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OnLive
File:Onlive-Logo.png
ManufacturerOnLive
TypeGaming on demand
Lifespan
  • US: June 17, 2010
  • UK: September 22, 2011[1]
Controller inputOnLive Game System: OnLive wireless controller,[2] PC & Mac: mouse and keyboard, Xbox 360 controller
Online servicesOnLive game service
Websitewww.onlive.com

OnLive is a cloud gaming platform:[3] the games are synchronized, rendered, and stored on remote servers and delivered via the Internet.

The service is available using the OnLive Game System,[4] PCs running Microsoft Windows (XP, Vista, 7) and Intel-based Macs with OS X 10.5.8 or later.[5] Since the game is computed on the OnLive server a low-end computer may be used to play any kind of game as long as it is able to play video. For that reason, the service is being seen as a competitor for the console market.[6][7] All games on the service are available in 720p format. OnLive recommends an Internet connection of 5 Mbit/s or faster, and a 2 Mbit/s connection meets the minimum system requirements.[8] The average broadband connection speed in the US at the end of 2008 was 3.9 Mbit/s, while 25% of US broadband connections were rated faster than 5 Mbit/s.[9]

Over 50 publishers, such as Take-Two, Ubisoft, Epic Games, Atari, Codemasters, THQ, Warner Bros., 2D Boy, Eidos Interactive, Disney Interactive Studios, and others have partnered with OnLive.[10][11]

Over 150 games are available on the service,[12][13] some of which are listed on the List of OnLive games.

History

OnLive was announced at the Game Developers Conference in 2009.[14] The service was originally planned for release in the winter of 2009.[15][16]

OnLive's original investors include Warner Bros., Autodesk and Maverick Capital.[17] A later round of financing included AT&T Media Holdings, Inc. and Lauder Partners as well as the original investors.[18] In May 2010, it was announced that British Telecom and Belgacom invested in and partnered with OnLive.[19][20]

On March 10, 2010, OnLive announced the OnLive Game Service would launch on June 17, 2010, in the US, and the monthly service fee would be US$14.95.[21] However, at launch the membership option available was through AT&T's Founding Members promotion, which provides the service for free for the first year and US$4.95 per month for the optional following year.[22][23] On October 4, 2010, OnLive announced that there would no longer be any subscription fees for the service.[24]

On March 11, 2010, OnLive CEO Steve Perlman announced the OnLive Game Portal, a free way to access OnLive games for rental and demos, but without the social features of the Game Service. It was stated that it would roll out later in 2010 after the OnLive Game Service launch.[25]

The OnLive Game Service was launched in the United States on June 17, 2010.[26]

The US Patent Office awarded OnLive a fundamental[vague] cloud gaming patent on December 7, 2010.[27]

The OnLive service became officially available in the United Kingdom on September 22, 2011.[1]

Service

The game service is available from the OnLive Game System to different device categories:

  • Windows PCs: PCs running Windows XP, Windows Vista, or Windows 7.
  • Apple Macintosh: Intel-based Macs running Mac OS X 10.5.8 or later.
  • Smartphones: Android smartphones (HTC Flyer).[28][29][30]
  • Tablets: Android tablets and Apple iPad.[31][32] The OnLive Viewer for the iPad was released December 7, 2010.[33]
  • Connected TVs: OnLive announced that the OnLive Game Service will be integrated into new VIZIO VIA Plus TVs.[citation needed]
  • Internet connected media players: VIZIO's new line of VIA Blu-ray players.[34] Steve Perlman has also suggested that the underlying electronics and compression chip could be integrated into set-top boxes and other consumer electronics.[35]

The service has also been demonstrated on: Apple iPhone[28][29][30]

Network requirements:

  • The service requires a 2 Mbps Internet connection (5+ Mbps recommended) with low latency.[8]
  • OnLive initially required a wired connection, however beta Wi-Fi support became available to all members on September 15, 2010.[36]

