The lights are on
OnLive, the mysterious new game platform that will allow users to play next-gen games streaming through the Internet, was announced at GDC 2009. Since then, we've pondered if it could be real and as good as it sounds, but it looks like this won't be the next Phantom after all. At GDC 2010 OnLive has announced a release date and launch details.
OnLive will go live on June 17 for early registrants, with a program that works for PC and Mac or through a "MicroConsole" that plugs in to HDTVs. Subscription to the service will cost $14.95 a month to access their library of games. Note that the OnLive FAQ suggests that you'll have to pay an additional fee for renting or purchasing games, although pricing for this has not been announced. As an added bonus, the first 25,000 to register will get the monthly fee waived for the first three months.
OnLive is planning to announce a complete list of launch titles for the service before E3, but their early list already looks very impressive: Mass Effect 2, Dragon Age: Origins, Assassin’s Creed II , Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands, Borderlands, and Metro 2033.
Are you thinking of giving OnLive a shot? You can pre-register now at their official website.
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Hmm...so you pay per month to play any game you want as long as you want? So you never have to buy another game again? That could be cool.
I'm still highly skeptical of this. I don't see how it can't lag. Until I get to try it myself I don't believe it works.
How can they charge 14.95 for their entire library of games? FULL games? That seems unreal. I'd pay near $40 for that but ok, i'll bite. Anyways I may be behind on news but this is the first time I'm hearing of this. I'll keep my eyes open
Check out the link above. Your paying 14.95 monthly, comes out to 179.40 plus tax probably for a year. And no, you have to buy the games or rent them from the services they provide. Yeahhhh....no. They only provide demos and video profiles and some other crap.
I'm with Forsberg on this. How can this possibly work well without any latency and what happens when your connection mysteriously drops for a few seconds? Is there an HDD? Do you lose all of your progress if no HDD exists? Many questions need to be answered before I will even consider this device.
I saw this at DICE and they were playing Unreal and it looked like a lag fest, but who knows.
What's going to make or break this thing is the lag, legal clearnace, and whether or not that controller is nice and comfy or feels like a junky piece of Mad Catz garbage from 1998. Seriously, that controller looks like a repacked clearance item for a Tandy 1000.
Not the right pricing structure for me to want this.
A PS3/360 is $300... lasts 7 years... comes to roughly $4 a month.
OnLive for 7 years would be just over $1200!!!! And you don't "physically own" anything!
The only way I can see this taking off is if they offer it as some type of service like Netflix/Gamefly. Pay so much a month to "rent" and play unlimited games.
Otherwise, this won't take off if people are smart.
how much does the system cost,that the first piece of info needed,and its missing.
nope
@ LegoElf
But people aren't smart. Thanks for the math though!
I feel the need to point out to Mr. LegoElf that his math is highly flawed .Unless you are getting free games somewhere , you need to factor in the cost of games in your math . If you only buy 2 games per year at 60 bucks a pop that comes to an additional 840 bucks , which brings the total to 1140 , and that's if you can keep yourself down to 2 per year , I know I buy way more than that. That being said I'm not the slightest bit interested in this thing , it looks like a fad , and I have a hard time believing it will actually compare to owning one of the major consoles.
I just registered. If I qualify for the first 3 months free, I'll evaluate it.
This is going to be one of the biggest fails in gaming history.
BTW if you read the article it says that 14.95 a month gives you access to their entire library of games , so it is like Netflix/Gamefly.
i can see this failing hard
GAMES ARE NOT FREE!!! Make sure U understand that. This is NOT like gamefly or Netflix. U pay a BASE monthly fee. then U can RENT or BUY games right off the Servers. Think of XBOX LIVE GAMES ON DEMAND but without the XBOX. Unless the games are super discounted, I will never "buy" them. What if they FLOP. Then My games are no longer MINE. It streams from THEM, not a download. This can be either an epic FAIL or a gaming revolution.
Seems like a heck of a lot of money and resources are being poured into this idea... it's got to be worth something.
nah
Only issue I see here is the (very possible) lag. Right now you press a button, it goes to your console, and the output is displayed on your television. With this system, you press a button, it goes to the little OnLive box, through your internet, to your ISP, then out to OnLive, to their computers, then back through to your OnLive box again, and then onto your television. I have NO IDEA how that won't be an issue, but if they've come this far it must be usable. We'll hear soon enough I suppose.