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OnLive launching June 17 for PC and Mac, $15 per month service fee
digg_url = 'http://digg.com/pc_games/OnLive_launching_June_17_for_PC_and_Mac_15_per_month'; OnLive has announced that its cloud-based game streaming service will launch in the 48 contiguous US states on June 17, 2010. The service will initially be available to PC and Mac owners for a monthly service fee of $14.95. Each game purchase and rental will carry a charge on top of the base subscription. Steve Perlman, CEO of OnLive, confirmed that the final version of the OnLive "experience" will be demoed at E3 2010, which kicks off just two days before the service goes live. As for the whereabouts of its "micro-console," Perlman could only say that it will launch at a later date to be announced in the coming months. He offered a quick look ahead at some planned upgrades to the service, the biggest of which is 1080p support at 60 frames-per-second "as the bandwidth becomes available." OnLive is going to waive the first three months of its service fee for the first 25,000 people who register for the service. Those who want to get a leg-up on being a part of that group can pre-register on the company's site.
Randy Nelson03.10.2010
OnLive demos Crysis on iPhone, expects to go to iPad
OnLive was at the DICE Summit in Las Vegas last week, where they showed their game streaming software running on the iPhone again. This time they had Crysis going, and apparently the demo ran "fast and smooth." The way they do it is to run the game and render it all on a fast computer somewhere, and then stream video to the iPhone while streaming controls back to the game itself. Of course a demo is just a demo, and actually running a game like that out in the real world is much tougher. But OnLive is convinced they can do it. And that's not all -- they also made mention of running their app on "tablets," which is a roundabout way of hinting that they'd like to do the same for the iPad. Now that is an intriguing opposition -- you wouldn't even need processing power for games on the iPad if you can run the software. If OnLive sets it up so you can stream on your local Wi-Fi connection (essentially using the iPad as a remote viewer/controller), then we might have something interesting here. Apple might be interested in that as well. Streaming heavyweight games from your Mac to the iPad? Yes, please. But of course, all OnLive has so far is a nice demo and some good ideas. We're still waiting to hear details of how they're going to bring out their streaming service, not to mention get it up and running on the iPhone. As soon as they let us know, we'll let you know.
Mike Schramm02.22.2010
OnLive, PlayStation Motion Controller and others getting GDC panels
The latest salvo of announcements for panels and presentations taking place at the Game Developers Conference was recently launched, revealing sessions focusing on a wide range of topics. Said topics include OnLive, Shadow Complex, the Smithsonian's admittance of video games, Blizzard's philosophy on game design, and a panel titled "Introducing the PlayStation Motion Controller." We're pretty sure we're already acquainted, thanks -- though we wouldn't mind if you'd finally tell us the damn thing's name. Check out the full list of scheduled speeches on GDC's interactive site. Just don't look too hard for that special session which allows you to dine on the finest of breakfast cereals. That one will be at the other March gaming convention.
Griffin McElroy02.16.2010
Peter Moore wants to be convinced by OnLive, already a fan of Arc controller
Peter Moore, formerly the big cheese in charge of Xbox, is now the head of EA Sports, but he's lost none of the forthrightness that's made him a popular man to interview in the past. In his latest sitdown with CVG, Peter expressed his admiration for the nascent OnLive cloud gaming service, but also noted that he remains uncertain as to whether it will actually work when millions of people decide to play the same game at the same time -- a reservation we probably all share. He did point out that the sort of readily accessible gaming OnLive represents was in his company's plans, and would be expanded with more browser-based games. Finally, as someone who's seen the PlayStation 3 Arc controller in action Peter should be well qualified to assess it, and he describes it as a "great complement to what's out there," claiming that it brings a substantially different experience to Nintendo's Wii Remote. Check out the source for the full interview.