OnLive Game System

File:OnLiveMainMenu.jpg
OnLive main menu (during beta)

The OnLive Game System consists of an OnLive Wireless Controller and a console, called the "MicroConsole TV Adapter",[4][37][38] that can be connected to a television and directly to the OnLive service, so it is possible to use the service without a computer. It comes with the accessories needed to connect the equipment, and composite video users can purchase an additional optional cable.[4][14][39] The MicroConsole supports up to four wireless controllers and multiple Bluetooth headsets. It also has two USB ports for game controllers, keyboards, mice, and USB hubs. For video and audio output it provides component, HDMI, S/PDIF ports, and an analog stereo minijack. An ethernet port is used for network access, which is required to access the OnLive service. Pre-orders for the OnLive Game System began to be taken on November 17, 2010.[4]

PlayPack flat-rate plan

OnLive confirmed the details of its PlayPack flat-rate payment plan on December 2, 2010. With this option players pay a monthly fee for unlimited access to "recent, classic and indie titles" in the OnLive library, which includes new releases.[40][41] PlayPack subscribers also receive a 30% off discount toward purchase of OnLive merchandise excluding PlayPack membership fees. This discount can be applied to sale items, OnLive wireless controllers, and the OnLive Game System.[42]

Architecture

In the U.S., the OnLive service will be hosted in five co-located North American data centers. Currently there are facilities in Santa Clara, California and Virginia, with additional facilities being set up in Dallas, Texas, as well as Illinois, and Georgia.[43][44] OnLive has stated that users must be located within 1,000 miles (1,600 km) of one of these to receive high-quality service.[45][46][47]

The hardware used is a custom set up consisting of OnLive's proprietary video compression chip as well as standard PC CPU and GPU chips. For older, or lower-performance, games such as Lego Batman, multiple instances can be played on each server using virtualization technology. However, high-end games such as Assassin's Creed II will require one GPU per game. Two video streams are created for each game. One (the live stream) is optimised for gameplay and real-world Internet conditions, while the other (the media stream) is a full HD stream that is server-side and used for spectators or for gamers to record Brag Clips of their games.[35]

International availability

The service is available in the United Kingdom as of September 22, 2011[1] in partnership with British Telecom as a bundled service with their broadband packages,[48]. It is planned to make OnLive available as well as in the rest of Europe.[49]

OnLive plans to offer the service in Belgium and Luxembourg in partnership with Belgacom.[50] Belgacom has the exclusive right to bundle OnLive in Belgium and Luxembourg with their other broadband services, but gamers in these countries also will have the option of ordering directly from OnLive through any Internet service provider and it will be offered in multiple languages there.[50]

OnLive has also been available in Canada since Summer 2010.

Reception

Pre-launch

Soon after the company's announcement at GDC 2009, there was skepticism expressed by game journalists, concerned about how the OnLive service might work and what the quality of the service might be both in terms of the hardware required in OnLive server centers to render and compress the video, as well as the impact of commercial Internet broadband connections on its delivery. During GDC 2009, which was held in San Francisco, the OnLive service was 50 miles (80 km) from its Santa Clara data center. The closed beta had "hundreds of users on the system".[51] Near E3 in 2009, which is approximately 350 miles (560 km) away from their data center, OnLive demonstrated their service performed well with a consumer cable modem and Internet connection.[52][53]Matt Peckham from PC World stated in his blog that it might be technically difficult to transfer the amount of data that a high definition game would require. He stated he believed OnLive customers would need a broadband line with "guaranteed, non-shared, uninterruptible speed", but "broadband isn't there yet, nor are ISPs willing to offer performance guarantees". He also mentioned his concerns that the mod community would be unable create and offer mods since all game data will be stored on the OnLive servers, and that games played on OnLive might not be "owned" by the user, and thus if OnLive were to go under, all the user's games would be inaccessible.[54][55]

