OnLive Game Service
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Galaxy Note 4 owners get three months free of OnLive gaming
Ahead of the Galaxy Note 4's release in the US tomorrow, Samsung has a last-minute incentive for potential buyers as well as those who have already pre-ordered. The company just announced a new partnership deal with OnLive, which gives owners of its fresh, big-screen handset three months of free gaming through the streaming platform. Samsung's promotion is part of the Galaxy Gifts Package, a collection of free software from its own app store, and will give users access to titles from OnLive's PlayPack bundle, such as Batman: Arkham City, Darksiders, Rogue Legacy and many more. The OnLive service is typically $9.95 per month -- so not only do you save some cash, but also have the chance to try it without any attachments. Once you have your Note 4, the OnLive app can be downloaded from the Galaxy Apps shop.
OnLive was reportedly sold for roughly $5 million to venture capital firm
Even though weeks have passed since that well-documented OnLive kerfuffle took place, where unfortunate layoffs and the formation of a "new company" were at the forefront of it all, previously unknown details are still coming out of the woodwork. According to Mercury News, the once-promising cloud gaming outfit was purchased by a venture capital group for a mere $4.8 million, which appears to be a relatively small amount of cash for an outfit once valued upwards of $1.8 billion -- not to mention when compared to, say, rival Gaikai's $380 million sale to Sony. Still, this is said to have been due to the bad shape OnLive was in at the time, with the Palo Alto-based company reportedly owing more than $18 million in debt, leaving it with no choice but to take "the best that it could get."
Potential OnLive integration in Sony Internet player
Sony's Internet Player with Google TV lists "OnLive Gaming Controller/USB dongle" as compatible with the streaming device, according to its hardware product page. OnLive has yet to announce any partnership with Sony, though the addition of OnLive controller compatibility infers (but doesn't confirm) support of the service in this product.While categorized with the company's Blu-ray player offerings, the Internet Player with Google TV doesn't appear to support the standard hi-def disc format. The inclusion of OnLive in a Google TV player doesn't come as a huge surprise either, as OnLive planned to bring its service to all Google TV devices, Engadget reported back in January.Additionally, OnLive recently popped up on Vizio's Co-Star, which means in streaming device terms, it gets around.
OnLive Player app for iPad and Android tablets meets the public at E3 (update: hands-on)
We already got a chance to try out OnLive on the HTC Flyer early but now the company has made its plans official at E3, announcing a Player app will bring internet-streamed gaming to the iPad and Android tablets this autumn. Just as we saw, the apps allow for tablets to be used as the screen and touch / motion controller, touch / motion controller for games on an HDTV, or screen for games being played with the new universal wireless gamepad. The fun isn't limited to just tablets though, the app will work the same way on smaller Android and iOS mobile devices. We'll head over to South Hall and get some hands-on experience with the apps for ourselves shortly, until then you can check out an E3 trailer and all the details in the press release and after the break. Update: We just got our hands on an early build of the tablet app on a Motorola Xoom, and we have to say it looks fairly promising -- OnLive added a basic touchscreen overlay that could make sense for games that don't require dual-analog support. Of course, you'll want that fancy new universal wireless controller if you plan to take a hardcore FPS (like Homefront) on the go. Sadly, the tablet-as-TV-controller functionality wasn't ready for prime time, but we did get a peek at a game designed specifically for the touchscreen interface: Ubisoft's From Dust will have an OnLive-specific SKU. Get a glimpse at Homefront and From Dust via OnLive in the video below. Update 2: We're hearing that the OnLive Player will probably come to the HTC Flyer in August, and begin hitting other tablets in September and October. %Gallery-125700%
OnLive Game System review
We're still a little ways away from completely disposable laptops that do everything in the cloud, but if all you want is a completely virtual game console connected to your TV, you can buy one right now. Eight years after the Phantom slowly got laughed off the face of the planet, the OnLive MicroConsole fulfills the same basic promise: it's a box less than an inch tall that streams games from powerful remote servers. We already told you what to expect from the OnLive's Game System, but now that we've given it our all, we can help you find the answer to the only remaining question: is it worth your funds? %Gallery-107700%
OnLive 'Founding Members' who bought two games receiving free MicroConsole
OnLive still has a public perception hill to climb, but the company is rewarding its Founding Members, the people who took the risk on the cloud gaming service, with some goodies. In a post today on the service's blog, CEO Steve Perlman wrote that those who bought a PlayPass for one game will receive a promo code for another game, up to $50. Everyone who purchased two games will receive a voucher for a free OnLive MicroConsole. This includes "rental" PlayPasses as well, not just the unlimited "Full PlayPasses," as long as they were purchased before midnight last night. The first batch of MicroConsoles ship out on December 2 and Founding Member pre-orders will move to the front of the line for delivery. The company's service has certainly impressed us, and with its future plans, along with the introduction of some flat-rate gaming, the whole cloud-centric concept is starting to seem decidedly solid.%Gallery-107697%
OnLive MicroConsole official at $99, we go hands-on and bombard you with details
Everybody's favorite instant streaming video game service just came into its own: OnLive is launching the MicroConsole right now, a tiny box that turns your Speedy Gonzales internet connection into a virtual game console. Sure, the company's cloud computing service already lets you do the same from any old netbook -- that's kind of the point -- but the $99 OnLive Game System gives you the leanback HDTV experience complete with a custom wireless gamepad, and (assuming you use HDMI) it'll come with all the wires too when it ships December 2nd. We sat down with OnLive VP of Engineering Joe Bentley to get a handle on the hardware within, and learn about the budding ecosystem you'll be dealing with if you buy in. See what the long-awaited system looks like below, and get the full scoop after the break! %Gallery-107700%
OnLive hopes to make it to the UK by 'the end of 2011'
"We'll announce further details about our launch plans later this year, but we would hope to make it available by the end of 2011," a British Telecom spokesperson told PCR. BT, who announced this partnership last month, will offer OnLive through select broadband bundles -- it will also be available to existing customers and PlusNet subscribers. "Over time, as consumer broadband connectivity increases and as games become more complex, we expect cloud-based distribution models for gaming to become increasingly attractive and mainstream," the spokesperson added. OnLive is currently set to launch in the US on June 17. Pre-registrants gain access to a free game and free year's subscription. As of now, no such incentive has been announced for the UK.
