OnLive Branching Out to iPad and Android, Can Stream Windows Apps

[wahdangun]

Cloud gaming service OnLive is giving us a little glimpse into their future offerings with an iPad version of the client. This app will only allow spectating in live games, as there are no games with touchscreen controls yet. What's perhaps more interesting, is that OnLive will let you run Windows 7 apps on the iPad through their service. That's potentially huge if executed well. The iPad is currently the only device supported, but an Android beta should be available in the near future according to VentureBeat.

So here's the big question: how will Apple take this? Apple would probably prefer that any enterprise Windows apps be adapted to iOS and submitted the old fashioned way, but if OnLive is successful, that could be unnecessary. If developers get in bed with OnLive, and users can just pay a flat fee to access a ton of games in the cloud, Apple might see a hit in the App Store.

OnLive recently released the Micros Console unit for customers to plug into their TV, and also announced a $10 flat fee gaming plan. OnLive may have seemed like a pie in the sky fantasy last year, but it's becoming more interesting as time goes on.

onlive really cool, shame it was america only, btw what do you think about onlive?

 

[CDdude55]

Ya i recently saw a video demonstration of Crysis being played on an IPhone through Onlive, it was a cool site to see, though they even admitted that the controls needed to be worked out, as the IPad and IPhone offer little in the control scheme department for such a game and that latency is still an issue.

Onlive is definitely cool technology and i do think that eventually whether it be Onlive or some other client in the future, that gaming from the cloud will take over. But the internet standard needs to be raised to achieve such a thing, we can't push a game like Crysis consistently over the majority of current internet speed standards and obtain low latencies and good frames. Once those kinks get worked out all you need is more and more developers to hop on board and you're set. Now it just comes down to marketing the product and getting the word out.

I also don't know how other companies are going to take it, i mean if something like Onlive achieves wide mainstream adoption, companies/retail stores like Nvidia, AMD, Gamestop,Intel etc. will receive huge losses, i mean they can provide parts to the cloud systems Onlive uses, but that would still result in a severe loss for them, which is something i don't think they would want.

 

[wahdangun]

yupz, i think the drawback was from the isp side thing, especially right now we have capped bandwith

The cloud-based gaming service will offer movies and TV shows sometime in 2011.


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Monday brought reports that cloud-based gaming service OnLive plans to provide streaming movies and television shows in 2011. The news arrives as media companies grow concerned that Netflix is growing too large and are now seeking out alternative content distributors.

According to a report from Reuters, OnLive is currently in negotiations with major film and TV studios. However games will still be the main focus on OnLive, as they offer higher margins than movies.

"Streaming technology is available to anybody," said OnLive Chief Executive Steve Perlman in an interview. "We want to work with the studios. All of these guys want to offer content, we're just here to distribute. OnLive can deliver any experience that Netflix can."

Launched earlier this year, OnLive offers PC-based gaming in three flavors: a 3-day PlayPass, a 5-day PlayPass, and a full PlayPass. Prices vary across the board, and not all titles offer 3-day and 5-day passes. The drawback to OnLive is that the library is currently limited, offering around 45 titles. However the service is cloud-based, allowing players to experience many hardware-demanding games without the need to upgrade components.

For a PC or Mac, OnLive's minimum system requirements include a 3 Mbps wired or Wifi connection, Windows 7 or Vista (32 or 64-bit) or XP SP3 (32-bit), Mac OS X 10.5.8 or later, and a screen resolution of 1024 x 576. OnLive states that the cloud-based gaming service works on most PCs, netbooks and Intel-based Macs, however the recommended system requirements include a 5 Mbps Internet connection, dual-core PCs, Mac OS X 10.6 or later, and a screen resolution of 1280 x 720.

Of course, OnLive also offers a dedicated $99 stand-alone "console" that hooks directly into the TV. OnLive is also starting a $9.99/mo subscription plan beginning January 15 that grants access to every title in the library. Those who purchase the console can participate in the beta for free until January 14.

As for the movie and TV streaming aspect, the details are unknown. Reuters said that Perlman declined to comment when asked about details and pricing. As Time Warner Inc's Warner Bros is one of the OnLive investors, it's probably a given that everything related to the studio is already on the table.

Could OnLive pose as a threat to Netflix? That will will depend on the content, however a monthly subscription that included one PC game rental for a month could really strike a serious blow below the belt.

btwits great if with just 5$ you can get this too