Vlad Savov02.09.2010
Peter Moore excited about PlayStation 'Arc,' unsure about OnLive
In a time-honored Peter Moore tradition, the EA Sports head recently opened up for an interview on a variety of subjects in the game industry. This time, the oft fake-tattooed gentleman exposited on the future of OnLive and his company's investment in the upcoming PlayStation Motion Controller (supposedly named "Arc"). "I don't know about OnLive," Moore told CVG, responding to the question of whether or not the cloud gaming service will become the "iTunes of gaming." He does, however, see opportunity in burgeoning distribution and pricing methods. "If a consumer's got five bucks to spend on some cool DLC; if they love Tiger Woods but want to be able to play online and invest $10 or $15 over a period of time ... those are the things we need to look at." As far as his interest in the "Arc" goes, he says that he's seen the hardware in action and thinks it'll be a "great complement to what's out there." He directly points out its distinction from the Wii's motion controller and reconfirms EA Sports' development of games with Sony motion in mind -- he even names tennis and golf as prime contenders as each sport lends to an "authentic sports motion" (at least with what he's seen on the Wii). Frankly, we're just about as excited as could be to finally show off our lacking sports skills as games based on sports creep closer to reality.
Ben Gilbert02.08.2010
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.
Vlad Savov01.21.2010
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.
Vlad Savov12.30.2009
OnLive technology demonstrated at Columbia University
You might want to go ahead and put on your thickest, darkest sunglasses, because you're about to be blinded with science. OnLive founder and CEO Steve Perlman recently showed off the game-streaming technology's applications to a group of students at Columbia University in New York. Yeah, sure, you can be jealous of their rare opportunity, but take solace in the fact that access to this opportunity probably cost them $35,000 a year. GamertagRadio snagged a video of the event, which we've embedded after the jump. It's awfully long -- feel free to jump to the 12-minute mark to check out the OnLive user interface, and the 17-minute mark to see the iPhone's social networking functionality.
Griffin McElroy12.29.2009
Big Download awards 2009's vaporware
In response to Wired's own 2009 vaporware awards, our pals at BigDownload have complied their own list of software and hardware that woulda, coulda and shoulda seen the light of day this year. Topping the list is the streaming service OnLive, which was slated to release in "winter 2009," following a healthy dose of beta testing. While reception for the service has been mostly positive, OnLive's claims have yet to be tested on a global stage (during E3 2009, OnLive was previewed for select media via a cable modem connection to the service's California-based headquarters). Other nods go to Gearbox Software's oft-delayed -- we'll believe it when we see it -- Aliens: Colonial Marines, Obsidian's "oh, by the way, it's not coming out today" Alpha Protocol, and Midway's This Is Canceled Vegas. Sadly, Duke Nukem Forever failed to win an award for what would have been a record twelfth-straight year.
Xav de Matos12.23.2009
Zelnick: OnLive 'beneficial' to gaming industry, doesn't fit with Take-Two's business model
Though most gaming enthusiasts received the announcement of the streaming game service known as OnLive with raw, unmitigated zeal, Take-Two chairman Strauss Zelnick isn't convinced of the platform's revolutionary properties. According to GamesIndustry, Zelnick explained during the UBS Global Media and Communications Conference in New York City, that, if successful, OnLive would "meaningfully and beneficially transform the economics of our business." However, he later added that the digital distribution-centric system "doesn't really speak to our business model." Zelnick noted the benefits in not having to worry about costs associated with production and distribution, but explained that "the bulk of our business is packaged goods because initial releases are for the console business." He later claimed that OnLive's bold distribution model "probably won't be a sea change in our business." Shortly after that, he did 1,000 sit-ups, and then arm wrestled everyone in the audience simultaneously. Needless to say, he won.