Cevat Yerli, the CEO of Crytek, had researched a method for streaming games but concluded that Crytek's approach would not be viable until 2013 "at earliest". Yerli made it clear Crytek was not directly involved with the OnLive service, and Yerli had no personal experience using the service. Rather, Electronic Arts, the publisher of Crytek's Crysis Warhead, had partnered with OnLive and had tested and endorsed the OnLive technology. Yerli stated:

I want to see it myself. I don't want to say it's either 'top or flop'. I hope it works for them because it could improve gamers' lives. The technology of video-based rendering is not actually a very new concept but they do some things that others didn't do before so it will be interesting to see.[56]

Eurogamer's DigitalFoundry was amongst the most harshly skeptical in an article published upon OnLive's unveiling and public demonstration entitled, "GDC: Why OnLive Can't Possibly Work" by DigitalFoundry's Richard Leadbetter. The article's analysis characterized OnLive as a faked demo that was technically impossible to accomplish over a consumer Internet connection.[57]

Post-launch

After the launch of the service in the United States, favorable reviews by game journalists stated that the service performed well, and they looked forward to the service improving over time.[58][59][60][61] Hiawatha Bray of The Boston Globe stated, "It felt exactly as if I had installed the software on my local computer."[62] Chris Holt of Macworld, in his review of Assassin's Creed II on OnLive using his Mac, wrote that he looks forward to future higher resolution improvements that are already promised, he "never encountered any frame rate issues," and "the game is on the whole every bit as immersive, rewarding, and free as the console version."[63] Dan Ackerman of CNET wrote that, "OnLive was an overall very impressive experience, and several minds around the CNET offices were officially blown – a difficult task among this jaded bunch."[64]

In examining latency, Eurogamer's DigitalFoundry initial test found that in some of their test scenarios, users of OnLive could expect 150ms of latency over a consumer Internet connection; however, they also noted inconsistencies, in that some games had higher latency, and that this would also depend on the quality of the customer's internet connection.[65] Furthermore, they also noted that while acceptable, these values ran contrary to figures suggested by OnLive before release of lag "being under 80ms" and "usually... between 35-40ms".[65] In their later full-feature article on OnLive, DigitalFoundry noted that "during intense gameplay, OnLive is hovering right at the boundary of what is acceptable lag and often exceeds it, resulting in a variable, often unsatisfactory experience", but that "the latency level is probably the most pleasant surprise with this system. Let's be clear: it is most definitely not a replacement for the local experience, but if the system can be tightened up and that 150ms becomes the norm, then it's clear there is potential here for the infrastructure to find a home with certain types of game or certain types of player".[66]

In terms of video quality, DigitalFoundry noted that video compression meant image quality also varied depending on the title. Games with a lower number of frame-to-frame differences, or games where such changes were less important, such as Assassin's Creed II or Batman: Arkham Asylum fared well, with these games being "strongly suited to video compression" and "cut-scenes in particular can look very good". However, games that had a greater amount of motion or relied on fast reactions, such as Colin McRae: Dirt or Unreal Tournament 3 fared less well, with questions about the playability of the latter when video compression artifacts were taken into account.[67] DigitalFoundry felt that the quality of rendering was mostly good, with high frame rates, but with less consistency than console counterparts and with screen-tearing in some scenarios.[68]

Overall, DigitalFoundry felt that OnLive offered interesting new features, being impressed with the ability to watch other player's games in the "Arena" function, and the ability to try out full 30-minute demos of games.[69] While acknowledging that the rental aspect was appealing, and acknowleding the "incredible achievement" of coming "within spitting distance of console response times", DigitalFoundry questioned the overall value proposition for the customer. They remarked that "the bottom line is that the gameplay experience is not better than what we already have—by and large it's tangibly worse", and noted that high system requirements for a computer capable of playing the games streamed by OnLive meant that a graphics card upgrade would provide comparable performance.[69] However, they also noted that deals such as those with BT to provide a straight connection to datacenters meant latency could be improved,[69] and that for some consumers, such as those with less technical experience or who did not want to buy a console, OnLive may be more suitable: "there are some games where the system works—by core gamer terms—tolerably. They are clearly playable....Perhaps it is simply the case that OnLive isn't for us committed gamer types. A less discerning type of audience will probably be happy with the whole offering as it stands now".[70].

