6 ms·

http://www.onlive.com/ http://www.onlive.com/ Your TV+microconsole (or your computer) becomes a gaming thin client. The game runs in the cloud, and only the s

http://www.onlive.com/ http://www.onlive.com/ Your TV+microconsole (or your computer) becomes a gaming thin client. The game runs in the cloud, and only the sound, display, and controller actions are transmitted between the thin client and gaming server. i.e. the Netflix model I got the microconsole for $50 with a free game, and I must say, it works surprisingly well.

StavrosK 15y ago
Hmm, does that work? It sounds like it will cost a shitload for them to do the rendering on the server, plus a second shitload in bandwidth costs, plus the latency will be high...
- creativeembassy 15y ago
  I've been predicting for years that it wouldn't work. And then OnLive finally launched, and... well, it's a teensy bit laggy compared to PC/console gaming, but it's amazing nonetheless. For people who have been wanting to game but never got over the hurdle of the console prices, much less building a PC rig for gaming, OnLive is a godsend.
- jamesgeck0 15y ago
  The latency depends on the game you're playing. The better the video feed compresses, the more responsive the game will feel. It's works OK for 2D games and Batman:AA, but it's still not great for things like Unreal Tournament.
- teamonkey 15y ago
  It's worth trying if you're skeptical. It's free to sign up and it allows you to play the first 30 minutes of several games free of charge.
  - StavrosK 15y ago
    Unfortunately I don't live in the US :(
    - teamonkey 15y ago
      They have UK servers if that's where you are. http://onlive.co.uk/ http://onlive.co.uk/
      - StavrosK 15y ago
        I signed up for the US trial, it was a bit slow but it was quite bearable. The game stopped responding, but overall it looks very good. I'm not sure how they can make money if they have to rent, say, an Amazon EC2 instance with a GPU at $3/hr, but I hope it works. My main problem is that you actually have to buy the games and then not even own them. I've already bought them once on Steam, why do I have to buy them again to play there? A Netflix-style model of per-month payments for unlimited time would be better, but having to buy the games again is a joke.
        jeffool 15y ago
        In interviews they've claimed that much of the lag players experience is from poor monitors. I don't know if I buy their claim of how much (I want to say the claim was "most", but I'd check that before I would argue it,) but I can certainly buy that as a contributing factor. I agree with you though, having to buy games I've already bought once is annoying. But unless storefronts/publishers all agree to hold hands, sing Kumbaya, and honor each other's purchases, I don't see another option.
        StavrosK 15y ago
        The other option is a flat fee per month. How ridiculous would it be if Netflix required you to pay $15 per movie before they could rent you a DVD?
        teamonkey 15y ago
        There's a $10/month "playpack" package (in the US, at least). Some games are only available in the playpack, some games are only available separately. I would argue that on Steam you don't own the game either. They use their own hardware, not EC2 or anything like that. They need gaming-level GPUs and they have their own compression hardware.

StavrosK 15y ago

Hmm, does that work? It sounds like it will cost a shitload for them to do the rendering on the server, plus a second shitload in bandwidth costs, plus the latency will be high...

creativeembassy 15y ago
I've been predicting for years that it wouldn't work. And then OnLive finally launched, and... well, it's a teensy bit laggy compared to PC/console gaming, but it's amazing nonetheless. For people who have been wanting to game but never got over the hurdle of the console prices, much less building a PC rig for gaming, OnLive is a godsend.
jamesgeck0 15y ago
The latency depends on the game you're playing. The better the video feed compresses, the more responsive the game will feel. It's works OK for 2D games and Batman:AA, but it's still not great for things like Unreal Tournament.
teamonkey 15y ago
It's worth trying if you're skeptical. It's free to sign up and it allows you to play the first 30 minutes of several games free of charge.
- StavrosK 15y ago
  Unfortunately I don't live in the US :(
  - teamonkey 15y ago
    They have UK servers if that's where you are. http://onlive.co.uk/ http://onlive.co.uk/
    - StavrosK 15y ago
      I signed up for the US trial, it was a bit slow but it was quite bearable. The game stopped responding, but overall it looks very good. I'm not sure how they can make money if they have to rent, say, an Amazon EC2 instance with a GPU at $3/hr, but I hope it works. My main problem is that you actually have to buy the games and then not even own them. I've already bought them once on Steam, why do I have to buy them again to play there? A Netflix-style model of per-month payments for unlimited time would be better, but having to buy the games again is a joke.
      - jeffool 15y ago
        In interviews they've claimed that much of the lag players experience is from poor monitors. I don't know if I buy their claim of how much (I want to say the claim was "most", but I'd check that before I would argue it,) but I can certainly buy that as a contributing factor. I agree with you though, having to buy games I've already bought once is annoying. But unless storefronts/publishers all agree to hold hands, sing Kumbaya, and honor each other's purchases, I don't see another option.
        StavrosK 15y ago
        The other option is a flat fee per month. How ridiculous would it be if Netflix required you to pay $15 per movie before they could rent you a DVD?
      - teamonkey 15y ago
        There's a $10/month "playpack" package (in the US, at least). Some games are only available in the playpack, some games are only available separately. I would argue that on Steam you don't own the game either. They use their own hardware, not EC2 or anything like that. They need gaming-level GPUs and they have their own compression hardware.