I did not opt into OnLive because I am skeptical about it (but hoping I am wrong) but now, because I missed this opportunity... I want to be right.
OnLive
Concept »
OnLive was a cloud gaming service offering video game streaming through a user's computer, smartphone, or TV.
OnLive Offering Preregistered Gang A Free Year Of Service
If they don't offer some kind of limited free trial for all i think that'll speak for their confidence in their service. I know they can't offer it on launch as that'll most likely crash their servers but down the road i would like to check it out without having to pay to find out it doesn't work so well.
I got my e-mail and am now just waiting for the 17th to actually start and get my free game. If I did not get this e-mail, though, I would most definitely not sign up for $15/month on top of having to buy games still. That would be like if Gamefly charged you for each game they sent you on top of the monthly fee. It's ridiculous.
Games can be rented for several days via a "playpass" that's about what a rental place costs, buying a game costs about $10 less than a physical copy, and is available to play as long as your account is active. If you let the account lapse, then start it up again later, you still "own" the games you paid for. Older titles will eventually be cheaper and possibly free to play for limited periods.
This is what was told to Beta testers just before the beta ended. At best the service seems like a decent alternative to Gamefly for renting games, since the it's server-based and not limited by physical discs to mail out.
While I agree with the sentiment, no, they are not charging you for access to the store, they are charging you a rental fee for the hardware as opposed to flat out paying the cash for a machine/console. It's like renting a top-of-the-line gaming PC (even better than that if people decide to make OnLive specific games, as the processing power is much greater on these industrial servers than it ever could be on a consumer built machine)
I do agree however, $15/month for the ability to play demos only (which you will apparently be able to do for free via Web Browser anyway) is bullshit.
Well, shit. I thought about signing up but didn't consider 3 months that useful, considering my Steam library still packed with unplayed vidja gams, but now I regret that decision. A free year of service? Boy did I make a mistake...
" From now and forever going foward, games can only fall into two categories: Vin Diesel games and non-Vin Diesel games "haha thats for sure
I preregister and was also in the beta.
One MAJOR problem I have with Onlive is connection drops. It is just like Ubisoft's latest DRM, you lose all unsaved data.
OnLive would be great, if we all had the best fiber optic internet connections available and OnLive and the best servers known to man.
15 dollars a month? Mmmm. That doesn't sound good at all. That's what I originally thought Xbox Live was back when I was unaware about paying for internet play, and now, it's the real deal and it's not great. If I have to pay to play over a certain amount of time, it should be worth it. Paying 15 a month just isn't worth it. Shoot for 15 a year, ha ha. It's really all about what we need to pay when it comes down to it.
Paying monthly for anything, is never a good thing! I don't care if businesses need money for what they make for people, if they're not making it worth the money, what's the point? Just saying, you'll have to be really hardcore to go for this [shrugs]. If it wasn't for the price, I'm all for OnLive. Fix the price we need to pay to play, and maybe it'll be more successful in time. Going 50 bucks a year is much better if we have to pay. Never monthly [sigh]... Better yet, (while unlikely) do it like Sony and Nintendo; make it free. :P
You gotta pay for the games ontop of what is just a slightlky higher than usual MMO subscription. I'd rather have WoW than this crap, no thank you.
I wonder if this is just a way to recoup to cash from the early adopters to pay off some of the initial investment. Then once the subs start levelling out they'll reduce the price to something more reasonable.
So, I signed up for this the day the website was available.
The day the beta came out, and for the newsletter. Never recieved another newsletter, and was never included within this program. Really disappointed with this, OnLive. Never got invited, never got a newsletter, never got anything. So, now I, as an 'early adopter' in the truest of the sense, am out of a years subscription, and now I'll not use this service until there's a free trial. Real shame.
It would have to be free for me to be interested. No way am I paying a subscription to play the games that I've already paid good money to buy. It's one or the other for me. It's not like either of these charges are going to be that cheap/
" From now and forever going foward, games can only fall into two categories: Vin Diesel games and non-Vin Diesel games "lol.
" @Jimbo: snigger? wtf? sounds like two racist terms put together. It's snicker. Oh shit it's british. That's weird. "snigger basically means a snide laugh.
I see the cons for this service listed repeatedly. This is a stepping stone towards On Demand gaming. I support any service that has the potential to give developers less hardware restriction. I think people are neglecting to look at the pros:
- Always playing games on top of the line hardware (Give or take 6 months).
- Play using any medium that can run the OnLive software.
- Give developers a chance to develop games with much less 'hardware' restriction and more awesome. Instead of coding for a console using the same outdated hardware for 10 years they can push the boundaries of gaming technology using much more current hardware.
- In a worst case scenario it at least provides the building blocks in On Demand gaming technology.
I personally believe that On Demand gaming as a service has a lot of potential. Not being required to keep up my gaming rig would be nice. Also, the average cost is way more than $180/yr to keep a PC top of the line at least every 6 months. As for consoles costing $300 once; they limit gaming software by restricting publishers to set specification for up to 10 years. You can pay $180/yr for top of the line gaming hardware or $300 once for a console that restricts all gaming developers to a set hardware specification that becomes dated very quickly in comparison to advancements in hardware technology.
I do understand all of the Cons and I don't want people to think that I simply ignored them. There are serious obstacles to overcome for the future of On Demand gaming technology. I believe this is a big stepping stone in the right direction but clearly there are things that need to be addressed.
This looks intresting, just wish this service would come out for the rest of the world sooner. we have to wait until the end of 2011 apparently.
" So Onlive is a low-res version of Gamefly? "it actually runs at 720p. not bad. and gamefly fucking blows. onlive works INSTANTLY so its TRUE On-Demand gaming. no downloads/installs or anything it just instantly boots up any game and videos
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