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[Zoc]

At the very least, there's now a way to rent PC games. That's cool in my book, its always nice to have an extra option.

This is true. Maybe at some point, Onlive or someone else will find a way to execute the code and rendering on the client, and have all the game data streamed (this couldn't take up any more bandwidth than they must already be using). Then we could have rented PC games that actually looked and played well (and get rid of piracy!).

 

[thehillissilent]

This is true. Maybe at some point, Onlive or someone else will find a way to execute the code and rendering on the client, and have all the game data streamed (this couldn't take up any more bandwidth than they must already be using). Then we could have rented PC games that actually looked and played well (and get rid of piracy!).

Instantaction is doing this what you describe, but they have also partnered with Gakai for a streaming video solution similar to Onilve.

Here is the article:

Gaikai and InstantAction team up for streaming, embeddable games

http://www.joystiq.com/2010/03/11/ga...eddable-games/

 

[Fakto]

it will fail and thats good for us

No and no.

 

[HappyBivouac]

Gamers are the worst people. We don't even know how much games will cost on this. I think some people just enjoy smugly saying "fail" or using the :lol emoticon so they jump at the opportunity.

If it's $60 per game, then yeah, this sucks, no matter how graphically impressive it is. But some people are stupidly quick to judge. Shame on you.

 

[Chrange]

Gamers are the worst people. We don't even know how much games will cost on this. I think some people just enjoy smugly saying "fail" or using the :lol emoticon so they jump at the opportunity.

If it's $60 per game, then yeah, this sucks, no matter how graphically impressive it is. But some people are stupidly quick to judge. Shame on you.

Well that's one of the problems...it's not.

 

[larvi]

I paid over $2000 for my 486 back in 1994, what another $15 a month so I can play Mass Effect 2 on it . Seriously though after having GameTap cancel my subscription after having paid in for 2 years and losing access to the games I'm not going that route anymore.

 

[thehillissilent]

The games that are currently featured in the Onlive beta are suprisingly playable (especially the FPS on the service). I do notice a little lag, but still you get used to it quickly and it doesn't really distract from the experience. Having Verizon FIOS (15-20mbps) factors into this. I'm just suprised by how well it works. I think others will be suprised once it launches.

I'm actually more interested in Onlive's competitors, Gakai and OTOY. Gaikai is going the route of having publishers using GaiKai's service to host games for people to try/buy/rent. The publishers rent space on GaiKai servers. There is no portal like Onlive. The could be a banner on the publishers website "Play Mirror's Edge" now. You click and you instantly start playing in a window. GaiKai isn't aiming to replace consoles so don't expect 720p resolution, etc. They are just providing a service for publishers to get their stuff out there. Also, they have plenety of servers around the US so lag shouldn't be a concern. GaiKai has also teamed up with InstantAction to offer games on Facebook. (Note: I know the info about Gaikai is kind of a rehash from my previous post)

OTOY (http://www.otoy.com/), on the other hand, is licensing their technology out to publishers. Imagine, if Valve licensed this tech and had all of their games available to play without the hassle of downloading and installing the game as long as you purchased it. They could set up multiple options (stream (play anywhere) /download using steam client) and they can control the pricing and availability. I have seen Left4Dead running on OTOY's setup and it looked pretty good. I've also seen GTA4 running on it. As far as Valve is concerned it would be good for business especially with Steam coming to Macs.

 

[spwolf]

i didnt follow this much, but if it is $15 and full game it is obviously not good enough. They might be able to lower the price of games, but i am not sure if publishers will allow that or even that they will want it.

Main problem here is that i believe they think that $15 should be seen by gamers as cost compared to the cost of purchasing gaming rig. I am not sure if people are going to be seeing it like that. They will probably see "extra $15 per month" in bold letters.

 

[spwolf]

OTOY (http://www.otoy.com/), on the other hand, is licensing their technology out to publishers. Imagine, if Valve licensed this tech and had all of their games available to play without the hassle of downloading and installing the game as long as you purchased it. They could set up multiple options (stream (play anywhere) /download using steam client) and they can control the pricing and availability. I have seen Left4Dead running on OTOY's setup and it looked pretty good. I've also seen GTA4 running on it. As far as Valve is concerned it would be good for business especially with Steam coming to Macs.

