OnLive - high-end PC gaming without the PC

[toblix]

Sure it would work. It would just buffer everything you did, so that when the connection was restored your guy would just burst around and fire a million rockets to catch up.

[Thrik]

Pretty good look at the numbers and such here:

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/gdc-why-onlive-cant-possibly-work-article

[Nachimir]

Thanks Thrik.

I have a feeling they're looking for large amounts of investment at the moment, and the list of publishers they have "backing" them are probably doing so in a very hands off, wait and see kind of way. I wouldn't even be surprised if a few of them were unhappy to see their names on the list.

[brkl]

"Backing" probably means they'll let them use the games if the thing works (not for free of course).

[AndreYin]

This is it. This is the future.

Seriously tho, I'm not skeptical, aren't there a lot of franchises pumping money onto this thing ? My bet is that it's really going to happen, otherwise they'll just disappear with everyone's money (worst case scenario).

[Historical_Society]

This is it. This is the future.

Seriously tho, I'm not skeptical, aren't there a lot of franchises pumping money onto this thing ? My bet is that it's really going to happen, otherwise they'll just disappear with everyone's money (worst case scenario).

Exit Stage Left

[Nachimir]

aren't there a lot of franchises pumping money onto this thing ?

No. Any company in early stages of public work is desperate to look as good as possible, so that big list of supporters that OnLive has is most likely about using names for credibility to get investment from others.

[DanJW]

Exit Stage Left

Also don't forget the Phantom Game Console.

[elmuerte]

or, not a console but a good nomination, killer nic

[ThunderPeel2001]

It's the future, to be sure

[Wrestlevania]

Pretty good look at the numbers and such here:

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/gdc-why-onlive-cant-possibly-work-article

Interesting, researched and well-reasoned read.

[Twilo]

I bet they can also generate free energy from proprietary mathematical teck-magicks

I shall invest my savings immediately.

[Nachimir]

Big belly laugh if they have any of the same backers or directors as Steorn.

It's too soon to say the OnLive is a shitty investment vehicle designed to dupe people out of money, but it's possible.

[brkl]

I just don't see how people think this is reasonable at all. I don't get how Jake can compare this to the iPhone or iPod. I didn't even know those systems had that many doubters, and at least they were based on current technology and not magic super futuretech.

[Nachimir]

Many people in the games industry laughed at both the Wii and the iPhone - "The fuck are Apple going to push into mobile gaming with the iphone" etc. I'm very sceptical of industry doubts now.

Not that I'm swallowing everything OnLive are saying, but far too many people say "Fuck off" and "impossible" about things that subsequently happen.

[brkl]

The Wii especially is low tech and not high tech. No-one said the Wii couldn't be done, they just didn't think it would be successful. I don't think OnLive wouldn't be successful, I just haven't heard any explanation for its Star Trek technology.

[elmuerte]

I never doubted the wii, also didn't doubt any apple product to sell ok. (never imagined the iphone to sell that well, because it's quite expensive even compared to other apple products).

I have been amazed on how willing people are to spend a lot of money or relative small applications/games.

Things I have doubted are the Killer NIC (just doesn't work) and the PhysX PPU card (too expensive for the return). And I also doubt OnLive, both on technical aspect as the service/profitability.

[Scrobbs]

This would, on the other hand, be extremely workable for lan events. Someone like multiplay has the cash to buy massive servers that can do the crunching, with gigabit backbone and the QoS tuned for gaming traffic...You could go to a lan event with a laptop. Without all the fiddling about lugging your own rig to these things, more people might go to events more often.