Onlive Launches in UK

[flameboy]

I can't be the only one who really doesn't want Onlive? I feel like it would ruin the entire gaming experience for me if it was popular. The way streaming movies on netflix type services is makes movie-watching less of an experience than buying or renting a video used to. The way ebook readers make our shelves empty and a book impossible to lend to a friend.

 

I see where your coming from. Like I hate renting dvd's but I do it because its more affordable than buying them but I would rather own films and have them there on my shelf. I am the same with games....held off on back to the future for psn because I want the disc...oddly though I stopped caring about owning cds because the who underneath of my bed is full of hundreds and hundreds of the things.

 

I think companies need to find ways to make "your collection" appealing to look at and own. I guess you could say Apple has been moderately successful with this by offering digital booklets with downloads of albums and by including high quality album art.

Edited September 26, 2011 by flameboy

[david.dakota]

I have signed up and, I must admit, I think it looks pretty good. I'm on a pretty low speed broadband so there are some niggles for me. The image is really soft and lacks detail. Lag is an issue at 2Mbps - perhaps it improves with fibre and higher speeds - but I'd argue that even low speeds can offer a reasonable experience.

 

The UI is nice; really nice. Its simple and understandable - and I love all the streaming video that's going on - jumping seamlessly into Spectator mode is simply joyous. That's something I'd like to see introduced elsewhere.

 

I am not sure if I've glimpsed the future or not. Without a doubt, its a pretty compelling proposition for mid-range gamers; those who probably won't notice the slight lag and - potentially - poorer visuals and happy to make the trade-off (console cost vs visual sparkle). However, any significant future does not lie with its current investors and business model - its future lies with Nintendo, Sony, Google, Apple or Microsoft. I admit, I see a perfect marriage between WiiU and its controller and OnLive, but genuinely don't feel Nintendo has the networking expertise - or networking ambition - to make it happen. Whats more likely is Google snapping up the service - and with HTC having invested in OnLive already, I see fewer hurdles for Google than I do Apple. Google are currently taking on Facebook's social games - its not a huge jump to imagine them wanting to take on Xbox, Sony and Nintendo?

 

Either way, OnLive will not become mainstream - or anywhere near it - until it either has a new round of investment from companies tied closer to the industry or is completely brought out.

 

Onlive itself may not be the future

 

OnLive are said to have an effective patent on Cloud Gaming, so any future will absolutely involve the company.

[Wesley]

I'll be on board for this type of internet gaming once my internet is as reliable as my electricity.

[Goafer]

I have signed up and, I must admit, I think it looks pretty good. I'm on a pretty low speed broadband so there are some niggles for me. The image is really soft and lacks detail. Lag is an issue at 2Mbps - perhaps it improves with fibre and higher speeds - but I'd argue that even low speeds can offer a reasonable experience.

 

I'm on about 2mb and it just flat out refuses to work. I get an error before the dashboard loads telling me that my internet is too slow to stream the video, then it closes.

 

I just don't like the idea of not having it available all the time. If it's stored locally, I can access it whenever I want, regardless of my internet connection status. If I take my laptop on holiday or wherever, I can still play it.

 

I do however appreciate the technology behind it. I don't hate the system as a whole, I just don't really like relying on a server half way across the globe to play my games. What happens when the games they host are no longer profitable? Do they just stop offering them? That's retro gaming for future generations fucked then.

[david.dakota]

In fairness, my connection is between 2.2Mbps and 2.5Mbps. Tonight, I can log into OnLive but the stream breaks and I end up with a black screen; so I absolutely agree that we're not quite ready for it - at least those on copper cabling (and even fibre has its drop outs).

 

I guess although 2Mbps is considered a minimum for OnLive network speeds fluctuate constantly. I also have a pretty good ping, so I assume that's why the system holds up well with my limited bandwidth (when its working).

