OnLive offering one year free membership to pre-registrants
By Thomas Ricker 
posted May 31st 2010 5:03AM
posted May 31st 2010 5:03AM
[Thanks, Michael M.]
posted May 31st 2010 5:03AM
A look back on popular stories from today in a specific year.
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*waves back at $14.95 fee*
@michaelwub .
Thanks Michael M.? I sent in this tip 2 days ago...
How fast does your internet need to be for this to work?
@dorraj6 I believe it's 1.5 mbps for SD, 5 mbps for HD.
@einhanderkiller There's no SD at all you need a strict 5mb connection for this to work. As they scanned your pc and tested your internet connection before registering. They also tell you if your connection is to slow and that they will let you register with a slower connection but warn you about it.
My name is Nostradamus, and I can see the future. This service will fail
@Luffy
You should put your money where your mouth is :) I dare you.
I'm betting google will buy up this service.
@Luffy I beta tested this service, and I was skeptical. But it totally works. It's not as high quality as if you played it locally... but considering what you get, and that you could play your games anywhere, on anything.. it's honestly not bad.
@MasterEvilAce
Weird, after the beta, I came off with the opposite opinion: It's just bad. The pricing scheme they seemed to be grooming is awful, the lag is just enough to make any fast-paced game annoying, and the picture quality, while bearable, was fuzzy when things got moving and full of compression artifacts when looking at smooth gradients. I was not impressed.
it would sound like a good idea - gaming on an 11 inch netbook.
but for me, alienware beat them to it :)
unfortunately, your ISP's could either be the saviours or the death of this service. a great idea, but trusting your entire business to internet service providers isn't always a great idea, especially considering there isn't an off line mode for onlive.
Sorry! The OnLive Pre-Registration Offer is now closed.
Got my email yesterday, and I can't wait to actually use this service.
I sure do hope they don't fail, because the concept of Onlive is genius.
Pre Registration Closed, this news is fail =)
Sorry! The OnLive Pre-Registration Offer is now closed.
Please come back on June 17th, when OnLive will be taking sign-ups for our service in the continental US! We hope to see you then.
Keep up to date with OnLive via our blog. Or get the real time play-by-play on Facebook, Twitter or our YouTube channel.
Got the email in the morning!! the internet has to be about 5 Mb.
"The only catch seems to be the credit card required to complete registration as proof that you're over 18"
any credit card or should be USA one?
I got the email from OnLive at 6:33PM, 11.5 hours ago. I signed up forty minutes later. I can't wait to game on my netbook and possibly my work computer! (On a break, of course)
NOT AVAILABLE OUTSIDE THE U.S. ... blah!
Better to own it. I still have the original DOOM in package and all. worth something XD
Call me an unbeliever but something tells me this won't take off, let alone crash and burn...
If this uses some sort of flash client to deliver the experience, then all these 2.2 Android tablets have just got a LARGE selection of games that'll put to shame most things on the non-flash hardware out there.
Controls will still be an issue (roll on better Android Bluetooth support)
Blah! I never heard about the pre-registration...
Pre-registration closed is a bummer. Onlive *looks* slick as hell. Let's see how it works.
Pre-registration is closed.
I pre-registered within the first weak of the pre-registration being opened. I hope this offer applies to me. If it doesn't, it's a terrible way to treat their fanboys.
This could be a killer service, if they can demonstrate it running well on smartphone OS based tablets (iPad, Android, WebOS, etc.).
Gamers would be able to meet up, with their tablets, to play against each other. Would kinda make "personal" computing "social" computing.
This puts my brand new mega powered PC to shit.
@DougieBear
I got my code yesterday and noticed it did say a duo core is recommended or required I forget exactly which of the two. Did anybody else notice that? My internet connection is more then sufficient for this.
I don't know why everyone is bashing this, its not like the tech is impossible. Google is talking about gigabit connections soon, networks are getting stronger and stronger, I agree this is something that a Google might buy in the future
@misterhearn
Transcoding a HD compressed video stream takes a fair bit of processing that is probably the reason for the dual core requirement.
