March 24th saw the launch of a new online video game distribution network – OnLive – at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco.
OnLive promises instant access to the most advanced, high-quality games in the world. Big promise! Some say it could very well provide competition for the likes of Playstation, Xbox and the Wii.
Company founder, Steve Perlman, boasts that OnLive is the most powerful game system in the world. He goes on to say, “No high-end hardware, no upgrades, no endless downloads, no discs, no re-calls, no obsolescence. With OnLive, your video game experience is always state-of-the-art”.
Perlman advises that using a newly developed data compression technology, games are powered on remote servers rather than on games consoles.
Users can choose from a catalogue of games stored on these data servers and will be able to download games instantly, either straight onto their PC or Mac, or through the OnLive MicroConsole.
According to BBC Technology News, initial responses from the likes of GamePro, Kotaku.com and VentureBeat have been mixed. Some have been sceptical, whilst others have found the experience positive and have been impressed.
Cesar A. Beradini of TeamXbox.com said, “The real question is what would happen if this actually works as promised? Is it the end of Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo as console manufacturers?”
OnLive will charge a monthly fee and users will need a high speed internet connection. It is expected to launch in Winter 2009.
After seven years of development, Perlman says a new era for gaming is here. Could the top gaming consoles really become a thing of the past? Let us know your thoughts.
Check out more at OnLive.com and see Perlman’s presentation at GameSpot.com
4 thoughts on “A New Gaming Era with 'OnLive' Streaming Games Service”
I could be totally wrong here, but surely the more bigger companies, the competitors, will end up wanting to collaborate, especially if they find this new company a threat. (Play Nicely please).. :)
But imagine if this OnLive service and MicroConsole is ‘THE’ thing to have… providing instant access to top, high-quality games, with multi-player capabilities and everything you’d want in a gaming experience, either on your PC, Mac or TV.
If the likes of Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo were to collaborate with OnLive, wouldn’t they be almost admitting defeat? They are huge companies and are not going to go down without a fight. Technology is changing and improving all the time. Who knows what these companies may have in the works?
If OnLive does become as huge and brilliant as Perlman has bigged it up to be, then it’s definitely going to cause a stir in the gaming world.
I guess we’ll have to wait and see!! :)
I can see where you’re coming from, regarding them admitting defeat, but like when Apple turned to Wii for their Remote Idea, it’s good in some cases to see them work together..
It is great step for game users If the likes of Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo were to collaborate with OnLive, wouldn’t they be almost admitting defeat? They are huge companies and are not going to go down without a fight. Technology is changing and improving all the time. Who knows what these companies may have in the works?