In December, you'll be able to play OnLive via your TV and pay for older games via a monthly, flat price.
OnLive made some big announcements this morning. First, it released details about the date and price for its console and wireless controller package. You'll be able to get your hands on a bundle this December for $99, as units begin shipping in limited quantities starting on December 2. Second, the company has announced a new-age pricing tier for an upcoming games backlog and indie games section. Instead of just having users pay full price for games no matter how old or indie, OnLive will eventually begin charging a flat, monthly rate similar to Netflix Instant Streaming for full access to games it deems as a backlog worthy.
A couple of notes about the MicroConsole package: it requires, as you'd imagine, an Ethernet-based connection to work. OnLive has recommended that you physically connect it for performance reasons, but you can use a wireless bridge. As for the setup, the package comes with an HDMI cable for your TV. HD component cables are being sold separately for 30 bones for those of us without open HDMI slots.
As for the controller, it'll require a couple of AA batteries. A rechargeable battery pack and a USB charging cable are being sold separately for $20.
== TEASER ==The flat, Netflix-type pricing for older OnLive games will begin before the end of the year. In a conversation with Joystiq, Onlive CEO Steve Perlam said that the line-up of games and the exact price of this service will be announced in December. He also said that these some of these games will be flawed ports. For example, some games might say "Exit to Windows" instead of "Exit to OnLive" in their menus. Do note that none of the games currently available for purchase on the service will become one of these back catalogue games.
Review units are going out, so you'll be check if this MicroConsole business is right for you before they hit the market. But what is your gut saying at the moment? Is the console something that you want? What do you think about flat-rate pricing announcement?
OnLive made some big announcements this morning. First, it released details about the date and price for its console and wireless controller package. You'll be able to get your hands on a bundle this December for $99, as units begin shipping in limited quantities starting on December 2. Second, the company has announced a new-age pricing tier for an upcoming games backlog and indie games section. Instead of just having users pay full price for games no matter how old or indie, OnLive will eventually begin charging a flat, monthly rate similar to Netflix Instant Streaming for full access to games it deems as a backlog worthy.
A couple of notes about the MicroConsole package: it requires, as you'd imagine, an Ethernet-based connection to work. OnLive has recommended that you physically connect it for performance reasons, but you can use a wireless bridge. As for the setup, the package comes with an HDMI cable for your TV. HD component cables are being sold separately for 30 bones for those of us without open HDMI slots.
As for the controller, it'll require a couple of AA batteries. A rechargeable battery pack and a USB charging cable are being sold separately for $20.
== TEASER ==The flat, Netflix-type pricing for older OnLive games will begin before the end of the year. In a conversation with Joystiq, Onlive CEO Steve Perlam said that the line-up of games and the exact price of this service will be announced in December. He also said that these some of these games will be flawed ports. For example, some games might say "Exit to Windows" instead of "Exit to OnLive" in their menus. Do note that none of the games currently available for purchase on the service will become one of these back catalogue games.
Review units are going out, so you'll be check if this MicroConsole business is right for you before they hit the market. But what is your gut saying at the moment? Is the console something that you want? What do you think about flat-rate pricing announcement?
I gotta say, every news bit that comes out about OnLive feels like they're getting closer and closer to the model I (and I assume everyone else) wants it to be, which is more or less what GameTap tried to do and failed at. Unfortunately, the boat has sailed I think, especially when they're having to backtrack on the whole 'perfect ports' thing.
since Onlive went free access i DLed it and checked it out
The ability to play the first hour of any game is a really cool way to demo some games.
The video output isn't amazing but it's good enough if the price is right.
The control felt fine in some games and laggy in others.
They should move forward with the all access flat rate system...once that's fleshed out more this could be a system worth checking out. I think they should try to get Mame support and all the licenses they can gather. If that's included in the flat rate, and i can play Onlive on a phone, then that maybe worth it.
Their new "flat, monthly rate" seems like a big step in the right direction. As it stands, paying full retail for games you don't actually own is a hard pill to swallow.
@fwylo: Lol, so do you just sit here and hit refresh over and over again at the main page or what?
I'm curious to see how this pans out, however it seems kind of silly to announce the flat rate when none of the current games offered even fall into that category. It's even weirder and slightly confusing for the average customer to be utilizing two different pricing structures, depending on the age of the game. It kinda defeats the purpose of buying the game new, and just waiting for it to fall under the flat rate fee.
Guess we will just have to wait and see how well this thing works, and if it's anything like the PC service, I would think they still have a ways to go till they hit perfection.
I think I'll stick with my PC. But, one question. The online multiplayer games, are they PC based? Meaning you can only play against PC players? Or is it strictly with the OnLive players.
this is..kinda cool..and a slow step in the right direction.
problem is..even their unlimited pass is bullshit...there's a TON of games I still play well after they're 3 years old....which is OnLive's "minimum" supported time-frame. So I'm paying close to retail/retail for a game I may only be able to play for 3 years?
They need a steam/d2d/impulse/etc-esque purchasable download that you can play whenever or something...as it is this model is stupid.
This is a good idea, but I can't see it taking off right away. Most people will be very used to a console/PC setup and I doubt having to pay $100 and a monthly fee is the best wat to persuade them to change.
Still, it will be very interesting to see how it develops.
I played a few demos for the PC client and was fairly impressed. It definitely depends on the game. Twitchy stuff like racers or quake were pretty bad, but less demanding games like red faction worked just fine.
They really think this is going to be successful? Really? Who here doesn't already have either one of the three consoles or a PC? yeah let me just shove that investment aside to pay a monthly fee for sub optimal video quality, bad ports, laggy gameplay. The flat rate is bullshit too because let's say you want to play a back logged game that is only 20 bucks on xbox live but you keep dishing out money for it every month with onlive plus you never even own it, you are just renting it. Not to mention that we don;t have the infrastructure to support the kind of data streaming this service will require. It all sounds soooo appealing. I bet their pre-order sales are jaw dropping.
If they can make it work then good for them but I don't see how there is any market for this.
OnLive is a tremendous idea that will flounder for years, like virtual reality, except you'll actually be able to own it.
I see too many problems. The bandwidth involved, the degradation in quality as has already been seen, the lack of depth and breadth in their library, etc. I'd love to see it blow up and become the greatest thing ever. I just don't see it. Not this iteration, at least. And probably not even this decade.
" I'd be way into this is if it were coming to the UK. right now, I'm not. "
If I am not mistaken they have started a limited trial in Europe. There are no promises made with the service, it really depends on if they have a data center close enough to where you live. Try out the PC client and see how it does.
I am really impressed with this technology. I have only ever had issues with the service when running their WiFi beta, but even then the games look great and have minimal lag. Granted my local machine can best this service in any of the games that they have available, so I won't be rushing to buy games from Onlive. I can see a market for this. People just need to give the service a chance.
I dont think we get this here,we have a law here so its forbidden to rent games(Netherlands) the reason was that it would hurt game sales(same reason why we wont get netflix) Its not illegal here to download music and movies on torrent sites. Hey every country has a few stupid laws.
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