OnLive Streaming game console

[jd_1138]

I've heard taht even with relatively fast broad band, the thing can lag, or loose it's connection. That's teh biggest complaint I've seen so far about the thing. They should have had a drive to temp save the game, rather than trying to stream the game from the internet, as advanced as games are now, it simply isn't a viable option.

 

Still, looked interesting, but I'd wait until hearing more from AAers before bothering much with it.

 

If they partner with Netflix, so people can just buy this OnLive box and use it to access their Netflix, then OnLive might be more successful. Because if you have a choice between buying a media box that only does media or OnLive which also does games, OnLive is a much more attractive option. If the games are laggy, it might still work with casual or classic gaming, where instant movements aren't as important. Classic games would be so small that they could be dumped almost instantly into the OnLive unit's memory.

[+LS650]

If I understand correctly, if you don't have a good Internet connection, you are screwed. Dumb - you should at least be able to save downloaded games to a flash drive.

[nathanallan]

If I understand correctly, if you don't have a good Internet connection, you are screwed. Dumb - you should at least be able to save downloaded games to a flash drive.

I agree, this is geared towards people with fast DSL or cable connections. Neat in concept but I see a poor execution. There is SO much you can do being connected, and this doesn't look like the best way to use a connection.

 

Agreed, at least be able to download something for at least a short time, but no, they don't let you do that, either.

[Reaperman]

Dumb - you should at least be able to save downloaded games to a flash drive.

Of course this would defeat the only purpose of the unit/service--running games on hardware that can't handle them.

Edited December 16, 2010 by Reaperman

[TwinChargers]

I think that this has helped there chances of succeeding quite a bit-

 

OnLive teams up with Vizio

 

The collector in me cringes, but kudos to the people at OnLive for trying to become the Netflix of videogames.

[cimerians]

They learned from the pharmaceutical companies…why sell it to them once when you can sell it to them every month until they die?

[Lord Helmet]

I'm actually becoming more and more interested in this service the more I read about it. I don't collect for modern consoles. I buy then trade and buy again. Basically I'm renting. Onlive might be a cheaper way to do this...Once the game library gets there...I might take the plunge.

[cimerians]

Ok joking aside I created an account and I checked it out. For anyone who checks this thread I figured I'd post the FAQ here on how to get games.

 

You have two options.

 

PC/MAC or Onlive "Console"

1. Playpass: Rent games for a certain period of days (hopefully your internet connection is stable at home) or rent them "forever" until they decide to remove the games. Typically 3 years but it could be whenever they want to. They give you a refund.

 

2. Playback: Pay them a monthly fee currently 10 bucks a month to play mostly limited and crappy games but if the publishers allow it they may have a better selection. I cant see new releases making the Playback list unless publishers get a cut somehow.

 

 

 

----------------------------------------------------

Getting Games in the OnLive Game Service

How do I get to the games?

 

To see all the games currently available for free demos and PlayPass purchases, or inclusion in a PlayPack Plan (Learn More), go to the Marketplace area in the OnLive Game Service. Press “S” on your keyboard or Button “Y” on your controller to sort through the games.

 

To see all of your current PlayPass or PlayPack games, go to the My Games area in the OnLive Game Service, or if you're playing a game, press Alt+O (or the Center button on your controller) to bring up the Dashboard and flip to the Quick Launch panel. The games are listed in the order of the most recent game you've played.

What is a PlayPass?

 

A PlayPass grants you access to play a game for a specified period of time. Membership is required to purchase and use a PlayPass. The PlayPass options are:

 

* Full: Provides unlimited access to the selected game throughout its supported lifetime on the OnLive service. We expect to keep all games supported for as long as people continue to play them, but at a minimum, all current games will be supported for three years after their release on the OnLive Game Service.

* 5-day: Provides unlimited access to the selected game for five (5) days from purchase.

* 3-day: Provides unlimited access to the selected game for three (3) days from purchase.

 

In the highly unlikely situation that a game becomes permanently unavailable before the minimum term of your PlayPass, you will receive a prorated refund.

How do I get a PlayPass?

 

To get a PlayPass, go to the Marketplace in the OnLive Game Service. Select the game you want, and select Get PlayPass. To extend the term of a current PlayPass, select Extend PlayPass. If the time remaining on a PlayPass ends during gameplay, you’ll be given the option to extend the time and continue playing!

Can I demo a game before committing to a PlayPass purchase?