If Valve did it, they would probably do it like Netflix does - complimentary to their main revenue and attracting for getting more users.

 

[thehillissilent]

i didnt follow this much, but if it is $15 and full game it is obviously not good enough. They might be able to lower the price of games, but i am not sure if publishers will allow that or even that they will want it.

Main problem here is that i believe they think that $15 should be seen by gamers as cost compared to the cost of purchasing gaming rig. I am not sure if people are going to be seeing it like that. They will probably see "extra $15 per month" in bold letters.

Well, they are going to offer cheaper multi-month subscriptions, which will be announced at E3. $15 is a month-to month thing. Also, there is a free version called Onlive Game Portal which will allow you to play free demos and rent select games without paying a subscription.

 

[Cynar]

Same price as world of warcraft. I signed up hoping to get 3 months free.

except it's like paying blizzard without receiving WoW :lol

 

[thehillissilent]

I was also think GameTap would do well to try the streaming approach especially since their current model subscription actually covers playing full games. That would allieve compaitibility issues and they already require broadband access.

 

[beast786]

Just recieved a registration invite. One free year of service and a free game to start this thing.

The monthly fee has to be a killer. This is PC world not consoles where people are willing to pay to play online the games they already bought.

Signed up for the free game and lets see what happens.

 

[seady]

Isn't the incentive of OnLive is not having to pay for hardware every once a while?
But now I have to pay monthly anyway so what is the point?

 

[Ferrio]

This succeeding is a publisher's wet dream. Trust me, anything a publisher gets excited about is something you don't want.

 

[ClovingWestbrook]

Just recieved a registration invite. One free year of service and a free game to start this thing.

The monthly fee has to be a killer. This is PC world not consoles where people are willing to pay to play online the games they already bought.

Signed up for the free game and lets see what happens.

Pretty much. I still don't see this taking off. But thats just me.

 

[Cipherr]

$15 a month to play the game you bought?

yeah, no.

This post right here knocks it out of the park.

I was considering this, but now learning how it will work, hell no.

 

[mr_nothin]

This post right here knocks it out of the park.

I was considering this, but now learning how it will work, hell no.

I wonder if you pay to play mmorpgs....or anyone else in here that's complaining.

 

[speculawyer]

No thanks.

Good luck with that, Onlive.

 

[Vormund]

Even just assuming 3 years for a PC upgrade or a console it equals $538.20 just to have the service running without games. Not even taking into account the lower quality graphics.

To me it's like us having to pay to use Steam.

 

[chapel]

I don't think it will succeed at the current price point, but for like $5 a month it could be worth it. The benefit being you could play on any laptop, even a netbook with a proper connection. Take the micro console to a friends, you have access to all your games.

Anyways, I got the registration email and signed up for the free year and a free game. So at least I get a free game.

 

[jrricky]

Time to brainwash the idiot public...:lol :lol :lol

 

[Phife Dawg]

I wonder if you pay to play mmorpgs....or anyone else in here that's complaining.

Well I don't, but it's beside the point. There's only one way of playing WoW, this is supposed to be an alternative to buying a game at retail or through DD. With such a high monthly fee PLUS paying for each individual game for most people in this thread it's not worth it if you factor in worse gfx, lag and compression (including me).

 

[darkwing]

whats the res on the games here?

 

[Raist]

Hold on a sec. I thought it was a $15 monthly fee and that's it.
But you ALSO have to actually buy the games you want to play?

Never thought OnLive would take off, but now it's even more sent to die.

 

[Pre]

I said this would fail beyond failing when it was first announced, and I stand by that statement now.

 

[Kujo]

Solution looking for a problem.

 

[Mandoric]

i didnt follow this much, but if it is $15 and full game it is obviously not good enough. They might be able to lower the price of games, but i am not sure if publishers will allow that or even that they will want it.

Main problem here is that i believe they think that $15 should be seen by gamers as cost compared to the cost of purchasing gaming rig. I am not sure if people are going to be seeing it like that. They will probably see "extra $15 per month" in bold letters.

The problem is that $15 a month amortized for 720p/midrange settings is not really an attractive value proposition, even compared to buying systems retail. It's only a useful market for travelers (who probably don't want to rebuy their collection, even if it somehow works on crappy overloaded hotel and in-flight connections) or if they put heavy weight behind something like PhysX which can take advantage of high-end hardware clusters regardless of the video output quality.

