Ed
03-25-2009, 08:34 PM
Article From: http://mobile.broadbandgenie.co.uk/news/online-gaming-reaches-new-level
New "on demand" video games unveiled, moves mobile computing to new level
Wednesday 25 March 2009
The face of computer gaming could be set to change forever, according to the boss of OnLive, a new game service which launched at the Game Developer Conference in San Francisco this week.
The service, which has had its first public outing after seven years in stealth mode, offers "on demand" games straight to the PC, Mac or TV, with the company promising high quality gaming even if you've only got a low-end machine - because the whole thing is being run remotely. Provided you've got a mobile broadband connection of at least 1.5MB, with the new service you could be playing high quality video games, streamed to your computer in such a way that it appears that they're being run locally, without the need for expensive gaming computers or consoles.
OnLive boss Steve Perlman points out that because it takes the hardware out of the equation, this represents a huge step towards real mobile computing. With mobile broadband connections set to get faster in 2009 and into 2010, users will soon be in a position where playing extremely processor-intensive top-end games on the move is a real possibility. With game streaming lining up alongside music and video streaming, a laptop with a mobile broadband connection could soon be a one-stop work and entertainment hub.
There are question marks over the new service; both in terms of what it can do - which just seems too good to be true, and in terms of pricing, which has not been released yet. But with users invited to take part in beta testing over the summer, and pricing to be released "in due course", it shouldn't be too long before we find out whether this really will be all that it promises to be.
New "on demand" video games unveiled, moves mobile computing to new level
Wednesday 25 March 2009
The face of computer gaming could be set to change forever, according to the boss of OnLive, a new game service which launched at the Game Developer Conference in San Francisco this week.
The service, which has had its first public outing after seven years in stealth mode, offers "on demand" games straight to the PC, Mac or TV, with the company promising high quality gaming even if you've only got a low-end machine - because the whole thing is being run remotely. Provided you've got a mobile broadband connection of at least 1.5MB, with the new service you could be playing high quality video games, streamed to your computer in such a way that it appears that they're being run locally, without the need for expensive gaming computers or consoles.
OnLive boss Steve Perlman points out that because it takes the hardware out of the equation, this represents a huge step towards real mobile computing. With mobile broadband connections set to get faster in 2009 and into 2010, users will soon be in a position where playing extremely processor-intensive top-end games on the move is a real possibility. With game streaming lining up alongside music and video streaming, a laptop with a mobile broadband connection could soon be a one-stop work and entertainment hub.
There are question marks over the new service; both in terms of what it can do - which just seems too good to be true, and in terms of pricing, which has not been released yet. But with users invited to take part in beta testing over the summer, and pricing to be released "in due course", it shouldn't be too long before we find out whether this really will be all that it promises to be.