Griffin McElroy12.08.2009
OnLive claims to run gaming service on iPhone
OnLive is a company that has been claiming to do the seemingly impossible -- they plan to set up a sort of "cloud gaming" console, where instead of hardware in individual houses (like we have now; you buy a console for your home), they'll have hardware over the Internet, and stream your game to you like watching television. All of the processing and coding will be done on a remote server, but with signals flowing from your controller, it'll seem like you're just playing Xbox at home. It all works in theory, but in practice, Internet connections aren't solid or stable enough to send commands and full HD video back and forth without enough lag to make things unplayable. Still, without actually releasing a product so far, OnLive claims they can do it, and now they're claiming to do it on the iPhone as well. AppleInsider reports that at a recent event in New York, OnLive showed off the same game service running on "2 iPhones, a tv, and a computer" simultaneously, with gamers on all the devices able to communicate and watch each others' gameplay. CEO Steve Perlman admits it's a "tech demo," but doesn't go into detail on what that means (it could simply be a demo running separately on the devices, to show what it would be like, or I've heard of OnLive events where the server is sitting in the room next door). And of course, there's no date or information on an actual release yet. OnLive's service definitely sounds possible someday -- as Internet connections get faster and hardware gets even cheaper, it's not a stretch to think we'll eventually move the heavy processor lifting to another location, leaving much tinier consoles and PCs taking up space on our desks and TV stands at home. But so far all it seems they've got is an idea (and the money that excited financiers have put into the project). We'll have to believe it works when we see it.
Mike Schramm11.18.2009
OnLive demonstrates iPhone app, set to redefine mobile gaming?
Okay, we admit to still being a little bit unsure about OnLive's pledges for high-end, high-resolution, lag-free gaming on any 'ol device with bandwidth, but we want to believe, and so it's with skeptical optimism that we report on news of mobile implementations. The company has demonstrated an iPhone app in which users are able to play against gamers on a PC or on the company's MicroConsole -- despite not having a single button to press. It's interesting stuff but, according to OnLive's CEO Steve Perlman, it'll be awhile before we see this in the wild, as plans for initial mobile apps will be limited to checking game stats and watching live gameplay. However, we presume it'll be a small step from there to flip the switch and two-way communications, meaning that perhaps by the time Modern Warfare 3 hits the wires you can keep gaming even while you're commuting.
Tim Stevens11.16.2009
OnLive closes 'major round of funding' with support from AT&T, Lauder Partners, et al.
Worried that a service like OnLive -- the black-magic-fueled game streaming device unveiled at GDC earlier this year -- can't make it to market? "It would cost a fortune to get something like that off the ground!" you exclaimed to your parents over dinner. Of course it costs a fortune! The company wants to stream video of games from high-powered computing clusters at strategic locations, straight to your parent's basement. That stuff ain't free! To that end, CEO Steve Perlman has announced via the company's blog that OnLive has "closed a major round of funding with participation from AT&T Media Holdings, Inc., Lauder Partners, Warner Bros., Autodesk and Maverick Capital." While Perlman isn't saying just how much is "major" the press release did note that this "is by far OnLive's largest closing." The money "will be used to launch OnLive's service offerings and to protect OnLive's extensive intellectual property rights."We can only imagine Perlman and Company are watching competitors like Gaikai and Otoy closely. With the beta soon (now?) underway, and the company's coffers filled, we can hopefully expect a steady march of progress towards launch. Source – OnLive Blog Source – Press release
Christopher Grant09.30.2009
OTOY: The game streaming service you've never heard of
While OnLive and Gaikai continue to hog the game-streaming spotlight, few are talking about the third option that people will have for server-based gaming: OTOY. And that's likely because the company (of the same name) behind the technology hasn't been exactly forthcoming with details -- even the official website has nothing more than the "Soon" image you see above. Ars Technica recently got a chance to check out the service in action, pushing graphical monster Crysis to an iPhone with reportedly good results. The service is still in its infancy, as demonstrated by a TechCrunch hands-on video we've dropped after the break, but shows a lot of potential. Considering OnLive's currently holding its public beta in North America and Gaikai's kicking off a private beta in Europe late this month, we hope OTOY decides to start getting vocal soon. We're all ears!
Ben Gilbert09.13.2009
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]
Vlad Savov09.03.2009OnLive beta program is on, live
Want to try playing a game here that's actually running over there? OnLive has announced today that it's opening a public beta of its impossible-sounding game streaming service. Users who have signed up on the website (and, the announcement suggests, users who do so soon) will be asked for "general information about your ISP, your computer configuration and your location" so OnLive can build "test groups" of users working under various conditions. Should you make the cut, you'll receive an invitation, which requires a Performance Test. If your settings make the cut (the "cut" being whatever configuration OnLive is looking to test), you'll become part of a Test Group at some unspecified time, at which point the (hopefully) awesome part begins: the part in which you play games. It'll be buggy, and you'll probably have to fill out reports about the experience, but video games. It may not have been an "official" beta, and it may have been under carefully orchestrated conditions, but our own experience with OnLive was a positive one. We'll see how the public beta compares.
