I just got a free year subscription from AT&T's offer, and decided to see how it would run on my EeePC... Assassin's Creed II actually worked, surprisingly. It was fairly smooth for about ten minutes, then it turned into a lagfest and it eventually disconnected me. Given that I wasn't even expecting it to run, I'm pretty happy with it. No sound though, that part at least was even choppier than the video. Anyone else tried it out? Impressions?
As I understand it you play a game thats running on their hardware, its like remote playing they stream the game to you like a video and your inputs are then sent to them.
OnLive is a system, where you can use a computer (running Windows) of virtually any specs, or get a small inexpensive unit for direct TV to internet unit, like this one: . When you start it (after being subscribed), you get to pick a game form a long list of games, anyone that you want, no limitations, and play it. The games runs on Microsoft gaming rigs, and broadcasts with some high speed internet all the way to your place. It's best for you to connect it via Cat6 1000 MB/s Ethernet cable to reduce lag. Reviews suggests that when it works (when servers are not too busy), it virtually lag free... and the controls are very responsive.. like if you played on your system. But, if you don't have the router, or good cables, or the server is getting busy, or your ISP decides to throttle your connection, or your internet speed is too slow.. well it becomes a lag fest. The idea is that you can play any game you want, no downloads or anything, without the need of an expensive gaming computer, and enjoy high quality graphics and sound like if you had the gaming setup.
And you have to pay to play the game don't you, at ridiculous prices. It'll never catch on here IMO, the internet infrastructure just isn't good enough. Somewhere like Korea, where they have proper broadband would probably work really well.
There's areview of the U.S. beta here works fine for most games but visual quality is reduced for fast games UT3 in this example though lag is too much.
Currently, as it's not officially launched (so it could be a special offer): It's 1 year free, the second (optional) for 5$ per month... I assume it's 10-15$ per month.. which is actually not bad for those who can't afford a gaming console and a game, or a desktop gaming computer, and you can play any game you want form a long list of libraries.. and so far I see good games on it.
They certainly aren't great: http://www.bit-tech.net/news/gaming/2010/06/21/onlive-rental-pricing-revealed/1 No wonder they're having to give it away.
Ha! 15$/per month I knew it. That is a perfectly fine deal to me (assuming that when it will be actually released, all the problems would be ironed out (ie: more server, better push from ISP's for no throttling for it and so on)
You do realise that you have to pay extra to actually rent the games, right? And that you'll only get them for a few days (unless you want to stump up more than the game would cost on the PC, on top of your subscription costs)? And that they'll look worse and perform worse than they will on a PC or console? Yeah, sounds like a great deal to me too
It is officially launched (only in the US). It's a cloud based gaming system. It isn't limited to just Windows machines and has been demoed working on other platforms. It does reduce visual quality and it is dependant on internet connection. You do have to have internet, you do have to subscribe, you do then have to rent the games for fixed periods. Onlive Prices: http://www.bit-tech.net/news/gaming/2010/06/21/onlive-rental-pricing-revealed/1 Further Explanation: http://www.bit-tech.net/news/2009/03/25/play-latest-games-regardless-of-hardware/1 All info: http://www.bit-tech.net/search?q=onlive
Oh! I thought it was 15$ with all games access... kinda like the Zune Pass (15$ per month, unlimited download, and at the end of the month you can pick 10 song for you to keep for life, DRM free, in high quality... so assuming your going to buy 10 songs, it's like 5$ a month unlimited access to music).
Now that I think about it, I also don't buy into this idea. If you haven't been able to afford a gaming console some 5 years after the first of the current generation was released, then I hardly think that OnLive will be a much more attractive option for those with little disposable income. Aside form the fact that you still have to pay to rent the games, if you assume that OnLive was released at the same time as the Xbox 360 and add up the cost of just the subscription over that same time period, that alone would set you back $825, and that's without any games on top. So it actually works out to be by far the most expensive of the current console generation when you consider the costs of long-term ownership, and you could even build a decent gaming PC for that amount which does so much more. Sure, the technology is interesting, but the value for money it offers is staggeringly poor. If only...that would be a much more enticing idea. I can already see services such as Spotify premium being a viable alternative to buying the physical/digital media individually.
It won't work in the US too well either. Our internet is still pretty miserable, not as bad as the UK perhaps but it's no green lawn over here.
This. My connection dropped to .5 mbps last night....So even if it was available in my area, and not overpriced, and actually I lost my train of thought. Think I'll save my money for Steam sales.