Gaming Examiner judged that the graphics were like "playing a PS3 on a 480p standard def TV", that they thought that they experienced much lower FPS than expected, and that the controller was not working reliably[71].

After the launch in United Kingdom, Computer and Video Games remarked after one month of use of the service was "working", and was adequate for trying a game or renting it, but still not for buying, because of the limitations depending on the internet connection (lags, freezes, smeary visuals, consequences on data usage for people who have a capped connection)[72].

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c "OnLive On-Demand Cloud Gaming Launches in UK Today". London: OnLive. 22 September 2011. Retrieved 24 September 2011.
  2. ^ OnLive. "The OnLive Game System Tech Specs". OnLive. OnLive. Retrieved December 6, 2010.
  3. ^
  4. ^ a b c d Steve Perlman (November 17, 2010). "Introducing the OnLive Game System". OnLive Blog. OnLive. Retrieved November 17, 2010.
  5. ^ "OnLive Technical FAQ". OnLive. Retrieved 2010-08-06.
  6. ^ Ricker, Thomas (2009-03-20). "OnLive killed the game console star?". Engadget.com. Retrieved 2009-03-25.
  7. ^ "Le « cloud gaming », l'avenir du jeu vidéo ? - Actualités" (in Template:Fr icon). ZDNet.fr. Retrieved 2009-03-25.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link) [dead link‍]
  8. ^ a b "OnLive Technical FAQ". OnLive. Retrieved 2010-07-17.
  9. ^ "Akamai: Fourth Quarterly "State of the Internet" Report". www.akamai.com. 2009-03-30. Retrieved 2009-08-12.
  10. ^ "OnLive: Partners". OnLive. Retrieved 2010-08-06.
  11. ^ OnLive (June 2, 2011). "Momentum Continues to Grow for Cloud Gaming Pioneer OnLive". OnLive Website. OnLive. Retrieved June 24, 2011.
  12. ^ Dean Takahashi (June 7, 2011). "OnLive demonstrates high-end cloud gaming on tablets and smartphones". VentureBeat. VentureBeat. Retrieved June 24, 2011.
  13. ^ OnLive. "OnLive Website". OnLive. OnLive. Retrieved June 24, 2011.
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  15. ^ "FAQ". OnLive. Retrieved 2009-03-25. [dead link‍]
  16. ^ Roper, Chris. "IGN: GDC 09: OnLive Introduces The Future of Gaming". Uk.pc.ign.com. Retrieved 2009-03-25.
  17. ^ "Rearden: About". www.rearden.com. Retrieved 2009=2009-08-12. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  18. ^ "OnLive Raises Series C Round from AT&T, Warner Bros. and Others". www.techcrunch.com. Retrieved 2009=2009-09-30. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help) [dead link‍]
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  20. ^ "OnLive Coming to Belgium". OnLive. 2010-05-16. Retrieved 2010-08-06.
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  22. ^ "OnLive Account FAQ". OnLive. Retrieved 2010-07-17.
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  26. ^ Brown, Rich (2010-07-15). "Interview: OnLive CEO Steve Perlman gives us his post-launch perspective". CNET News. Retrieved 2010-08-06.
  27. ^ OnLive (December 14, 2010). "OnLive Awarded Fundamental Cloud Gaming Patent". OnLive Press Releases. OnLive. Retrieved January 5, 2011.
  28. ^ a b "OnLive Service Works On Cell Phones, Too". G4tv.com.
  29. ^ a b Tom Magrino. "OnLive gains mobile phone compatibility". GameSpot.
  30. ^ a b "OnLive in the Palm of Your Hand « OnLive Blog". Cite error: The named reference "phone3" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