JC Fletcher09.02.2009
Warner Bros. promotes exec following Midway acquisition
Warner Bros. executive Jeff Junge has a laundry list of valuable gaming credentials on his resume. From recently leading the acquisition of a failing Midway Games to an early investment in dark magic engine OnLive, and even spearheading the purchase of TT Games a couple of years back, Junge is no stranger to the game industry. And all that would help to explain why, late this week, Warner Bros. announced the promotion of Junge to senior VP of business management for Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group. The Home Entertainment Group includes, among many other things, the company's gaming division.According to the release issued by WB, Junge will continue to "drive mergers and acquisitions" for the company. We've been told on good faith that neither "mergers" nor "acquisitions" are any type of automobile. How do you plan on driving them then, Mr. Junge? Hmmm?[Via Edge]
Ben Gilbert08.01.2009
Dave Perry explains Gaikai's 'bizarre genesis'
Dave Perry's idea of a streaming game service has been a long time in the making, though the fruition of that idea, Gaikai, is less than a year into actual development. According to his latest piece for Develop, the idea for an online service with high-end game (and application) streaming has been germinating for some time in his head, starting with Airline Pilots -- an arcade flight simulator from Sega. "A friend of mine told me that we needed to buy that game, so we paid for it between us, and I stored the game in my garage," Perry explains. He found himself playing the game for hours, wondering if it would be possible to "play a real flight simulator" without having to shell out "thousands upon thousands" for it. Years later, he found himself evangelizing his theories at Leipzig 2008, where he was approached by two gentlemen (Andrew Gault and Rui Pereira) working on the very technology he spoke about. From that partnership, Gaikai was born. Perry says what separates his company's product from OnLive's is that "it's a service" and as such there is no dictating where it can go -- OnLive is technology dependent. Though we've gotten a video tour of the service and plenty of talk from Mr. Perry about Gaikai so far, we've yet to get our hands on the service, and as such will remain (understandably) skeptical until we see more.
Ben Gilbert07.28.2009
Playcast hoping to beat OnLive to the game streaming punch
We're still not comfortable with the magical technoworkings that apparently allow OnLive to summon games from the ether -- to think that other companies have the engineering prowess to pull it off is terrifying. According to a recent press release, a startup company named Playcast Media has teamed up with an Israeli cable network called Hot to stream "PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 quality games," straight to Israel's set-top cable boxes. The service is in beta now -- in Q1 2010, it'll rollout over all of Israel. It's expected to hit "major markets" in the US, Asia and Europe later that year.That's a lot of heady claims from a service we know so little about. Fortunately, an Israeli tech journalist named Denis Vitchevsky got a chance to check out the service, and came off with an optimistic impression. He says the technology is "somewhat similar to OnLive," and that the demo he witnessed "worked quite well." He claims Playcast has signed agreements with a few publishers, and is promising a huge library at launch. For now, the service is offering PC ports -- but no M rated games just yet, due to a lack of parental control features.We're trying to get more info on the service, but as you might imagine, it takes a while for emails to zip between here and Israel.
Griffin McElroy07.20.2009
Dyack: Industry making more games than consumers can handle
When we first heard about Denis Dyack's vision of a single-console future, we were ready to dismiss the idea as, if you'll excuse our language, cockamamie. Now, in a world with cloud computing systems like OnLive and Gaikai in the works, it doesn't seem that nutty.He's still banging the drum and elaborating on his point, saying that the single console would help reduce a glut of games overwhelming the consumer. "There were 300 or so games released last November. We're in a state of performance over supply. We're making more games than consumers can possibly consume," Dyack told Videogamer.com. "Marketing is having a disproportionate effect over the success of games because there's so many out there people are ignoring us."Hey, you're a consumer, right? Are you feeling overwhelmed?
Justin McElroy07.17.2009