Pip-pip, OnLive reaches agreement with BT, launching in Europe eventually
We're still about a month away from OnLive dropping the green flag for American gamers who want to stream their games over the internets, but already the company is looking to colonize. It has reached an agreement with BT that sees the artist formerly known as British Telecom acquiring a 2.6 percent stake in exchange for exclusive rights to bundle the OnLive service with broadband packages. However, this startup doesn't like to be tied down, so will still be offering its unique abilities on the side to anyone with a fat enough pipe -- that's download speeds, dig? OnLive isn't saying exactly when its service will launch in the UK (or anywhere else in Europe, for that matter), just that the company is "completely focused" on the US release first. As well it should be; it has some mighty skeptical gamers to win over.
OnLive Game Service to launch on June 17 in the US for $15 a month
It's been a long time coming, but it looks like the wait for OnLive is finally coming to an end: the service is now officially slated to launch on June 17 in the 48 contiguous states. The game streaming service will run users $14.95 a month, though buying or renting games is an additional cost (it's unclear exactly what that cost might be). Luckily there will be lower prices available for multi-month buys, and the first 25,000 people to sign up will get their first three months free. Service includes free instant-play demos, multiplayer and an "instant video-based social network," whatever that means. At the outset the service will run on Mac and PC as a browser plugin, but the MicroConsole TV adapter will be released later this year, with other devices to be added "over time." Initially the service will run at 720p, but 1080p / 60 fps will be added once the bandwidth becomes available. Out of the gate there will be somewhere between 12 and 25 titles available, including Mass Effect 2, Borderlands, Assassin's Creed II, Dragon Age Origins, and Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands. There are five different data centers set up to serve up the games, strategically placed to reduce lag... let's hope they work!
OnLive Beta gets a preview, lukewarm approval
We've now pretty much reached saturation point with OnLive demos, so it's good to finally see an independent set of eyes poring over the service and giving us the lowdown on the actual user experience. Whether you call it on demand, streamed, or cloud gaming, the concept is remarkably simple -- OnLive pumps games via a web browser onto your machine and gives you the full gaming experience without the need for all that pretty, but expensive hardware. PC Perspective's Ryan Shrout "found" a login to the Beta program and has put together a very thorough comparison between OnLive and playing the games locally on the same computer. His conclusion is that latency issues at present make an FPS like Unreal Tournament unplayable, but slower input games like Burnout Paradise or Mass Effect give pleasingly close renditions of the real thing. We encourage you to hit the source link to see side-by-side video comparisons and more in-depth analysis. Update: We had a feeling this one would be kinda controversial and sure enough OnLive and Pc Per have gotten into a bit of a sparring match. Steve Perlman has noted the paramount importance of latency in a blog post, subtly hinting that Ryan was too far out to have a valid experience, while Ryan has responded that he'd be happy to test it on servers local to him if OnLive were up for it, and again reiterated his purpose was to stimulate discussion more than it was to give a definitive judgment on what is still a Beta service.
OnLive shows off UI and iPhone use in marathon tech demo (video)
Sure, OnLive has already done live demos of its "cloud gaming" service, but it never hurts to get another comprehensive 48-minute video on the subject. In a presentation at Columbia University, CEO Steve Perlman goes over the nitty gritty of how game streaming works, the OnLive user interface (11:53), an inevitable Crysis Wars demo (16:35), Brag Clips (17:49), and of course the iPhone app (19:31). Though cellphone integration is still limited to primarily spectating and social networking functions, PCs and Macs can get gaming via a 1MB browser plugin, or you can grab the microconsole streaming box for your TV, which Steve suggests might be given away for free with OnLive subscriptions. If you have any more unanswered questions, check out the audience Q&A at 33:14, and the full vid awaits after the break.