 

From the Ts & Cs, its clear that games will drop off eventually - which is undeniable shit if you've spunked out £34.99 for a title. I honestly cannot see this part of the business working long term; if one game drops off the playlist, that's money down the drain to most punters - I don't see people accepting that after paying the equivalent of the disk/download version. I do suspect the subscription version will evolve to include new releases at a higher price, or more likely the technology will, eventually, find its way into physical hardware consoles - perhaps, given higher upload speeds your own Xbox could stream the video to your phone over the internet?

[Jamba]

Looking forward to having a try at this. Does anyone know how the iPad version is going to work?

 

Just a quick note if people didn't know, the game bundle gives you 30% of all games and accessories. Which might include the controller gizmo. That would take it down from £69.99 to around £48.99. Instant savings!

[Choze]

The problem i have is that the games look much worse than their console counterparts.

 

I guess this is cheaper if you have a decent internet connection.

[flameboy]

In fairness, my connection is between 2.2Mbps and 2.5Mbps. Tonight, I can log into OnLive but the stream breaks and I end up with a black screen; so I absolutely agree that we're not quite ready for it - at least those on copper cabling (and even fibre has its drop outs).

 

I guess although 2Mbps is considered a minimum for OnLive network speeds fluctuate constantly. I also have a pretty good ping, so I assume that's why the system holds up well with my limited bandwidth (when its working).

 

From the Ts & Cs, its clear that games will drop off eventually - which is undeniable shit if you've spunked out £34.99 for a title. I honestly cannot see this part of the business working long term; if one game drops off the playlist, that's money down the drain to most punters - I don't see people accepting that after paying the equivalent of the disk/download version. I do suspect the subscription version will evolve to include new releases at a higher price, or more likely the technology will, eventually, find its way into physical hardware consoles - perhaps, given higher upload speeds your own Xbox could stream the video to your phone over the internet?

 

Your right about the T & C titles bought now are only guaratened to be on the service until 2013.

 

With these kind of problems, the subscription is defintely the way forward and with that long term they need to get in with sky,virgin,bt and freeview box manufacturers and get their service coming into houses that way.

 

Looking forward to having a try at this. Does anyone know how the iPad version is going to work?

 

Just a quick note if people didn't know, the game bundle gives you 30% of all games and accessories. Which might include the controller gizmo. That would take it down from £69.99 to around £48.99. Instant savings!

 

Can be controlled using the controller via bluetooth also though they have demonstrated the mapping of the controller onto touch screen.

[Jamba]

Great news :-)

 

Arkham City is up for pre-order and when you do, you get the Game pad and micro console for FREE. That's me sold considering I have no PC or PS360.

 

They're going on eBay for like £50 already....

[flameboy]

Great news :-)

 

Arkham City is up for pre-order and when you do, you get the Game pad and micro console for FREE. That's me sold considering I have no PC or PS360.

 

They're going on eBay for like £50 already....

 

This was always going to happen similar offers happen all the time in US. I have one on way from eBay but I paid 28 tho, very lucky to get it on the Sunday night after eurogamer before most ppl were trying to get them, 2nd class standard parcel delivery so waiting still.

[Jamba]

Ahh cool, I've heard really good things about the US deals actually so I hope they keep it going. But in the mean time I'm going to be very happy.

 

Oh and if anyone want to add me, my handle is the same as on here.

[flameboy]

Ahh cool, I've heard really good things about the US deals actually so I hope they keep it going. But in the mean time I'm going to be very happy.

 

Oh and if anyone want to add me, my handle is the same as on here.

 

WOW MY FIRST ONLIVE FRIEND! lol yeah I will add you mate. errrrr my handle is flameboy84

 

Pretty interesting stuff coming to onlive soonish:

 

When Wii U was introduced by Nintendo at this year’s E3 in Los Angeles, California, many comparisons were made between it and OnLive. OnLive’s cloud gaming service works in a similar way to the Wii U, but seems to go far beyond what Nintendo’s upcoming game system can do.

