Formally announced at this years Game Developers Conference, OnLive purports to be the first legitimate gaming-on-demand service. Games will be stored and run entirely on mega-powerful servers, and will deliver low latency, high definition video back to your television or PC. Major publishers including Electronic Arts, THQ, Take-Two Interactive, Atari, Epic Games and Ubisoft have agreed to deliver their games through the OnLive network.
We want to know what you think. Is this the future of games distribution, or does it sound too good to be true? Assuming the technology proves viable (and that's a BIG assumption) this could conceivably change the face of the industry, affecting brick-and-mortar stores, game prices, the used games and rental markets—everything.
Leave your thoughts and predictions here, and we'll discuss your comments on the next episode of the GameCritics.com Podcast.
Through the years every aspect of Tim's life has been touched by gaming. He mastered typing thanks to Space Quest, honed his poker skills on The Sierra Network, and learned to hate after a particularly traumatic game of Tecmo Super Bowl.
Today, Tim lives in Chicago with his three kids and strives to find that perfect balance between family, career, and Warcraft. He enjoys broadcasting, martial arts, rock and roll, growing and shaving his beard, singing show tunes to the homeless, and losing at Mario Kart to his lovely, talented, and amazing girlfriend.
In late 2008, Tim became the producer and host of the GameCritics.com Podcast, and he's thrilled to be bringing GameCritics' unique editorial voice to a brand new medium.
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I am sorry if I’m gonna offended someone with my comment but this idea of Onlive is exactly like Steam.
hmm oh god do they even kno what they are doing! the complications and consequences from this that will arrise….gamestop and others like it will go bankrupt unless they go online….priacy is going to end its not if but now when. the new powers for laws both national and international are getting recognizition to deal with priacy regulation of the internet is no so far fetched anymore if the un does a resolution to monitor and look into computers for it…that is when its finally over. Now through all that battle guess who won the big guys corporations now with… Read more »
It seems obvious that in a few years from now, every device will be connected and there won’t be any downtime for servers. in the beginning, you will still have the choice to buy the hard copy but companies will make the online version more attractive. Moreover, it will be the ultimate answer to pirates as all content will be streamed …
And in 10 years, the gamers will be people who are between 5 and 10 now – not dinosaurs like you … These kids are already DIGITAL!
I think Onlive will be one of the ways to play videogames and won’t substitute the concoles. It’s just a service for those who don’t wanna bother updating their pc or buying a console, but that still want to play some videogames. But I think this service is perfect if u wanna try out demos or even rent the games. Virtually owning them..I don’t know, it sounds a bit limiting for various reasons: – you can only play, provided that both your connection and Onlive’s server work. – ppl like to physically own the stuff they buy. – I can… Read more »
I suspect that just as the days of the CD as a delivery medium for music is quickly coming to an end, the end is soon at hand for the same medium as a delivery service for gaming. Internet delivery makes it easier for companies to have more control over the distribution of their product, pretty much cutting out the middle man, therefore increasing profits to the companies themselves. If for no other reason but increased profitability, this scenario will play out sooner rather than later. When this occurs however, I think I will become a retro-gamer. I have no… Read more »
I think services such as Steam will become the standard before something like OnLive will. I wouldn’t want my ability to play my game to be dependent on my Internet connection, assuming it wasn’t an online game of some sort.
What is there to discuss? Obviously this is the (pretty near) future. The fact that this is the future has been crystal for, oh, at least 10 years?
heh, just wrote a big-ass blog post about this. we must’ve been typing at the same time. ; )
[quote]But what about the question of ‘purchase’ or ‘ownership’?[/quote] What about it? If you paid $30 for a game on the service, and got about 20 hours or so out of it, does it really matter that you can’t put it on your shelf? Do you play your old games all that often? With an online service such as this (assuming best case scenario) you’d have access to any game released for it at any point you want. So reliving past glories shouldn’t be a problem. Of course our attitudes and perceptions about gaming will have to change/adapt to the… Read more »
But what about the question of ‘purchase’ or ‘ownership’? with this cloud model, players won’t really own what they’re paying for… they’ll just sort of extended-rent no mater what the purveyors say. if the service goes down or if you sever your relationship (based on the subscription model) then you’ve spent a bunch of money with nothing to show. Really, this is my biggest hurdle with the concept.
I can easily see this as becoming the standard for gaming in the future. Maybe not OnLive in particular, but streaming games directly to your computer (or console) will probably become normal for gamers at some point in the world of tomorrow. Aren’t PC gamers halfway their already? With Steam you don’t get a physical product, you just download the game to your hdd. Isn’t this the next step on that ladder?