 

Virtually every game on the OnLive Game Service has a free demo available. Better yet, if you like the game and want to purchase a PlayPass after the demo ends, you can continue from where you are in the game without having to start over again.

What is a PlayPack ?

 

PlayPack is a $9.99/month flat-rate video game plan that offers unlimited access to a regularly updated library of recent, indie and classic games. Similar to other OnLive titles, all PlayPack games will play instantly on TVs using the OnLive Game System or on a PC or Mac® via a small browser download. The PlayPack plan is offered on a month-to-month basis and can be cancelled at any time.

 

Currently, the PlayPack plan is in beta is available for free to OnLive Game System owners. For more information about the PlayPack flat-rate plan, visit www.onlive.com/playpack.

[Austin]

Yeah, I know I'm going to be kicking myself for this.. But I just ordered the console.

[nathanallan]

You never know, it might be really a cool thing. Reading that Indie games are getting out there is for sure cool in my book. Indie dev's need top be paid at least a little for their games. I hope I read that right, that they are getting paid for the playtimes, even if it is just a little.

[Rikkarr]

Sadly, its not practical where I live (not a whole lot of great internet access). I don't mind if it becomes successful, but I just hope systems with physical media remain as an alternative.

[godslabrat]

I'll give them credit for at least getting a product out the door (unlike Phantom, which this still smells like) but I'm still thinking the end result is going to fall far short of the initial claims.

[+LS650]

Interesting review here:

http://www.joystiq.com/2010/11/18/onlive-microconsole-review/

 

I snipped out a few key points:

 

The service runs specialized, PC versions of the games it sells on its high-end server computers, and streams their video output to the platform you're playing on using a proprietary compression codec. On your end of the equation, the input from your controller is being sent to OnLive in order to actually control what's happening on the remote computers, a process which, through optimization, has been reduced to 35-40 milliseconds, according to the company.

…

There are potential downsides, of course. These include input lag (your character may not seem to move immediately when you press in a direction, for example), the need for at least 5 megabits per second downstream bandwidth for HD video (or 3mbps for SD) and, despite the compression algorithm in play being very good, the appearance of some artifacts from squeezing down all that data -- which may be more noticeable depending on how close you sit to your TV (and, in turn, how large said TV is).

…

Once in a game, I was wowed by the quality of the picture and the framerate. Assassin's Creed 2, Dirt 2 and many others looked noticeably better than their console counterparts, with higher framerates as well. My experience with the video looking compressed was mixed. Unreal Tournament 3 got downright muddy at times, while the aforementioned games and others such as Batman: Arkham Asylum, a very dark game, were razor sharp from my viewing distance, with compression artifacts only visible if I stood an abnormal distance from the screen (2-3 feet).

 

On the topic of control lag and latency issues in general: I didn't notice them. I'm sure there's lag, but in the (many) games I played it just didn't have any noticeable effect. Any dropped frames or stuttering -- which were infrequent -- were the result of the games themselves. The video streaming itself was entirely devoid of hitches or jumps in speed or quality.

[nathanallan]

Interesting snips, ls650. So, the game plays based on the speed on the net access.

 

I see this as a neat thing for the time being but having no local storage or your own server I am willing to bet it will never be considered classic gaming and that it won't make it that long.

 

I give it, oh, 2 months before someone figures out how to make a local server for it and do several-node

in-house gaming, slick compression not needed. I see the things that will be needed:

 

modded game to run on a server

several nodes to be players/bots

the 'service' being disconnected from the internet and connected to an intranet.

 

I withdraw saying this will be in the bargain bins at Big Lots in six months. It's easy to think of this being like the original xbox; the live service is cut but games can still be played on it locally and on a LAN.

[Austin]

I went ahead and tried the PC service earlier today while I wait for my box. The initial install file size is extremely small and I was blown away by how quickly I was up and running in an actual game after my initial download.

 

Here's what I've gathered from it so far (Keep in mind I'm on FIOS, but I am connected through Wi-Fi which they say isn't the optimal way to play):

 

- Very little control lag. It almost feels instantaneous, but not quite. It's hardly bad though--I didn't have a single problem staying accurate in games like Unreal Tournament III and F.E.A.R. 2. The only thing I noticed was that in FEAR, sometimes if I moved the mouse too quickly, it would overcompensate and do a 180*.