Most gamers know that the new Nintendo Wii will feature a controller that displays the game at the same time as it is shown on the television. Even if the TV is turned off, game play will still be displayed on the controller. This is pretty much as far as Nintendo’s “cloud†aspect of the Wii U goes.

OnLive, on the other hand, utilizes cloud gaming technology to its full extent. Games are rendered in the cloud, while being displayed on a another device such as a tablet, PC, Mac, television, or even smartphone.

 

We have been shown in the past, that OnLive will allow for touchscreen controls of games such as “From Dustâ€, which is set to be released on the service sometime in the near future. Also available will be the option to use a universal controller to play OnLive via tablet, without the use of touch controls.

 

ONLIVE & WII U-LIKE CONTROLS

Something that has not been mentioned before is the potential that OnLive has to act similarly to the Wii U. In an interview that GodIsAGeek had with OnLive Director of Strategic Relations, Bruce Grove, at this years EuroGamer, more was revealed.

 

“You’ve already seen how we can go from one place to another and spectate (in OnLive),†explained Grove. “Well, I can give two streams to a single user, and now this (one screen) can become an input device.â€

 

What Grove seems to be explaining is that an OnLive user will have the ability to play a game on one device while using another as a touchscreen controller. This has huge potential. Imagine playing a game an iPad, while controlling it with your smartphone. Perhaps you would want to play a game on your large screen television, while controlling it with your tablet. The possibilities here seem endless.

While Grove did not say if any games are currently in the works for a controller set-up that would work this way, he did say that it is up to the publishers to come up to OnLive and request a game to be run with these capabilities. Once that happens, OnLive would have no reason not to enable this option.

 

PICTURE IN PICTURE & CO-OP GAMEPLAY

The limitations of this dual stream feature doesn’t end here. The ability to allow one user to have 2 streams going at once, also opens up even more gaming options that wouldn’t be possible on other video game consoles. For example, multiplayer co-op gaming could become even more interesting. Grove mentioned the ability to enable “picture-in-picture†during OnLive gameplay. This would allow for multiplayer gamers to actually play on the large screen, while watching what their co-op teammates are doing on the smaller screen (via picture-in-picture, or even another device).

The majority of these aspects would require additional coding on behalf of the games’ publishers/developers, but it is something that Grove seemed to think would be coming in the future.

 

ONLIVE’S VIRTUAL LIVING ROOM

Grove also went on to discuss another feature that OnLive is working on.

“We haven’t enabled it yet, but we have a feature that we’ve been working on, called the Virtual Living Room. Two kids can come home from school; they want to play LEGO Batman. However, instead of having to come into the same living room, they can be on the other side of town. They are coming into a cooperative game, that was just built as a cooperative game, and now they can play that same game together over OnLive.â€

 

All that OnLive is doing in this case is feeding the same input stream into the two different locations. This is something that should certainly give the service an edge over other gaming platforms.

 

ONLIVE’S FRIEND ASSIST

One other thing that Grove spoke briefly about, was something that we heard of before. We heard it being referred to as “Game Swap†in the past by OnLive VP of Engineering, Joe Bentley. However, Grove referred to it as “Friend Assistâ€.

 

“We also worked out, when we started playing around with similar technologies … Friend Assist. So I’m struggling with a particular piece of the game; I can call up a friend on [OnLive], and I can give them control of the game. And they show me how to get through that level. Then they hand me back the controls.â€

 

Friend Assist will allow gamers to let their friends jump right into a game and take their controls over, no matter where in the world they are located. This is another feature that non-cloud based gaming platforms couldn’t possibly allow.

 

All of these new features only seem to be a small part of what OnLive has planned for the future. The possibilities for OnLive really seems endless.

