well.You couldn't change the resolution of the game though, so I was never able to make it match my 1920x1200 laptop. Hopefully that's something they've fixed, the mouse also feels kind of floaty sometimes too.
My pet peeve, as someone else pointed out, is having to pay for the service and then the games on top of that. With your monthly cost you ought to get at least a rental included.
@Raziel66
ehm... aren't you specifically PROHIBITED from talking about it in public if your on the beta?....
@Sepirioth Beta is over and the service is launching. They are already taking sign ups for subscriptions.
If my post offended you I can ask Engadget to delete it.
Eventually.
This will rape BT, 1 Onlive box will bring it to its knees, only people to benefit are those right near the exchange, even then 8mb max
TACHYONS!
@archkron
With industry leading compression algorithms.
OnLive is the dumbest service idea ever, and I can't believe there are people willing to actually buy into it.
Yes, please charge me a monthly service fee for access, then make me pay full retail for a game, then if I stop paying for your service, I can no longer play my video game that I purchased.
Retarded.
I just wonder about latency.
Oh and cost and the like.
my prediction:
1)limited coverage
2)expensive.
3)limited catalog.
4)buggy and with some "rush hour" problem.
I've got a fat pipe for them. In my pants. I'm a plumber, and it's where I keep my materials.
I dunno, his new album really didn't live up to my expectations. I mean, generic rock? Even country, for God's sake?!
I in my own regards believe BT are the worst isp ever. I pay for the full package available in my area, the ad says 20mb/ps now in terms of other isp's such as virgin etc they are supplying 50mb/ps on account of the same pricing scheme (or somewhat). In fact the actual case is that i'm achieving a download speed of 1 mb p/s, i think it is an outrage and have contacted them several times, there are people literally three doors down getting 5 mb p/s, i for one paying for 20 would love to get 5 mb p/s, you see i work from home and it's getting to the point of shear frustration. BT i officially declare your service a piece of shit. ( oh and we have used the accelerator provided and new hubs etc but still no change )
@TechMaster bt was that bad for me .i took it out for 18 months i had for 3 weeks they just said that was the speed i would get nothing thet could do about it . so i yanked it out the wall gave it to my 18 month daughter as a new toy.then ordered 50mb broadband from virgin im still paying bt till nov
bt intenet is awful i had the most expensive package supposed to get 8mb i was lucky to get 1mb in the daytime through the night not much better . now i have 50mb virgin broadband that is a fantastic internet the speeds you get all day long are the same
I'm still waiting for my beta invite email.....ON LIVE!!!!!