 

- The compression noted in ls650's post is definitely apparent. It's not terrible, but it's not perfect either. For games on the service that I already have on my PC, I am better off playing them on my PC (unless I am feeling lazy). I will be curious to see how it looks on my regular television though.

 

Also like stated, the games are stripped/customized versions of the original PC games. Visual settings are generally locked from what I can tell and I think this makes the compression issue become more apparent, at least on my monitor where the games are being forced to 1280X1024 (my screen's native resolution is 1680X1050).

 

- You cannot play multiplayer with standard PC opponents and are locked to players on the OnLive service.

 

- The flow of the menu interface is downright slick. It's especially awesome being able to jump into another gamer's session and watch what they are doing on-the-fly. For instance, I haven't yet played the newest iteration of Alien Versus Predator, and it was cool to be able to pop in and see what it is like, on-the-fly, while someone else was playing it.

 

- Game prices in the regular marketplace section are overpriced, IMO, and there aren't enough games (yet) included in the flat-rate pay plan.

 

All in all, I'm fairly impressed with the execution of it. It's not perfect, but I can see this being a decent alternative for someone that doesn't have a 360, PS3 or a high-end computer. Especially a high-end computer.

[Lord Helmet]

It's especially awesome being able to jump into another gamer's session and watch what they are doing on-the-fly. For instance, I haven't yet played the newest iteration of Alien Versus Predator, and it was cool to be able to pop in and see what it is like, on-the-fly, while someone else was playing it.

 

 

Ok now thats a cool feature.

[Bill Loguidice]

I had written a small review of OnLive and the Microconsole a few weeks back: http://www.armchairarcade.com/neo/node/3757 . In short, it works shockingly well and is theoretically even viable over wireless as long as you have a consistent connection. Very cool tech and well worth at least checking it out through the free membership. I'm still debating who the actual audience is for the service, but I truly hope that they stick around and expand the service because from a pure technology standpoint, it's really great stuff.

[Austin]

I just received my coupon for one free "PlayPass" today. I was under the assumption it was going to be limited to $9.99 games (or something along those lines), but it's apparently good for ANY game in the marketplace. I used it on Borderlands: GOTY Edition. That certainly helps make up for the cost of the unit itself.

[Bill Loguidice]

I just received my coupon for one free "PlayPass" today. I was under the assumption it was going to be limited to $9.99 games (or something along those lines), but it's apparently good for ANY game in the marketplace. I used it on Borderlands: GOTY Edition. That certainly helps make up for the cost of the unit itself.

 

That's the same game that I got. It was a toss up between that and Mafia II. I was impressed Borderlands was even smoothly playable over wireless.

[godslabrat]

Idle thought: If this takes off, the extra traffic on the net will make tiered connection pricing and bandwidth caps very attractive to ISPs. They're already jonesing because of Netflix streaming (and prior to that, torrenting).

[Bill Loguidice]

Idle thought: If this takes off, the extra traffic on the net will make tiered connection pricing and bandwidth caps very attractive to ISPs. They're already jonesing because of Netflix streaming (and prior to that, torrenting).

 

That's a possibility, though this is unlikely to ever reach Netflix levels. With that said, with a growing number of services like this and a growing reliance on cloud-based services, there WILL be a re-thinking of Internet access one way or the other at some point.

[nathanallan]

If this is working well now, there is no reason it won't reach those netflix levels. The price point alone will get a lot of those households to join since the consoles the games run on are really expensive. Plus it's a relatively new service, so the sky's the limit at this point in time for it.

 

A rethinking of the Internet is inevitable, I agree on that.

[Bill Loguidice]

I still think this is an amazing service with a questionable potential audience, so I'd be very surprised to see it hit Netflix levels. It's easy for people to understand streaming TV and movies, particularly since they were eased into the idea with Netflix as a purely disc-based service. It's not as easy for people to grasp streaming games. Also, the saturation point of the three current consoles is quite high and I believe many of those into mostly PC gaming already have systems they're happy with. Like I said, great service, it's just in search of the right audience, assuming one exists.

[Seob]

What if your internet connection goes down during gameplay. Will your progression be saved or is all lost and you have to start over a level all new.

[godslabrat]

What if your internet connection goes down during gameplay. Will your progression be saved or is all lost and you have to start over a level all new.

 

Shhh! It's all in the cloud! The cloud is failproof! The cloud is good, the cloud is great! We surrender our will, as of this date!

 

Do not taunt Happy Fun Ball.