OnLive 'works on cell phones too,' says Perlman
We've been pretty skeptical of OnLive's many futuristic promises. From streaming every game ever to anything with a decent internet connection, to being able to end world hunger (okay, we made up that second one), it's kind of an enormous leap to be taking from our current standards. In an effort to keep us on our toes, the company just this week announced that not only can the service stream games to households, but also to cell phones. "Today, at a Wedbush financial conference in New York I showed OnLive running simultaneously on two iPhones, a TV, and a computer," said CEO Steve Perlman. "It's important to understand that a cell phone is a very different beast than TV, PC or Mac ... currently, games on OnLive are tuned for TVs and computers, so initially, it's the Community and Social elements of OnLive that we're most excited about on mobile devices." OTOY has already proven that mobile gaming of this level can exist, but we're still not convinced anyone wants to play the full console/PC version of games on their phone. Impressive? Sure. Functional? That has yet to be seen.
OnLive goes OnBeta, wants you to help by playing games
Can we find some charitable souls amongst our readers? If you're the sort of person who'll give up his or her valuable time to a worthwhile cause that demands hours of daily gaming, far less showering and more meals based around the expansive Frito-Lay product line, OnLive will most certainly want to hear from you. Beta testing of the nascent game streaming service has just been opened up to the masses, and the quick and deadly among you will already be signing up via the read link below. Just to make sure we've conveyed this accurately -- there's a company out there that wants to stream free games to your TV, so tell us, why exactly are you still here reading? [Via Joystiq]
OnLive won't be AtTending E3
Wünder product OnLive will not be shown at E3. The company's COO, Mike McGarvey, noted in a recent blog entry that E3 is a "retail-oriented conference, both for retail platforms and retail publishers, and OnLive is neither." McGarvey did confirm that the company will show "plenty" this year in preparation for its "external beta and launch." Oh, OnLive, you sound so magical. We want to believe, make us believers![Via BigDownload]
BigDownload pours one out for failed PC online gaming services
If you're climbing the walls with anticipation for Reardon Labs' streaming game service, OnLive, there's something you should read to ground your expectations. Our compadres at BigDownload have compiled a list containing some of the failed PC online gaming services that have appeared throughout the history of the internet. Among the failed services featured: Infinium Labs' $73 million disaster, the Phantom (which now exists only as a lonely lapboard) and Sega's lukewarm Heat.Net. The feature isn't speaking against the idea of OnLive but it does pinpoint where some of the industry skepticism is coming from.
Eurogamer on why OnLive is UnLikely to work
The new OnLive game streaming service sounds amazing -- being able to play PC games from basically anything with a TV nearby is a dream for people tired of paying thousands of dollars to upgrade their equipment. But are Rearden Studios' claims about OnLive's capabilities amazing because they're impossible? Eurogamer's Richard Leadbetter thinks so.First off, there are the hardware requirements. In order to run a new PC game at 720p, Leadbetter notes that each individual instance of the game will require "... the processing equivalent of a high-end dual core PC running a very fast GPU - a 9800GT minimum, and maybe something a bit meatier depending on whether the 60fps gameplay claim works out, and which games will actually be running. That's for every single connection OnLive is going to be handling." So OnLive is going to have to essentially buy one computer for each simultaneous connection it has.Second, there's the video encoding. "The bottom line here is that OnLive's 'interactive video compression algorithm' must be so utterly amazing, and orders of magnitude better than anything ever made, that you wonder why the company is bothering with videogames at all when the potential applications are so much more staggering and immense." There's a video example of the kind of compression needed even to approach this level of speed, and it's not pretty.Finally, latency. In order for any of this to work, OnLive has to maintain "sub-150 millisecond latency from its servers at least, and a hell of a QoS (quality of service) to guarantee that this will in any way approximate the experience you currently have at home."Leadbetter offers a few solutions, but they're as unlikely as Rearden's claims -- like licensing OnLive data centers to ISPs in order to be closer to users.%Gallery-48489%
GDC09: Rearden Studios introduces OnLive game service and 'microconsole'
click to enlarge Rearden Studios introduced a gaming service and "microconsole," called OnLive, at GDC today, and we're still trying to wrap our heads around everything. If we had to describe it in one sentence, we'd call it a new way of playing games online without having to buy titles, but that sounds a bit too much like the vaporware Phantom console. Plus, there's another new "console" called Zeebo making a debut at GDC, which adds more confusion to the issue. Luckily, we have more than a sentence to work with here, so bear with us.OnLive, as a company, a service, and a console, is being spun off from Rearden, and is run by Steve Perlman (founder & CEO) and Mike McGarvey (COO). The entire company is structured around a new way to stream video that the company has created -- "interactive video compression" -- which, according to the official line, has extremely low latency, and brings video lag down to "about a millisecond." Using that technology, the complany plans to have five servers across the country that will host your games completely, and it'll be streaming the video from the game to your Mac, PC, or television. Sound ambitious? It is. Read on to find out more. If you're at GDC, you can check out the press conference on Tuesday evening at 7:15 p.m. PST, or give the system a spin at Booth #5128. We'd been working on this story after getting a sneak peek earlier along with a scant few other journos, but Variety broke a major embargo. Translation: you get it early.%Gallery-48395%