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  32. ^ "D8 Video:OnLive demoed on iPad, PC, Mac, Console, iPhone". Wall Street Journal. 2010-08-09. Retrieved 2010-08-19.
  33. ^ Joe Bentley (December 7, 2010). "OnLive on the Go". OnLive Blog. OnLive. Retrieved January 5, 2011.
  34. ^ Steve Perlman (January 4, 2011). "OnLive Everywhere: HDTVs, Blu-ray Players, Tablets and Phones—and a Sale to Celebrate". OnLive Blog. OnLive. Retrieved January 5, 2011.
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  41. ^ Chloe Albanesius (December 2, 2010). "OnLive Unveils Flat-Rate $10 Monthly Gaming Plan". PC Magazine.
  42. ^ Ed Krassenstein (August 5, 2011). "Best Deal in Video Games? OnLive PlayPack Members Now Get 30% Off Any Item". OnLiveFans.
  43. ^ OnLive datacenter locations from Steve Perlman interview.
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  49. ^ Onlive could spell trouble for pc makers- The Inquirer
  50. ^ a b OnLive Coming to Belgium « OnLive Blog
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  53. ^ Deam, Jordan (2009-06-08). "OnLive at E3: It Works". www.escapistmagazine.com. Retrieved 2009-08-12.
  54. ^ "GDC 09: 6 Reasons OnLive Could Be a Bust". PC World. 2006-07-31. Retrieved 2009-03-25.
  55. ^ Peter Svensson (2009-03-25). "The Associated Press: Streaming games could be bane or boon for ISPs". Associated Press. Retrieved 2010-08-11.
  56. ^ "Crytek: Streaming games service viable in 2013". Gamesindustry.biz. 2009-04-02. Retrieved 2009-04-22.
  57. ^ "GDC: Why OnLive Can't Possibly Work".
  58. ^ "OnLive: The first few weeks". Joystiq.com. 2010-07-13. Retrieved 2010-08-11.
  59. ^ "TechBytes: Kindle App Upgraded, Streaming Your Music Online, OnLive Review, Facebook and Divorce". ABC News. 2010-06-29. Retrieved 2010-08-11.
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  61. ^ Wolverton, Troy (2010-07-18). "Wolverton: OnLive streams console-quality games over the Internet". San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved 2010-08-13.
  62. ^ Bray, Hiawatha (2010-07-15). "Service lets players stream video games". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 2010-08-13.
  63. ^ Holt, Chris (2010-07-05). "Assassin's Creed II". Macworld. Retrieved 2010-08-13.
  64. ^ Brown, Rich (2010-06-28). "Hands-on with OnLive: Is this the future of PC gaming?". CNET News. Retrieved 2010-08-13.
  65. ^ a b "OnLive Latency: The Reckoning".
  66. ^ Digital Foundry vs. OnLive - Page 2 | DigitalFoundry | Eurogamer.net
  67. ^ Digital Foundry vs. OnLive - Page 3 | DigitalFoundry | Eurogamer.net
  68. ^ Digital Foundry vs. OnLive - Page 4 | DigitalFoundry | Eurogamer.net
  69. ^ a b c Digital Foundry vs. OnLive - Page 6 | DigitalFoundry | Eurogamer.net
  70. ^ Digital Foundry vs. OnLive - Page 5 | DigitalFoundry | Eurogamer.net
  71. ^ "OnLive: A Year And A Half Later". gamingexaminer.com. 2011-11-18. Retrieved 2011-11-27.
  72. ^ "OnLive: Is it still blazing trails?". Computer and Video Games. 2011-11-20. Retrieved 2011-11-27. It's this sort of thing that really makes OnLive feel like the future. But that doesn't mean that you should throw away your console tomorrow. UK broadband needs a proper upgrade, increasing usage caps and speed across the board, and playing your game on your own system will for the time being always beat it for quality of visuals and feel

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