Onlive - The Future of Gaming?

Just when we thought gaming had hit a critical milestone with web-broswer games on Kongregate.com or Instantaction.com, a new service plans to surpass cloud gaming and take on the 3 console gaming giants themselves. At GDC 09', Steve Perlman presented a 55 minute introduction to this service that's been in "stealth development" for the past 7 years.

Onlive is a new service that is set to come out in Winter of this year. It is a games on demand service, that will be releasing titles the same day as they hit store shelves. Rent them, buy them, demo them or even spectate someone playing them before you buy; Onlive is determined to take advantage of their streaming features. Complete with your own profile that includes avatars and your recorded "brag clips" they've made it a social experience as well. All it requires is a high-speed internet connection. 5mb will get you streams in HD resolutions while 1.5mb will translate to a standard def look. Perlman also explains that Onlive will be supported on both PC and Macs and will have an optional Micro-Console for your TV. Essentially you won't have to worry about your computer's hardware because the Onlive servers will take care of all that information crunching for you. Your machine becomes a "thin client" capable of running games on their high settings. The beta will be running this summer so the signups are available at their site, Onlive.com.

This brings up a couple of things to think about. Will the latency break the service? Gamers are picky, picky little girls and I could see this being a problem if the lag is significant enough to ruin the game. This is definately what could be the make or break feature for them. Onlive also will patch and update automatically so no need for waiting, downloads, and most importantly, no need to purchase new hardware which could be a direct blow to the Big 3. Is a possibly more affordable micro-console that plays any game from any system enough to win over your wallet? Could this be the beginning of the unified console myth that we've read about? Will Batman escape from the shark infested tank? Tune in next time to find out!