Bandit03

OnLive Beta sign-up began here.

Looks interesting, signed up just for the hell of it

Heres some details taken from GamingBits.com

Raul3

Wow! Great games.

According to different articles they had working demos at GDC, so it's not really like the Phantom. I think the Kotaku article mentioned that they actually tested the system, but in a controlled environment.

But yeah, my main concern is lag. I want to try the system from home and see at least 30 FPS (I know that's low for PC standards, but we have to start somewhere...) and then I'll believe.

Michael Corvin

Signed up for the beta, thanks.

I don't have a Windows machine or an Intel Mac (have a pre-intel G5) but signed up anyway. I figure I can hook it up at my brother's or a friends house to check it out.

Brent L

I signed up for beta also, why not?

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The Bus

That game list is pretty stupid but this device sounds awesome.

Michael Corvin

Looks like a decent mix of genres, recent & old titles to kick things off with. Of course, launching next winter it may look more outdated.

RichC2

The Genesis channel lives.

Decent game list, current and graphically intensive enough to show what it can do.

Raul3

Yeah, I've played/want to play more than half of that list.

Qrusher14242

I've got Clearwire so no go for me I can barely stream Youtube and Netflix movies lol dont think this would work. I can already play those games on my pc already so no reason to get it

stingermck

A friend of mine just sent me this:

"More than that, OnLive overlord Steve Perlmen has said that the latency introduced by the encoder is 1ms. Think about that; he's saying that the OnLive encoder runs at 1000fps. It's one of the most astonishing claims I've ever heard. It's like Ford saying that the new Fiesta's cruising speed is in excess of the speed of sound.

To give some idea of the kind of leap OnLive reckons it is delivering, I consulted one of the world's leading specialists in high-end video encoding, and his response to OnLive's claims included such gems as "Bulls***" and "Hahahahaha!" along with a more measured, "I have the feeling that somebody is not telling the entire story here."

This is a man whose know-how has helped YouTube make the jump to HD, and whose software is used in video compression applications around the world."

alxreys

OnLive launching June 17

Ambitious game-streaming service to debut on PC, Mac during E3, micro-consoles to follow; will cost $15/month; 1080p, 60fps service coming 2011.

One year after it was unveiled at the 2009 Game Developers Conference, OnLive finally has a launch date. Company CEO Steve Perlman announced today at his keynote at the GamesBeat mini-conference at GDC 2010 that OnLive will go live on June 17. The service will initially be available as an application for the Windows and Mac operating systems, with a micro-console that can be attached directly to HDTVs to arrive later on in the year.

OnLive's launch will be limited to the contiguous lower 48 United States, and will cost $14.95 per month. The first 25,000 thousand people to sign will have the service fee waved for an indeterminate amount of time. The fee does not include the purchase price or online rental price of games themselves, which will be offered at a lower-than-retail price on the service.

fujishig

So an upfront device cost, a monthly fee and a rental fee per game?

Michael Corvin

I thought the sole purpose of this device was so that users without decent computers could run it to their TVs and they turn around and launch with... a device that hooks to your computer.

Brilliant!

Where's my beta?

fumanstan

Eh? Maybe i'm reading that differently, but it still is a program that runs on lower end computers, and it just sounds like there will be a device that hooks into your TV, not your computer.

Raul3

Yeah, basically they'll save you the $400+ to upgrade for a videocard every year.

*A $400+ videocard is the mininum to get good results at 1080p for most "new" games.

RichC2

I'll try it on my Zotac MAG (Dual Core Atom, nVidia ION -- enough for 1080p video at least).

edstein

The first 25,000 get 3 months free. But you still have to buy the games which they claim will be at a reduced cost. How much is uncertain. Some free demos will be available so it might be worth it to sign up and check those out.

Michael Corvin

<sarcasm> Just reading the thread title tells me I can play this on my tv. Their press release says not until the end of the year.

foxdvd

I pay for the honor of buying games from them? If it truly is a reduced cost, interesting, but I highly doubt it will be cheaper than most games end up being a month after they come out. Their idea of "reduced" will probably be 5 bucks off what the original retail price is...or maybe they will look at steam, and reduce prices 10 percent? That would still be higher than what you can get from bargain bins and sales at places like gogamer.

If you buy a 5870, as I did, you will not have to buy a new video card every year. Every two years maybe, but not every year. So if I upgrade my card 2 years from now, I will have broken even compared to the price of paying 15 bucks a month. This also assumes the only benefit I get from my video card is playing games, which is FAR from the truth. I would rather spend my 360 bucks on a card, be able to use if for multiple monitors, games and video...and not give someone that money so I can then buy games from them.

Big bomb....

Not to mention, I still think motion artifacts and compressions problems will be a problem, making the game not look as vibrant.

Drexl

I wonder if they give you a refund for your "purchased" games if you drop the service. Maybe that's the hook to get people to stay on.

foxdvd

good point...if you buy a game, you have to pay 15 bucks a month to play it...so you really did not buy it...

Maybe the rental rate will be fair...

Raul3

The only way this can work is if the rental prices are good. Say less than $10 for a 1 week rental of a new game. Or something like that. Most games you should be able to finish in 2 weeks or less. So less than $20 for playing a new game.

Or... forget it, I just can't see how this can work as a business

DRG

I could definitely see the appeal of this for online multiplayer games, since you're already relying on a constant internet stream. But I'm still not sold on the idea of cloud-based technology for single-user experiences, whether it be single player gaming, personal documents, etc. The thought of being knee deep in Bioshock and my broadband connection suddenly dropping out scares me. Now, if their system could instantly detect the loss in connection and do a 'state save' where it could pick up exactly at the point the connection was lost (rather than at the last official 'save'), I could see it being more appealing.

tlwizard

Is anybody doing this yet? Reactions?

RichC2

Tried this earlier tonight on a cheapo laptop, worked beautifully.