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Gaikai enters closed beta, we get an exclusive first look
This is Mass Effect 2, running on a netbook -- a stock Eee PC -- with a single core Atom CPU that wouldn't dare to dream of actually processing the game. It works because the sci-fi opera's not taxing that silicon at all, but rather a beefy server miles away, streaming processed and compressed video frames direct to the 10.1-inch screen. It's called Gaikai, and if you're thinking it sounds just like OnLive by a different name, you'd be half-right. However, this streaming game service has a radically different business model which doesn't cost players a dime. Rather than provide a library of titles and charge you for on-demand, Gaikai will power game advertisements that let you actually play their games. If that sounds like an idea you'd like to hear more about, then we've got a treat for you. We spoke with founder David Perry about what the service can do, got an exclusive hands-on with the closed beta, and an extensive video walkthrough to boot. After the break, find the whole scoop. %Gallery-108541%
OnLive giving thanks to its Founding Members with free MicroConsoles
Have you been riding the OnLive bangwagon from the start? If so, you'll want to heed this little Thanksgiving note from the company, which is offering a free MicroConsole to its early cloud gaming service users -- whom it dubs Founding Members -- provided they've bought licenses for at least two games in their time. The diminutive TV adapter typically costs $99, but qualifying Members will be able to get it for free if they pre-order it now, though they will have to spring for covering delivery costs. As to the more timid among you who only ever bought the one PlayPass, OnLive will let you have a free Full PlayPass (equivalent to a free game) in the place of the hardware. So, whichever way you slice it, it's good to be first.
GameString Adrenalin turns your Google TV into a game streamer, will WoW your couch (video)
We like the Google TV, we really do, we just think it needs another few months in the oven before it's really going to rock anyone's world. It won't just be Google that makes or breaks it, though, and innovative uses like GameString Adrenalin are certainly going to help. That site offers what it calls "Personal Cloud Gaming," letting you stream the output from seemingly any game on your PC to a browser, where it can be played on a number of devices. Chrome within the Google TV is just one of them, but given how something like a Revue comes with a keyboard and is usually attached to a big display it seems like a good choice. We can't be sure what the lag is like when playing in this way, but the video embedded below does make it look pretty snappy -- though hopefully the service doesn't force you to listen to the same classic Prodigy that trailer does. Right now the service is in free beta, so have at it at the source link.
Gaikai game streaming service on target to launch in December, with all 'major publishers' signed on
The OnLive gaming service may be free now, but that doesn't mean that others aren't gunning for its members. Similarly fee-free competitor Gaikai was announced back in July and was initially said to be launching in September. However, the plan apparently wasn't to launch in September, rather to be done in September, which Dave Perry is insisting they are. The company is now just waiting to finalize some publishing deals before sending out invites to members in 60 days. Those won't be a sort of public beta like OnLive went through, with Perry saying "There will be no 'you're in a beta.' It'll just be 'go ahead and play.'" EA is still the only big fish the company has hooked thus far, but Gaikai officers expect to have "all the major games publishers" onboard by the end of the year. Say what you like, you can't knock their optimism.
OnLive ditches monthly fees altogether, makes the world a freer place
OnLive's cloud gaming service has just become exponentially more appealing with one simple move: monthly fees for its use have been scrapped. Company CEO Steve Perlman has gleefully dished the good news, garnishing them with the explication that such was the plan all along -- though it couldn't be announced in advance as there was uncertainty about whether the economics of the nascent on-demand service would work out to support its fee-free operation. So now that the beans have been counted, Perlman and co have done the best thing possible by under-promising and over-delivering -- all an OnLive user will need to pay for now are PlayPasses, which offer you three- or five-day access to a game, or you can buy the game in full, which comes with a minimum three-year guarantee of support after its release on OnLive. Paying only for the content you want to use? Now that truly is a revolutionary idea. [Thanks, Kevin S.]