I mean, that isn't to say that 90% of us wouldn't be perfectly fine with the games on it, just that if you go to Dell this Christmas and give them three years' subscription money you'll likely get a box with competitive performance, and at the end of three years you'll have a computer to show for it. And this is only going to get worse for Onlive as ATI ramps up in the budget/SOAC range while American ISPs continue to lag.

 

[-PXG-]

Just got my free registration email too.

 

[NIGHT-]

I said this would fail beyond failing when it was first announced, and I stand by that statement now.

Agreed

 

[M3d10n]

The problem is that $15 a month amortized for 720p/midrange settings is not really an attractive value proposition, even compared to buying systems retail. It's only a useful market for travelers (who probably don't want to rebuy their collection, even if it somehow works on crappy overloaded hotel and in-flight connections) or if they put heavy weight behind something like PhysX which can take advantage of high-end hardware clusters regardless of the video output quality.

I mean, that isn't to say that 90% of us wouldn't be perfectly fine with the games on it, just that if you go to Dell this Christmas and give them three years' subscription money you'll likely get a box with competitive performance, and at the end of three years you'll have a computer to show for it. And this is only going to get worse for Onlive as ATI ramps up in the budget/SOAC range while American ISPs continue to lag.

The service would be perfect if we also had the option to install the games for local play, the monthly fee being only required to play on their servers. Which seems how InstantAction will use Gaikai: you buy the game but can also rent streaming services if you want to play on lesser hardware.

 

[Smash88]

$15 a month to play the game you bought?

yeah, no.

Don't forget about lag issues (when it is launched or thereafter), and that there will still be lag whenever you press a button. Have fun playing Counter Strike or some other FPS.

 

[gcubed]

Don't forget about lag issues (when it is launched or thereafter), and that there will still be lag whenever you press a button. Have fun playing Counter Strike or some other FPS.

surprisingly the reworked fps's never had very noticeable lag... but you did notice the shit quality graphics

 

[demosthenes]

I wonder if you pay to play mmorpgs....or anyone else in here that's complaining.

What if it's a single player game? They don't get updates usually or expansions. So you're paying $15 a month to play a game you bought AND you have to be online.

Big difference in that and a MMO.

 

[Lion Heart]

Its not really a ripoff, you are essentially leasing a pc.

The service is for people like me, shit pc but with SC2 coming out, I can pay 700 for a new pc or I can pay 15 a month and not have to worry about it. The only reason I wont is because the graphics are shit, apparently.

 

[gcubed]

Its not really a ripoff, you are essentially leasing a pc.

The service is for people like me, shit pc but with SC2 coming out, I can pay 700 for a new pc or I can pay 15 a month and not have to worry about it. The only reason I wont is because the graphics are shit, apparently.

you can probably run the same level of graphics on your shit pc as you can with this service

 

[Metalic Sand]

Just got an e-mail for 1 free year and 1 free game. Wow. Guess ill try it out....


Nvm i was entering my dates wrong. :lol

 

[Yoboman]

I thought the point of OnLive was to give me instant access to any game as a sort of demoing tool, then I could pay for it after the trial period ends

 

[speculawyer]

Its not really a ripoff, you are essentially leasing a pc.

The service is for people like me, shit pc but with SC2 coming out, I can pay 700 for a new pc or I can pay 15 a month and not have to worry about it. The only reason I wont is because the graphics are shit, apparently.

Except that you don't actually get a PC . . . you have to already have a PC.

Go Figure.

 

[Metalic Sand]

Not going to help them make much money with giving out a year for free. Pretty insane jump from 3 months of free onlive.

 

[Wazzim]

It just doesn't make sense, people even complain about a live subscription. Why the hell do these guys think this will work?

I WILL be there to see them failing though :lol

 

[Lion Heart]

Except that you don't actually get a PC . . . you have to already have a PC.

Go Figure.

Everyone has a pc capable of running this service.

If the graphics were medium-high, it really wouldnt be that bad. I could play SC2 for probably $150 for an entire year. 450 for three years and that would still be less than buying a new pc. But thats assuming it looked adequate.

 

[ghst]

Except that you don't actually get a PC . . . you have to already have a PC.

Go Figure.

it's a reoccurring phenomenon that when people attempt to push favourable alternatives to the cost of gaming on a pc, they leave out the fact that you also get a pc out of it.

