Does OnLive pose a threat to the console giants?

[Magilla 510]

Nope, PC gaming is rubbish, has been for years ever since it became a constant battle against ever increasing spec requirements thus having to upgrade either your RAM or graphics card every other week.

 

That is, frankly, complete nonsense. My 2 year old machine can still play every title available today at ultra level of detail at resolutions that put every console to shame.

 

Regardless, the PC in this case is just the client, it could be a phone or any handheld device, so it's not really about PC gaming.

[Ghozer 112]

I posed this question over a year ago when I was in the Onlive beta!!

 

the ONLY way it will ever beat consoles is if they either..

 

A) Single subscription, no need to 'purchase' individual games after (as well as subscription, which is the current way it works)

 

Or B) no subscription, and lower individual game purchase price!

 

Or C) pay to play individually (they do this atm to an extent)

 

OnLive is a good idea, and I love the idea of being able to play the same game via any platform etc! - but it needs work!!

Edited February 24, 2012 by Ghozer

[segasonic 11]

Regardless, the PC in this case is just the client, it could be a phone or any handheld device, so it's not really about PC gaming.

 

And there's absolutely no reason why it couldn't be offered on the 360 or PS3. I think I read that Microsoft/BT were considering something, could just be an unfounded rumour though.

[Weazel2006 27]

There was talk about having it not related to any data caps, but not sure if they are introductory offers or if the talks are ongoing.

 

The point about being able to play the game regardless of platform is a very important one. How many apps today allow you to access your data from any device you might have?. The principle is the same however they decouple the hardware requirement and instead make the deciding factors bandwidth capacity and a machine capable of displaying the video along with an IO stream....which computers have been capable of for many years.

 

I think there will always be opponents to the concept of subscription and not having the physical medium in their mits though.

 

On the point of comparison to local hardware, this thing came screaming out into the public against harsh scepticism with experts in a variety of fields including video compression saying it was not possible yet it most obviously is.

 

Now for multiplayer gaming in it's present form i wouldn't recommend it unless :

 

A : The games are hosted in the same location as the game itself (onlive)

B : The lag is even between all players to the best possible degree

 

But in terms of visual quality, it won't take too long for networks to catch up to display things as well as your local hardware can. The real question in all of this is will it make gaming a more general pursuit like the wii did, and i personally think it will. With less of a license to pay to release games on different platforms it will be attractive to software houses. In the end some pc users or potential ones won't bother because getting a decent system configured and keeping it running can be a full time pursuit and not everyone is capable of it, again it removes this restriction to gaming like the wiimote did in replacing our common controllers.

Edited February 24, 2012 by Weazel2006

[JA5E 10]

You didnt really read the post did you? Onlive does most of the work. All your PC is is a controller in a way.

 

Iv never tryed it but im tempted.

 

And i bet he won't come back and admit he's got it wrong either!

 

I've tried it, over wi-fi, over a sky connection of about 6mb down, and it struggled (which i expected), but it worked.

 

I did see a difference in lag when playing it during more peak times (i.e. weekend afternoon).

 

I also took advantage of the '£1 for the first game' offer that they had when launching, so i have Borderlands GOTY, if i ever want to pick it up and have a bash. Unfortunately, it came out at a time when i have little time to play, and Skyrim, and then SW:TOR came out.

 

Bottom line, if they address the peak lag issues, and market it a bit more, then it will pick up as bandwidth speeds continue to evolve.

[Swampster 10]

There was talk about having it not related to any data caps, but not sure if they are introductory offers or if the talks are ongoing.

 

That was with BT Retail, whom is Onlive's main UK partner.. at present it does count towards any usage limits, but they were talking about making it like BT Vision so it didn't. At present they push you towards Option 3 or Infinity 2, which has an 'unlimited' usage amount.

 

http://www.productsandservices.bt.com/consumerProducts/displayTopic.do?topicId=33551