[IndustryGamers would like to thank EA Sports for sponsoring our trip to GDC this year]
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OnLive announnced today at GDC that the PC and Mac versions of their on-demand game service will launch during E3 2010 on June 17, 2010. The service will be available using a browser plug-in for PC or Mac or using a MicroConsole TV Adapter on an HDTV, although the latter won't be available until a later date.
"This marks a huge milestone for both OnLive and the interactive entertainment landscape as a whole, changing the way that video games are developed, marketed, accessed and played," said Steve Perlman, Founder and CEO of OnLive. "We are opening the door to incredible experiences for gamers and enormous opportunities for developers and publishers."
Starting June 17, 2010, users will be able to register for the OnLive Game Service in the lower 48 states. Paying a $14.95 monthly service fee, users will be able to experience “an ever-increasing library of high-end, new-release, instant-play game content.” The first 25,000 qualified registrants will receive three full months free of OnLive to both buy and rent games.
"The OnLive Game Service creates a new opportunity for consumers to play the latest games without spending hundreds of dollars on a hardware system to make it happen," said Mike McGarvey, COO of OnLive. "As a Mac user myself, I'm excited about the opportunity to help bring high-end gaming to this new and significant market."
The OnLive Game Service will come with the usual sort of online gaming service features, like profiles, friends lists and chat. Launch titles will include Mass Effect 2, Dragon Age Origins, Assassin's Creed II and Borderlands.
OnLive says that HDTV resolution would require a 5 MBPS connection, of which a quarter of U.S. households have now; a 1.5 MBPS connection is needed for SDTV. OnLive's data centers are designed to have a 1,000 mile reach and are expected to fully support 1080p by 2011.
Additionally, publishers will receive nearly two-thirds of the revenue for their games, compared to current retail prices now where they net less than half. OnLive also eliminates piracy and used game sales (which Perlman claims make up one-third of the current retail market).
Colin Sebastian of Lazard Capital Markets doesn't think that in the near-term OnLive will have an effect on current consoles. “Without discounts on games, we note that pricing may be a gating factor to mass market adoption of OnLive,” wrote Sebastian. “However, if successful, we believe OnLive could have a meaningful impact on the industry, offering publishers a lower-cost distribution channel and consumers convenient access to high-quality games. While there are still legitimate questions regarding the cost/scale for OnLive, over the long haul the service has a multi-billion market opportunity.”
The real test, as Sebastian sees it, will be for the next generation of consoles, when and if that comes. “Big test for emerging platforms will be during the next console transition. While the opportunity for OnLive and other emerging distribution platforms is limited to some degree in this cycle by the existing installed base of console and high end PC hardware, however, these services could challenge the traditional console refresh cycle, particularly by offering 'next gen' quality video games before new consoles hit shelves. In addition, OnLive’s focus on compression technology and content delivery suggest an opportunity to evolve into a broader home entertainment platform, including games, video and other forms of media.”
21 Comments
March 10, 2010
If OnLive really takes off within a couple of years, it will make first party software from the Big Three that much more important to selling their hardware.
March 10, 2010
it will make first party software from the Big Three that much more important ...
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March 11, 2010
If it really takes off, why would people feel compelled to buy a new console? And thus why would the console manufacturers expend the massive resources needed to develop a new console when their capacity to get return on that investment has been drastically curtailed?
The "console cycle" is already out the window thanks to the high development costs both for software and hardware of the current generation, relative to the ROI on each - and the easier wins that motion control innovation has delivered.
I'm not saying streaming will single handedly kill consoles. But it's another factor in the question, what's the point of building a more powerful console for release in the foreseeable future? (other than for Nintendo maybe, for whom raising the horsepower bar still has a point given the installed base of current display technology).
March 11, 2010
So let me get this straight. I have to pay for a service, then continue to buy or rent games for an additional fee. I will never actually own these games because they are stored on their "Clouds" and I gurantee there will be no discount passed on to the consumer for the money the publisher is saving. NO THANKS.
May 5, 2010
Obviously he has a controller in his hand. That's not the point, he's saying he prefers to play games using a controller. driver updaters
May 13, 2010
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May 16, 2010
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May 17, 2010
And thus why would the console manufacturers expend the massive resources needed to develop a new console when their capacity to get return on that investment hasfax over the internet been drastically curtailed?
May 20, 2010
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May 21, 2010
I will never actually own these games because they are stored on their "Clouds" and I gurantee there will be no discount passed on to the consumer for the money the publisher is saving. NO THANKS.
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May 25, 2010
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May 27, 2010
So let me get this straight. I have to pay for a service, then continue to buy or rent games for an additional fee. I will never actually own these games because they are stored on their "Clouds" and I gurantee there will be no discount passed on to the consumer for the money the publisher is saving. NO THANKS.identity theft alerts
May 30, 2010
I bought into this crap and bought the Eye on day one.
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May 30, 2010
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May 31, 2010
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Black Monday for the Playstation 2, growing beyond that single franchise and also beyond the Playstation 2 itself but not straying too far from the original vision of an online social gaming platform for gamers. mass email marketing software
June 27, 2010
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