OnLive Nearing Second Test Phase

[Druid]

OnLive Nearing Second Test Phase
The company claims its streaming game tech will break the console cycle.

February 18, 2010 - Speaking at the DICE Summit in Las Vegas today, the founder of the OnLive streaming videogame service announced that his company's new technology will enter the second phase of its beta test next week.

There are already "hundreds of thousands" of people participating in an OnLive beta that has been in place since September 2009, said Steve Perlman, who also serves as OnLive's CEO.

OnLive was unveiled at the Game Developers Conference last year, and limited demos were shown to press and developers. It works as an on-demand gaming service where subscribers can access and instantly play any game in the OnLive library. All you need to get started is a small device called a MicroConsole, which hooks directly to your TV. Or, if you prefer to play on your PC or Mac, OnLive can be launched through a simple browser plugin. But OnLive goes even further than that. Perlman also confirmed support for the iPhone and "tablets." He showed a very brief demo (a few seconds) of Crysis running on an iPhone via OnLive.

Major publishers are working with OnLive to provide games for the service. Ubisoft, THQ, EA, Codemasters, Warner, Epic and others are all on board for the system's test period.

The company still hasn't announced hardware or subscription prices, but Perlman said he is convinced that OnLive will revolutionize the game industry, calling it "the world's most powerful game system."

He argued that gamers want to connect directly with their favorite games, not with expensive hardware like the Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3. With OnLive, gamers can download and stream games instantly via the system's proprietary video compression software. The service supports cross-platform friends lists, video uploads, real-time cross-game spectating, game rentals and demos.

"OnLive breaks the console cycle," Perlman said.

There's no specific date set yet for the next phase of the trial period, but you can head to the official site to sign up for the OnLive Beta.

source - IGN Advertisement

Could be interesting. I think I heard of something similar with computers from google. At least this would remove the bottleneck of consoles from game development. If something like this does take off, I still don't think it will gain mass popularity until after the next generation of consoles.

 

[Chad711]

"OnLive breaks the console cycle," Perlman said.

calling it "the world's most powerful game system."

They pointed it out themselves here but I'll say it too. They are trying to turn a PC into a console. I don't see this taking off like they say it will. I'm not sure why they think:

not with expensive hardware like the Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3

My computer cost more then either of these systems. The new system I plan on getting will cost more then both of them combined.

 

[wafflehammer]

It will take off hugely because it will stop pirates..because how will they steal the game if it's having to be on a monthly payment? they won't..so once game producers pick up on it ..it'll be the future for pc games

 

[Harper]

Once again, i will say that I will believe the claims on OnLive when I see it.

 

[Yami]

I'm with Keyboard on this one...

Also I'm a bit wary of this, it has the issues I have with Steam - i.e. you don't actually "own" the game, you own it on Steam. But they also have your hardware Though I suppose as long as it plays maximum settings @ 1080p I'm fine with it.

 

[Harper]

Very true. My consern is bandwidth. This might work quite well if you are in the Europe or America where you have a lot of more submerine cables. However out in Australia is a different matter.