Ed
04-14-2009, 02:03 PM
Article From: http://www.igameyougame.com/2009/04/lets-get-it-onlive.html
Let's get it OnLive
Posted by Oscar Langford at 3:15 PM
There have been some interesting announcements at this year's GDC, but possibly the most exciting is the introduction of OnLive, a new console and gaming service brought to us by Rearden Studios. When you first hear about the concept, it sounds too good to be true. It's the kind of thing you would expect to see Marty picking up in Back to The Future 2, right after he gets off his hoverboard, but this isn't some pie-in-the-sky dream that will never become reality; it's happening now, and I'm going to tell you all about it.
So what exactly is OnLive? Well, lets stop for a moment and consider how gaming works. Whether on PC or console, it involves having a box in your living room that can decode and display game data stored on a disc. When you press a button on the controller, the box processes the information and sends a signal to the TV that now shows your character moving. OnLive is no different, except for the fact that the box isn't in your living room; it's a thousand miles away.
Here's how it works: OnLive sets up central servers; not the kind that a regular internet provider would use, but specially made ones that contain GPUs. At home you plug in a set-top box, which is essentially just a video decoder with controller inputs. When you press a button on the controller you are actually playing the game on a server that's miles away. The server is then compressing the video and sending it back to the set-top box that then decodes and displays it for you. Since the box is doing no processing, it's not much different from the digital cable box you have sitting above your TV right now.
Of course, this means that buying an official OnLive box won't be necessary. All you need is something that can decode video data, whether it be an existing cable box, or even your PC or Mac. It also means that arbitrarily upgrading your machine could be a thing of the past, as all of that responsibility will now be on their end.
Sounds good in theory, right? I'm sure you can see the potential problems, though. Anyone who's spent any time gaming online will know that connection speed and latency are a big issue for smooth, lag-free play, so how in the world can we expect this when massive amounts of HD video are now coming down the pipelines? This is the biggest obstacle that OnLive will have to overcome to be successful but, according to them, video lag will be "about a millisecond" if you are within a thousand miles of the nearest server. Of course, during the GDC demonstration they were running off of servers that were a mere fifty miles from the show floor, so a proper demonstration of this couldn't be made.
Another issue involves bandwidth caps placed on consumers by their ISP. For instance, Comcast limits users to 250 GB a month of downloaded data. Since OnLive uses 5Mbps for HD gaming, this would limit users to 3.8 hours per day, assuming they used their internet for nothing else. However, this is worst-case scenario. Many games would require far less data too be sent, and SD gaming would involve even less still. Therefore, even with current internet technology, this service could still be feasible.
There are many more potential issues that will come up, such as what happens when two million people all log on to play a brand new, high-intensive game at midnight on launch day? This is something that can't be tested right now, but should be a big focus during their current beta period. So, assuming that everything works as advertised, what kind of games can we expect to see? Well, OnLine has already struck deals with nine major publishers, and demonstrated GRID and Crysis Wars during GDC. They also showed clips from Mirror's Edge, Burnout Paradise, and World of Goo, so it looks like we can expect current games from major studios. As of now, they don't plan on creating a back-catalog for older titles, but this may change if the service becomes popular.
With a Winter 2009 release date, Reardon Studios have a lot of work to do if they want OnLive to work as intended, so I'll keep you updated with any big news as it comes. For now, if you want more info, Joystiq have conducted a massive two-part interview with OnLive founder and CEO, Steve Perlman, which you can check out here and here. It may not answer every question you have, but it certainly makes it clear that Reardon have spent a lot of time working on this technology, and will do everything in their power to get it running smoothly.
So will OnLive be the future of gaming, or is this nothing more that just a pipe dream? That's yet to be seen, but I, for one, am excited to find out.
Let's get it OnLive
Posted by Oscar Langford at 3:15 PM
There have been some interesting announcements at this year's GDC, but possibly the most exciting is the introduction of OnLive, a new console and gaming service brought to us by Rearden Studios. When you first hear about the concept, it sounds too good to be true. It's the kind of thing you would expect to see Marty picking up in Back to The Future 2, right after he gets off his hoverboard, but this isn't some pie-in-the-sky dream that will never become reality; it's happening now, and I'm going to tell you all about it.
So what exactly is OnLive? Well, lets stop for a moment and consider how gaming works. Whether on PC or console, it involves having a box in your living room that can decode and display game data stored on a disc. When you press a button on the controller, the box processes the information and sends a signal to the TV that now shows your character moving. OnLive is no different, except for the fact that the box isn't in your living room; it's a thousand miles away.
Here's how it works: OnLive sets up central servers; not the kind that a regular internet provider would use, but specially made ones that contain GPUs. At home you plug in a set-top box, which is essentially just a video decoder with controller inputs. When you press a button on the controller you are actually playing the game on a server that's miles away. The server is then compressing the video and sending it back to the set-top box that then decodes and displays it for you. Since the box is doing no processing, it's not much different from the digital cable box you have sitting above your TV right now.
Of course, this means that buying an official OnLive box won't be necessary. All you need is something that can decode video data, whether it be an existing cable box, or even your PC or Mac. It also means that arbitrarily upgrading your machine could be a thing of the past, as all of that responsibility will now be on their end.
Sounds good in theory, right? I'm sure you can see the potential problems, though. Anyone who's spent any time gaming online will know that connection speed and latency are a big issue for smooth, lag-free play, so how in the world can we expect this when massive amounts of HD video are now coming down the pipelines? This is the biggest obstacle that OnLive will have to overcome to be successful but, according to them, video lag will be "about a millisecond" if you are within a thousand miles of the nearest server. Of course, during the GDC demonstration they were running off of servers that were a mere fifty miles from the show floor, so a proper demonstration of this couldn't be made.
Another issue involves bandwidth caps placed on consumers by their ISP. For instance, Comcast limits users to 250 GB a month of downloaded data. Since OnLive uses 5Mbps for HD gaming, this would limit users to 3.8 hours per day, assuming they used their internet for nothing else. However, this is worst-case scenario. Many games would require far less data too be sent, and SD gaming would involve even less still. Therefore, even with current internet technology, this service could still be feasible.
There are many more potential issues that will come up, such as what happens when two million people all log on to play a brand new, high-intensive game at midnight on launch day? This is something that can't be tested right now, but should be a big focus during their current beta period. So, assuming that everything works as advertised, what kind of games can we expect to see? Well, OnLine has already struck deals with nine major publishers, and demonstrated GRID and Crysis Wars during GDC. They also showed clips from Mirror's Edge, Burnout Paradise, and World of Goo, so it looks like we can expect current games from major studios. As of now, they don't plan on creating a back-catalog for older titles, but this may change if the service becomes popular.
With a Winter 2009 release date, Reardon Studios have a lot of work to do if they want OnLive to work as intended, so I'll keep you updated with any big news as it comes. For now, if you want more info, Joystiq have conducted a massive two-part interview with OnLive founder and CEO, Steve Perlman, which you can check out here and here. It may not answer every question you have, but it certainly makes it clear that Reardon have spent a lot of time working on this technology, and will do everything in their power to get it running smoothly.
So will OnLive be the future of gaming, or is this nothing more that just a pipe dream? That's yet to be seen, but I, for one, am excited to find out.