OnLive is live!

[RCIX]

It looks like OnLive has publicly been released starting today! I personally don't have the money (or the interest, with the current selection of titles) to buy a subscription, but it looks real. If it lives up to what they're saying about it, this could truly be the next evolution in gaming! Moreover, it seems that it works: http://www.joystiq.com/2009/06/03/impressions-online-and-live-with-onlive/

The most impressive? (from their blog) They claim that you can run OnLive on mobile devices (like the iPad), and play the full selection of games just like on a PC, so this could bode well for AI war on the iPad. I wonder what X will have to say about the possibility of seeing Arcen games on OnLive.

[x4000]

Well, I'm definitely always interested in working with any reputable partner that doesn't require exclusivity (and that otherwise gives a fair deal), especially ones doing really unusual and innovative things.  I haven't seen their developer terms, but I'd definitely be interested once I have a chance to get caught up with all the existing things that I have outstanding. :p

[eRe4s3r]

Bandwidth usage per hour - 2.1gb

People with monthly caps will be happy ;P Their solution to the bandwidth and encoding problem , throw 5000kbit/s at 720p around. No solution at all. Standard bitrate at 720p is 3000-4000kbit/s with h.264 and mp3 audio channels.

So their encoding is not superior to h.264 which was what everyone said - because when many people use it your cable connection is going to be swamped and your ping horrible (because ISP's will definitely throttle it without payment from OnLive) ;(

Also the demo did not say what sound-output and quality it had.

Still its impressive and if they expand outside the USA and include consoles in their line-up this could become very impressive.. 

[rubikscube]

I still don't get what it does

[Volatar]

I still don't get what it does

Wikipedia is your friend.

OnLive is a gaming-on-demand game platform, announced at the Game Developers Conference in 2009.[3] The service is a gaming equivalent of cloud computing: the game is synchronized, rendered, and stored on a remote server and delivered online. The service was announced to be compatible with any Windows PC running Windows XP or Windows Vista, or any Intel-based Mac running Mac OS X and on smartphones.[4][5][6][7] A low-end computer, as long as it can play video, may be used to play any kind of game since the game is computed on the OnLive server. For that reason, the service is being seen as a strong competitor for the console market.[8][9]

[rubikscube]

i meant it doesn't make sense after wiki, steam is already like that , windows live is like that, why need another?

[x4000]

It doesn't use your graphics card or CPU to run the game.  It just sends you video.

[RCIX]

TO give a somewhat simplified example, it's like Hulu or Netflix Streaming for games.

Bandwidth usage per hour - 2.1gb

People with monthly caps will be happy ;P Their solution to the bandwidth and encoding problem , throw 5000kbit/s at 720p around. No solution at all. Standard bitrate at 720p is 3000-4000kbit/s with h.264 and mp3 audio channels.

So their encoding is not superior to h.264 which was what everyone said - because when many people use it your cable connection is going to be swamped and your ping horrible (because ISP's will definitely throttle it without payment from OnLive) ;(

Some good points, but i look at it as similar to the aforementioned video streaming services. You need a good (read uncapped broadband) connection, but it is a very useful service if you can get it. Internet for the world!

The advantage being that you don't have to upgrade your computer, you just install OnLive and play whatever games you want, and they all run fine (assuming a good connection). BUt then i remember you being a bit of a pessimist, so...

[eRe4s3r]

Tis true, if it were available in Germany I'd probably test it.. but for now there don't seem to be any plans to expand outside of the us. And while pessimistic, i think if this really works as advertised then its a great technology, especially since it could allow all console games to be played on the PC And all PC games on the consoles... this could revolutionize the entire gaming segment. If the ISP's allow it.

[RCIX]

I remember that in their blog they said they were expanding to Belgium, so it's possible that a Germany release will be forthcoming

[Buttons840]

Tis true, if it were available in Germany I'd probably test it.. but for now there don't seem to be any plans to expand outside of the us. And while pessimistic, i think if this really works as advertised then its a great technology, especially since it could allow all console games to be played on the PC And all PC games on the consoles... this could revolutionize the entire gaming segment. If the ISP's allow it.

I hope it doesn't become the only choice for many games.  I like to own the games I purchase, and not lose my entire gaming library once I stop paying monthly.  I doubt ISPs will allow it.  I'm sure Comcast would give me a call if I spent all my gaming time using OnLive.

[eRe4s3r]

What you should expect to happen is competing services popping up that cover entire online retailers catalogs, Steam for example.

Then you might one day own your things on steam and be able to play them anywhere you want - all interlinked with the steam cloud. And for only a marginal "monthly" fee . Buying stuff would be the same as now, just with monthly fee you could gain access to live-streaming functionality alá onlive...

I could imagine worse future scenarios.. this one actually sounds nice

As always in the tech world, the first is not always the one that succeeds.

[rubikscube]

namely nintendo

[HellishFiend]

I'm usually not one to speak out against an innovation, but I really dont think this technology has a mass market future in the manner it's being presented. Bandwidth is not as widely available as electricity, and this technology basically uses bandwidth in lieu of electricity at the point of consumption (your house). It might be more cost effective for the consumer, provided you have no bandwidth cap, but the infrastructure is just not there.

The technology looks solid though, and I hope that a practical use for it emerges. 

[Buttons840]

I have to admit I was impressed by a demo showing modern PC games playing on the iPad using this technology.

I wouldn't mind setting up my own computer as a service provider.  Then I can own the games, the server, and there wont be any monthly fees.  (Except paying for my own bandwidth of course.)