OnLive - Cloud Gaming

Jobydrone · November 29, 2011, 10:09:42 AM

Has anyone tried this service? It's actually been available since the middle of last year and I am considering giving this a shot. For those that don't know, Onlive is a gaming portal that offers brand new and older games to customers via streaming through their PCs, Macs, iPads, and TVs. I was looking at the list of games and there's actually a pretty robust set of software to choose from. Since all the software is run and stored on their servers, there's no restrictions whatever your hardware setup is...PC only games will run on the Mac, iPad, TV, whatever you happen to have, as long as your bandwith is high enough to stream video. There's a $9.99 a month subscription you can choose to purchase, which provides access to a large library of games you can play whenever you want, on demand. New releases don't seem to be included here, but can be purchased or rented for a flat fee, which seems to be comparable to a retail price.

I'm interested to know if anyone has tried this service or knows anyone that has and can offer some insight as to how it works and if it functions well, and is worth the cost. I'd find it fascinating to play Batman Arkham City and other new console/PC releases on my iPad...

KingIsaacLinksr · November 29, 2011, 12:20:32 PM

I didn't know it was available on the iPad, but I've looked into it and....I'm not sure it has much of a future. The best gaming experience can be found on your hardware and not streaming it. (Graphics are less, controls could be laggy, etc) Plus, you have to have an excellent Internet connection or you might as well forget it.

The one advantage to this service is the ability to use a wide range of hardware. Otherwise, if your going to pay for the games you might as well just buy them via Steam or otherwise. That way your not dependent on the Internet service being flawless to access your games.

I think this service would be better if it was more like Netflix, but since it still requires you to buy games it's just not that appealing. For me, Steam and iCloud already do a lot of these features and I don't have to worry about the strength of the Internet connection.

Just my 2cents, it might be pretty cool, but for gamers like myself it's a pointless service. Drm has already shown that games attached to a server have a lesser experience because of the associated problems attached to it.

King

Jobydrone · November 29, 2011, 01:47:43 PM

Well Tim, I appreciate the time you took to articulate your response, but to tell you the truth I considered placing a disclaimer on my post saying "Don't bother responding if you haven't tried it or talked to someone who has." Unfortunately, I didn''t.

Quote from: KingIsaacLinksr on November 29, 2011, 12:20:32 PM
you have to have an excellent Internet connection or you might as well forget it...That way your not dependent on the Internet service being flawless to access your games.

According to the website, your internet connection needs to be 2Mb down to use the service, well below the national average and easily met by my connection on a regular basis according to speedtest.com.

Quote from: KingIsaacLinksr on November 29, 2011, 12:20:32 PM
I think this service would be better if it was more like Netflix, but since it still requires you to buy games it's just not that appealing. For me, Steam and iCloud already do a lot of these features and I don't have to worry about the strength of the Internet connection.

Did you read my post? This service is very similar to Netflix instant streaming...for $9.99 you have access to almost 200 games you can play on demand. The alternative is to pay nothing monthly, and buy access to games for less than it would cost to own a physical copy, or rent access for a set number of days. The service doesn't REQUIRE you to buy anything.

Quote from: KingIsaacLinksr on November 29, 2011, 12:20:32 PM
Just my 2cents, it might be pretty cool, but for gamers like myself it's a pointless service. Drm has already shown that games attached to a server have a lesser experience because of the associated problems attached to it.
King

I'm not getting into DRM again with you. But I'm curious what you mean by "gamers like yourself" and how you think that would differ from gamers like anyone else in particular.

KingIsaacLinksr · November 29, 2011, 02:46:04 PM

Let me rephrase what I meant to say.

By the Netflix comment I meant the entire library, not just what they deem as old games. What OnLive is doing is what Hulu is doing. (free service, but with a premium service that doesn't cover their entire content library) It's not a business strategy I like either, but nothing I can do about it.

The comment about players like myself was just referencing people who game in general. It was not an elitist comment if thats what you were thinking.