Why do some of you think OnLive will fail? (serious question)
Is it because you're paying an ongoing fee for access? Paying for games but never actually own them? Or because you've read something about lag or performance issues?
This technology is a huge breakthrough in streaming content. Otoy (http://otoy.com) is another I'm watching for. I've paid for streaming services like Netflix, Mog, and Rhapsody and I would gladly pay for a streaming service like OnLive if it means I don't have to install anything on my computer and I can access it anywhere. I'm not even a gamer.
@jasonbarone Exactly, if OnLive streaming service is successful it'll mean their algorithm which converts video and button responses on the fly in milliseconds is successful.
Which then will only lead to greater success in video teleconferencing, video streaming and who knows what else out there.
I'm one for owning, but you know what I pre-registered for the simple fact I want to see this succeed.
@jasonbarone A) I doubt the tech in a large scale role out or at distance, not that it's impossible, just that it's not going to deliver yet.
B) the business model, I don't pay for Netflix and then rent movies at some other cost.
C) ISPs/GameStop/Possibly even developers will kill it fast if it gets even remotely popular.
@Playos Great points.
A) That's a good reason they should open it up and get going. It may fail in terms of technology, but they'll continue to improve it, especially if they have paying customers. This happens all the time with Beta releases.
B) I wouldn't pay a rental fee per movie either, but I'd pay for a game. It's hard to say a business model is going to fail when the product is a first of its kind. People pay for things they want, period. This service looks great and if they deliver a good experience, it's worth it in my opinion. I'm sure I'm not alone.
C) I agree, I'm sure some companies are scared of what OnLive could do to their business but it's just like any other industry, you have to give consumers what they want. If consumers love OnLive and these companies manage to "kill" them, the concept will still win in the end. Look at what Otoy is doing (http://otoy.com). Same type of technology but they're going even farther and trying to build it into a platform, and not just a service.
The concept will win for sure. I just got my invite an hour ago and joined OnLive so I guess we'll see what happens.
@jasonbarone i think my problem with it is paying for a subscription and paying for a game at the same time. Its bad enough game companies expect you to buy there games, pay them for the use of your internet connection so you can host games to play with other people and then give an incomplete game that they then nickel and dim you for. I know everything is in the cloud nowadays but with everything purchases being on credit you dont really own much. But now you will have to pay for an intangible item and pay for access to that intangible item.
Paying for the privilege to pay for games just got slightly less stupid.
What is it with Engadget where they can't provide a link to the site? The whole point of a blog is to link to things, not just link to your own stupid articles.
I pre-registered and I haven't got an invite...... Still hoping I'll get one :( ....... *sigh* ......
Xanadeath
@Xanadeath I haven't either and I pre-registered back when the registration first opened around March.
This doesn't work for people that signed up for the beta too? That's lame.
@llamaiguana If you were IN the beta, you got a chance to pre-pre-register... Otherwise I think you're out of luck.
I beta tested the service and jumped on the offer. I think $15 a month is pretty steep considering their tv box isn't coming out for a while... if the price included its rental then I could justify the price. Going a year though without that price is a good deal in my mind.
The service worked fine for me though. I thought the resolution was a little lower I would have preferred and the cursor felt a bit "floaty" every now and then, but I had no major complaints.
A sign they know they won't succeed.
Or a strategy to build up subscribers quickly. Users who like the service are likely to tell their friends & family, to try to get them to join.
I got the email yesterday but meh even with the free year Meh. I have this weird feeling its going to be bad. My Xbox does the job so again meh.
@aldojr80 You say "meh" a lot
How long will it take to come to the UK?
How long before it comes to uk?
steve.ccfc@hotmail.co.uk
Just not for me....I don't play enough games to make it worth my while. I'm fine with purchasing a few online games now and then or renting a ps3 game. The games seemed to play well enough but I was using a quad core, 4g ram, 10mb internet connection too. Guess I should have tried it on my netbook. For those that have crappy computers and not much money this may be a good alternative to get your game on.