 

What do you think about these future gaming elements that OnLive could be adding to their service in the future? Do you like the ideas of “Friend Assist†and the “Virtual Living Room� Do you think picture-in-picture would be a useful addition to co-op gaming? Do you like the idea of being able to play OnLive via Wii U-like controls? Let us know at OnLiveFans.com Forum

Edited September 30, 2011 by flameboy

[Jamba]

Interesting stuff there FB... sorry I haven't added you yet been a bit busy. Also I got an email this morning about my micro console being delayed due to high demand. Which I thought was crap....

 

 

 

 

 

.... until they gave me a free game to say sorry!

[flameboy]

Interesting stuff there FB... sorry I haven't added you yet been a bit busy. Also I got an email this morning about my micro console being delayed due to high demand. Which I thought was crap....

 

 

 

 

 

.... until they gave me a free game to say sorry!

 

Mine hasn't actually turned up yet....I am wondering if the guy even posted it....maybe he was pissed off that it went for so cheap.

[Jamba]

Mine hasn't actually turned up yet....I am wondering if the guy even posted it....maybe he was pissed off that it went for so cheap.

 

Screw it... lodge a complaint and get out of the payment.

You can't argue with £40 = Arkham City + £70 kit (+ potentially another game).

[flameboy]

Screw it... lodge a complaint and get out of the payment.

You can't argue with £40 = Arkham City + £70 kit (+ potentially another game).

 

I only paid £20odd and got Deus Ex HR for £1 so I'm up on the deal if it shows up.

[Ashley]

Just went to finally set this up...and found out the TV version is LAN only. May as well sell it then

[Choze]

Just went to finally set this up...and found out the TV version is LAN only. May as well sell it then

 

That is a good thing. I was worried it was wireless.

[McPhee]

A couple of Ebuyer Value Homeplugs for £25, problem solved. OnLive has enough potential lag problems without them encouraging WiFi.

 

Wish I could try this out. Not got a fast enough connection though sadly.

[flameboy]

Just went to finally set this up...and found out the TV version is LAN only. May as well sell it then

 

I think they have made a wise move in getting it to all work properly via LAN first and wireless is gonna bring that extra lag by its nature.

 

A couple of Ebuyer Value Homeplugs for £25, problem solved. OnLive has enough potential lag problems without them encouraging WiFi.

 

Wish I could try this out. Not got a fast enough connection though sadly.

 

Yah does seem a problem, my microconsole works 100% really well. I will have to post some videos.

[nightwolf]

I'm slightly coming round to the idea.

 

I'm more of the opinion as Shorty, even though I have an e-book reader I still buy books, it hasn't taken that from me, I still buy games even though I have Steam etc.

 

I guess it depends, it isn't stopping you from buying the hard-copy.

[Jamba]

Just got my micro console today and I'm super happy. Arkham Asylum rocks the Casbah (sp?) and I've got 9 cheers so far.

 

I feel special!

 

And FB.... you no addy?

[flameboy]

I'm slightly coming round to the idea.

 

I'm more of the opinion as Shorty, even though I have an e-book reader I still buy books, it hasn't taken that from me, I still buy games even though I have Steam etc.

 

I guess it depends, it isn't stopping you from buying the hard-copy.

 

Yeah. I think it offers an alternative and there is nothing wrong with that. Much like ipod/phones and facebook offer alternative ways into gaming so can this. In fact I said something very similar on the most recent episode of 30 Minute Gamers, check out the link below in my signature. Basically if they can get this out there maybe even into set top boxes the subscription/rental nature lends itself very well to offering that immediate experience without the hardware commitment.

 

Just got my micro console today and I'm super happy. Arkham Asylum rocks the Casbah (sp?) and I've got 9 cheers so far.

 

I feel special!

 

And FB.... you no addy?

 

I will add you whats your name on it again?

[Jamba]

It's just Jamba. You should have a friends request from me though.

[flameboy]

It's just Jamba. You should have a friends request from me though.

 

Ok I will check not actually played on it for a while.