Ed
04-22-2009, 06:00 PM
Article From: http://www.wiispace.com/2009/04/onlive-killer-of-consoles/
OnLive: Killer of Consoles?
Posted: April 21, 2009 by SuperQ
There is a new challenger to the ‘Big Three’; by which, I mean the Wii, the Playstation 3, and the Xbox 360. Who is this challenger? OnLive. OnLive is a service coming out this Fall, in which games are streamed to a PC, Mac, or the OnLive micro console, which is smaller than the controller that comes with it. The micro console can be hooked up to the TV, and you can use a wireless controller with it. The premise of this monthly service is to stream games to the PC/Mac/micro console in real time, from the closest server farm located near you. You are able to rent, buy, and demo games on this service, and with those games, you can create clips of gameplay, called ‘brag clips’. But, back to the live streaming. Is it possible?
When demonstrating the service at the Game Developer’s Conference (GDC), they used a server that was located 50 miles away from their location. And, I have to say, it worked pretty smoothly; no lag was noticeable. But, so far, five servers will be placed all throughout North America, so the gaps between console and server will vary. Is it possible for a server to reach the console from over hundreds of miles away? Yes. But, when it hits the thousands, I will have my doubts. Data can only travel so far; I mean, this is live gameplay, which could be played with friends. I expect a lot of lag from day one. But, this service has been in development for about seven years, so there is the possibility they have predicted it.
Another aspect of OnLive that irks me is the fact you have to pay for games and rentals. Things don’t come free in the world. I know this. But, you must pay a monthly fee as well. So, for me, this would be pretty annoying, as long as the monthly service is expensive, which I assume is true. We bought the console, and we downloaded the proper downloads; if they were to charge for something, they should charge for those, and those alone. A monthly service fee and buying games seem as though they’ll bleed the gamer’s pockets dry.
Time to get to the clincher; will the OnLive service kill off the ‘Big Three’? We can only assume the Wii won’t be affected hardly at all, as it’s has the casual market the PS3, 360, and even OnLive lack. But, OnLive will affect the other two systems; OnLive can support HD resolutions, when the requirements are met. Once again; will this kill the ‘Big Three’, Wii excluded? I have a feeling it will. For one thing, the micro console will be very cheap, compared to the 360 and PS3. The monthly price could bring discontent, but, when looked at it unintelligently, people could just assume the monthly fee won’t be that much; similar to the 360’s Live Membership cards. I assume this ignorance will lead to an overall rise in sales. People will also rejoice over the fact that game rentals are all within the system; this means they don’t have to waste gas to go to a game rental store, to rent one or two games.
So far, the OnLive service has a lot going for it; so, I predict a steep incline in sales for the PS3 and 360 whenever OnLive is released. The Wii will go down a bit in sales, but not by much; OnLive cannot support motion controls, and this is Nintendo’s main advantage in this situation. So, in the end, I predict Wii still coming out on top, followed by Onlive, then the 360, then finally, the PS3.
~Quinten Vaughan
OnLive: Killer of Consoles?
Posted: April 21, 2009 by SuperQ
There is a new challenger to the ‘Big Three’; by which, I mean the Wii, the Playstation 3, and the Xbox 360. Who is this challenger? OnLive. OnLive is a service coming out this Fall, in which games are streamed to a PC, Mac, or the OnLive micro console, which is smaller than the controller that comes with it. The micro console can be hooked up to the TV, and you can use a wireless controller with it. The premise of this monthly service is to stream games to the PC/Mac/micro console in real time, from the closest server farm located near you. You are able to rent, buy, and demo games on this service, and with those games, you can create clips of gameplay, called ‘brag clips’. But, back to the live streaming. Is it possible?
When demonstrating the service at the Game Developer’s Conference (GDC), they used a server that was located 50 miles away from their location. And, I have to say, it worked pretty smoothly; no lag was noticeable. But, so far, five servers will be placed all throughout North America, so the gaps between console and server will vary. Is it possible for a server to reach the console from over hundreds of miles away? Yes. But, when it hits the thousands, I will have my doubts. Data can only travel so far; I mean, this is live gameplay, which could be played with friends. I expect a lot of lag from day one. But, this service has been in development for about seven years, so there is the possibility they have predicted it.
Another aspect of OnLive that irks me is the fact you have to pay for games and rentals. Things don’t come free in the world. I know this. But, you must pay a monthly fee as well. So, for me, this would be pretty annoying, as long as the monthly service is expensive, which I assume is true. We bought the console, and we downloaded the proper downloads; if they were to charge for something, they should charge for those, and those alone. A monthly service fee and buying games seem as though they’ll bleed the gamer’s pockets dry.
Time to get to the clincher; will the OnLive service kill off the ‘Big Three’? We can only assume the Wii won’t be affected hardly at all, as it’s has the casual market the PS3, 360, and even OnLive lack. But, OnLive will affect the other two systems; OnLive can support HD resolutions, when the requirements are met. Once again; will this kill the ‘Big Three’, Wii excluded? I have a feeling it will. For one thing, the micro console will be very cheap, compared to the 360 and PS3. The monthly price could bring discontent, but, when looked at it unintelligently, people could just assume the monthly fee won’t be that much; similar to the 360’s Live Membership cards. I assume this ignorance will lead to an overall rise in sales. People will also rejoice over the fact that game rentals are all within the system; this means they don’t have to waste gas to go to a game rental store, to rent one or two games.
So far, the OnLive service has a lot going for it; so, I predict a steep incline in sales for the PS3 and 360 whenever OnLive is released. The Wii will go down a bit in sales, but not by much; OnLive cannot support motion controls, and this is Nintendo’s main advantage in this situation. So, in the end, I predict Wii still coming out on top, followed by Onlive, then the 360, then finally, the PS3.
~Quinten Vaughan