I guess I'll try and answer what you asked.

Is the service worth it: well, I'm no longer sure now that I've done further research on it. Had you asked me before their recent changes I would have said no. But the tablet and $9.99 thing has me questioning this. So I guess I shouldn't have replied to this topic. But, it all depends on how you want to play your games and whether you want to own them or not. Basically this now boils down to Netflix VS your own DVD collection now. And that's been argued far too much to bother.

I have a hard time believing that Internet bit, especially if you want to do multiplayer so I guess one of these days I'll have to sit down and try it. But from the reviews I heard...oh a couple months back this service was generally panned as intriguing, but worthless due to the US's Internet issues and the value your getting back, which many didnt feel was enough compared to just buying it yourself. Especially if you wanted decent graphics on your games.

King

Jobydrone · November 30, 2011, 04:35:27 PM

It appears the iPad app is just a viewer, you can't actually use it to play anything. Lots less appealing. Actually the only game I'm really interested in playing on this system is the Witcher, and I can wait till it comes out on console.

I am still intrigued by the service, mostly to play PC only games on my Mac without boot camp or other more grey market ways. But so far anything I'd want to play is unavailable through subscription and available on consoles so it's really a no go for me right now.

KingIsaacLinksr · November 30, 2011, 04:41:07 PM

Quote from: Jobydrone4of20 on November 30, 2011, 04:35:27 PM
It appears the iPad app is just a viewer, you can't actually use it to play anything. Lots less appealing. Actually the only game I'm really interested in playing on this system is the Witcher, and I can wait till it comes out on console.

I am still intrigued by the service, mostly to play PC only games on my Mac without boot camp or other more grey market ways. But so far anything I'd want to play is unavailable through subscription and available on consoles so it's really a no go for me right now.

Wait...the tablets is view-games only? That's a bit of false advertisement. Unless I misread what you said.

Btw, do you have Steam? I'm curious how many games have SteamPlay right now.

King

Jobydrone · November 30, 2011, 07:48:33 PM

Yeah I went to download the onlive app and it said connect to your Mac or PC for the full experience lol. I was disappointed, they definitely made it seem in their ads that you could play on the iPad.

Steam's not that good for Macs but there's some stuff. Again though, very little I can't play on consoles. I like the Steam sales thoguh, some great bargains every once in a while.

Rico · December 01, 2011, 08:28:07 AM

Joby - just bite the bullet and bootcamp that Mac. Or just buy a real PC. ;)

Bryancd · December 01, 2011, 08:30:45 AM

I run Steam in Bootcamp. :)

Rico · December 01, 2011, 08:33:52 AM

Quote from: Bryancd on December 01, 2011, 08:30:45 AM
I run Steam in Bootcamp. :)

See! Even Bryan understands the gaming goodness under Windows. :)

Bryancd · December 01, 2011, 08:37:13 AM

The issue is usually how well they render. Some of the newer games in Bootcamp just crush my MacBook's video card, which isn't very powerful.

Rico · December 01, 2011, 08:40:53 AM

Quote from: Bryancd on December 01, 2011, 08:37:13 AM
The issue is usually how well they render. Some of the newer games in Bootcamp just crush my MacBook's video card, which isn't very powerful.

Yeah, the standard MacBook graphics are pretty weak - even now. If you step up to the 15" line on the new ones you can get something with a little more juice.

Bryancd · December 01, 2011, 08:54:47 AM

I have a 15" but it's going on 2 years old at this point.

billybob476 · December 01, 2011, 09:05:55 AM

Gonna bootcamp my MacBook Pro, it actually has a half decent mobile GPU in there (Radeon HD6770M). Just gotta get my hands on a copy of Windows!

Bryancd · December 01, 2011, 09:07:49 AM

Quote from: billybob476 on December 01, 2011, 09:05:55 AM
Just gotta get my hands on a copy of Windows!

Is that a hint? ;)