Gaikai game streaming service evades also-ran status with investments from Intel and Limelight
Since we're still reeling from the fact that OnLive actually works, it seems a bit premature to be looking for competition in the game streaming space. Still, the browser-based Gaikai service is coming on fast, with a planned September launch and EA on board for those mega-hit titles the kids are playing these days. For a bit of added reassurance, Gaikai just announced it's getting investments from Intel Capital and Limelight Networks, whose products it just happens to be using. Gaikai's servers will have 6-core Intel processors and Intel SSD drives inside, and Limelight is already on tap to make the whole distribution part work. We can't say we're happy to see yet another platform war in the gaming space, especially after it looked like Steam was going to let us all live in perfect harmony in computer land, but the allure of playing high-end games instantly from a browser is hard to deny.
OnLive turns sentient, now beaming gaming goodness over the ether (update)
We were promised cloud gaming nirvana on June 17, and OnLive has indeed kept to its self-imposed schedule. The new service that allows you to play resource-hungry games via only your browser window has taken its first steps into the real (non-beta) world with an initial catalog of 23 games. It'll be free for the first year for those who showed faith early on and pre-registered, or $15 per month for new bandwagon riders. Do let us know your thoughts if you've gotten onboard at this nascent stage: does it play fantastically well, is it close to spectacular, or is it just a pedestrian effort aiming to capitalize on geeks' lust for unbound gaming? We have to know. [Thanks, Mike] Update: OnLive's site doesn't seem to have been updated to reflect the service going live (you can sign up, but can't just jump in and play). It might be, therefore, that OnLive is booting itself up in stages, with only the early birds getting the first bite.
Spawn Labs starts shipping HD-720, your video games now ready to be slung
Hey, remember Spawn Labs? Look, we know last September was a long, long time ago, but how could you ever forget the box that essentially acts as the Slingbox for your video game consoles? The HD-720, which arrives with the ability to pass along either Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3 signals to a web-connected PC for remote playback, is now available to order for $199.95, while additional adapters can also be purchased for $39.95. Of course, you should make sure you have a pretty robust Windows-based laptop and a solid internet connection before getting your hopes up too high here, but if those are well taken care of, your portable gaming dreams are now just a credit card indention away. [Thanks, Ryan]
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.
Video: Spawn Labs HD-720 aims to be the Slingbox to your game console, we go hands-on
Sure, your heart may be aflutter with thoughts of gaming cloud services like OnLive and OTOY, but quietly making its debut this week is Spawn Labs with its "Bring Your Own console" HD-720 video game streamer, due out this November for $199.95. In a nutshell, the device works as a Slingbox for your Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PS2, or GameCube and lets you play those consoles over the internet on your Windows PC (a Mac client is said to be in the works). The AV cables -- component or composite, no HDMI at this point -- are connected and can be then passed through to a TV as normal. A USB connection is used to sync up the controller, and there's also an IR signal for turning the connected system(s) on and off. On the computer, you can log the Spawn Labs website and play either your own system or jump onto one of your friends' systems for some faux-local co-op or to be a spectator. We had a chance to take a look at the streamer and talk with some of the minds behind it at TechCrunch 50 to fill in some of the missing details. In a fairly controlled environment -- the device hooked up via ethernet to a private router on the show floor -- we were able to competently play Soul Calibur IV with what we were told was around 100ms audio / video and 5ms controller lag. Under ideal situations, it streams 720p / 30 frames per second in H.264 video with AAC-LC audio, but that can automatically downscale when the connection slows -- should we decide we're too lazy to make it from our bedroom to the couch to play Halo (an all too frequent scenario), it'll clearly work fine over a local network, but it's gonna be how well it works across that internet that's the real deal-breaker, and we weren't able to test that. Cross-continent play isn't recommended, but you can have spectators from all over the world and it won't at all affect your latency. Any PC controller can work and be custom-mapped, including just keyboard and mouse, although if you're wanting to use a PS3 pad you'll have to find the drivers for it yourself. The game window itself has buttons along the bottom for pulling up the system's specific guide menu or recording the video for upload to YouTube. What's impressive to us is that it's said to work with any computer that can handle a 720p video stream, and so far in the labs they've apparently got it working well on an ION-based netbook -- but we didn't get to see that for ourselves, so we'll hold applause until we can put it through its paces ourselves. See a video demonstration for yourself after the break.
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]