 

[Ready Up Already]

I seriously don't get why everyone in here is ragging on this so much, in terms of both graphics and cost model.

As far as graphics go, every GAF member who's posted about their beta experiences have give the graphics two thumbs up. Mr Pockets said just last week that the graphics are "more than good enough." Dacvak went from being skeptical to being "fucking impressed, overall" and on this very page, thehillissilent said that games, even FPS, are surprisingly playable. At the DICE presentation, they showed Unreal Tournament 3 "boot" in about 5 seconds and the game looks perfectly adequate to me. Granted, Dacvack has a ridiculously fast connection for Comast and hillissilent has FIOS, but the hardcore gamer who'd be most attuned to noticing lag likely has a decent enough connection for OnLive anyway.

This takes us to the pricing model. Going by the news that the 3-month free period for early registrants (myself included) has been extended to a year plus a free game - with apparently no restrictions on what game you can get, I read through the fine print looking for that very catch - they obviously are aware that many are balking at the subscription-based setup. Steve Perlman and crew seem like savvy guys - I'm sure they're aware of the general feedback the monthly fee has received, and they know that subscription models like Zune Pass and whatever the Rhapsody one is called never really took off.

They're scheduled to have a blowout at E3 and go live nationwide at the same time. Going by the freebie extension for the early sign-ups, I wouldn't be surprised if at E3 they announced their final pricing model which is more generous to the end user.

Either way, this is going live in less than three weeks and I'm sure there will be plenty of feedback and reviews posted immediately.

 

[_Bro]

you can probably run the same level of graphics on your shit pc as you can with this service

It's about processing the games, not how they look. :|

 

[Stuggernaut]

I stand by what I have said. he ONLY thing to make and break this is the fee structure. Which OnLive has changed a dozen times to try and meet teh demands of the players.

The service itself works.

We'll just wait and see.

And for those saying the PC need thing. They are eventually eliminating that (Micro Console).

 

[gcubed]

I seriously don't get why everyone in here is ragging on this so much, in terms of both graphics and cost model.

As far as graphics go, every GAF member who's posted about their beta experiences have give the graphics two thumbs up. Mr Pockets said just last week that the graphics are "more than good enough." Dacvak went from being skeptical to being "fucking impressed, overall" and on this very page, thehillissilent said that games, even FPS, are surprisingly playable. At the DICE presentation, they showed Unreal Tournament 3 "boot" in about 5 seconds and the game looks perfectly adequate to me. Granted, Dacvack has a ridiculously fast connection for Comast and hillissilent has FIOS, but the hardcore gamer who'd be most attuned to noticing lag likely has a decent enough connection for OnLive anyway.

This takes us to the pricing model. Going by the news that the 3-month free period for early registrants (myself included) has been extended to a year plus a free game - with apparently no restrictions on what game you can get, I read through the fine print looking for that very catch - they obviously are aware that many are balking at the subscription-based setup. Steve Perlman and crew seem like savvy guys - I'm sure they're aware of the general feedback the monthly fee has received, and they know that subscription models like Zune Pass and whatever the Rhapsody one is called never really took off.

They're scheduled to have a blowout at E3 and go live nationwide at the same time. Going by the freebie extension for the early sign-ups, I wouldn't be surprised if at E3 they announced their final pricing model which is more generous to the end user.

Either way, this is going live in less than three weeks and I'm sure there will be plenty of feedback and reviews posted immediately.

i was in the beta, the graphics aren't two thumbs up, anyone who says otherwise is insane. The lag was fine for FPS games

 

[shintoki]

it's a reoccurring phenomenon that when people attempt to push favourable alternatives to the cost of gaming on a pc, they leave out the fact that you also get a pc out of it.

How dare you suggest a PC as any other use than gaming and porno.

 

[EscapingJail]

Just got an e-mail for 1 free year and 1 free game. Wow. Guess ill try it out....


Nvm i was entering my dates wrong. :lol

I got the same thing, wasn't really planning on using it but with this I guess I will. Anybody have a list of their launch games?

 

[JesseZao]

Just got an e-mail for 1 free year and 1 free game. Wow. Guess ill try it out....


Nvm i was entering my dates wrong. :lol

Same here. I'll be signing up later tonight for sure.