OnLive Game Service to Deliver Top-Tier Videogames Over the Internet
OnLive Inc. has emerged from seven years of stealth development within the Rearden incubator to unveil The OnLive Game Service and OnLive MicroConsole at the 2009 Game Developers Conference.
OnLive is a new, on demand videogame platform delivering the latest and most advanced games instantly, on any TV via a sleek, inexpensive MicroConsole, or on almost any PC or Mac. OnLive is supported by many of the top names in the videogames industry, including Electronic Arts, Ubisoft, Take-Two Interactive Software, Warner Bros. Interactive Ent., THQ Inc., Epic Games, Eidos, Atari Interactive and Codemasters.
Meanwhile, investors in OnLive include Warner Bros., Autodesk and Maverick Capital.
"OnLive is the most powerful game system in the world," boasted Steve Perlman, founder and CEO of OnLive, which was spun out of his Palo Alto-based Rearden (which also incubated Mova, which offers the Contour Reality System used on the VFX Oscar-winning THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON). "No high-end hardware, no upgrades, no endless downloads, no discs, no recalls, no obsolescence," added Perlman. "With OnLive, your videogame experience is always state-of-the-art."
Designed for gamers of all skills and ages, the OnLive Game Service is easy to use. The elegantly designed OnLive MicroConsole—about as small as a deck of cards—easily connects any TV and home broadband connection to the OnLive Game Service and is operated by an OnLive wireless controller. Gamers can enjoy the same experience on almost any Internet-connected PC or Mac via a small browser plug-in from OnLive.com—even entry-level computers will play the highest performance games. Whether on TV, PC or Mac, OnLive provides instant access to the most advanced games in the world, solo and multiplayer.
And what is the secret sauce behind OnLive?
"We have a new technology we developed," Perlman told VFXWORLD, "which is interactive video compression, which will stream the video down with effectively no latency so that the screen updates on your TV set or your computer screen are faster than human perception so that it feels like the game is running locally, even though it's running remotely.
"Of course, that offers lots of advantages: the games are always updated, we have the latest hardware every six months -- we'll put in the newest NVIDIA or Intel or AMD chips -- and there's no piracy for games. And you can have a level of performance for graphics intensive games that have never been possible before."
"OnLive combines the successful components of videogames, online distribution and social networking into one affordable, flexible platform that offers a new way for game fans to access and enjoy content," added Mike McGarvey, COO of OnLive. "By substantially lowering the barriers between content and consumers, OnLive has created an environment that is highly beneficial for every facet of the videogame ecosystem. With OnLive, gamers can play what they want, when they want, how they want. That level of freedom has never been possible until now."
The OnLive Game Service supports a live community of unprecedented scale. A revolutionary user interface allows videogame fans to watch thousands of live games in action, join in at any point, share their exploits with friends through social networking tools, or make Brag Clips that showcase their skills. With OnLive, gamers have immediate access to demos and can instantly try, buy and play top-tier games, whether playing solo or with friends.
OnLive offers significant benefits to publishers and developers. It costs far less to develop a game for OnLive, and the economics are far more efficient than retail or download distribution models. It typically only takes a few weeks to extend an existing version of a game to work on the OnLive service, so there is little cost incurred by developers and publishers to support the OnLive platform.
Through a partnership with Epic Games, the award-winning Unreal Engine 3 is compatible with the OnLive platform. Games leveraging the cutting-edge technology and versatility of the Unreal Engine will easily run on the OnLive service.
OnLive is a new, on demand videogame platform delivering the latest and most advanced games instantly, on any TV via a sleek, inexpensive MicroConsole, or on almost any PC or Mac. OnLive is supported by many of the top names in the videogames industry, including Electronic Arts, Ubisoft, Take-Two Interactive Software, Warner Bros. Interactive Ent., THQ Inc., Epic Games, Eidos, Atari Interactive and Codemasters.
Meanwhile, investors in OnLive include Warner Bros., Autodesk and Maverick Capital.
"OnLive is the most powerful game system in the world," boasted Steve Perlman, founder and CEO of OnLive, which was spun out of his Palo Alto-based Rearden (which also incubated Mova, which offers the Contour Reality System used on the VFX Oscar-winning THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON). "No high-end hardware, no upgrades, no endless downloads, no discs, no recalls, no obsolescence," added Perlman. "With OnLive, your videogame experience is always state-of-the-art."
Designed for gamers of all skills and ages, the OnLive Game Service is easy to use. The elegantly designed OnLive MicroConsole—about as small as a deck of cards—easily connects any TV and home broadband connection to the OnLive Game Service and is operated by an OnLive wireless controller. Gamers can enjoy the same experience on almost any Internet-connected PC or Mac via a small browser plug-in from OnLive.com—even entry-level computers will play the highest performance games. Whether on TV, PC or Mac, OnLive provides instant access to the most advanced games in the world, solo and multiplayer.
And what is the secret sauce behind OnLive?
"We have a new technology we developed," Perlman told VFXWORLD, "which is interactive video compression, which will stream the video down with effectively no latency so that the screen updates on your TV set or your computer screen are faster than human perception so that it feels like the game is running locally, even though it's running remotely.
"Of course, that offers lots of advantages: the games are always updated, we have the latest hardware every six months -- we'll put in the newest NVIDIA or Intel or AMD chips -- and there's no piracy for games. And you can have a level of performance for graphics intensive games that have never been possible before."
"OnLive combines the successful components of videogames, online distribution and social networking into one affordable, flexible platform that offers a new way for game fans to access and enjoy content," added Mike McGarvey, COO of OnLive. "By substantially lowering the barriers between content and consumers, OnLive has created an environment that is highly beneficial for every facet of the videogame ecosystem. With OnLive, gamers can play what they want, when they want, how they want. That level of freedom has never been possible until now."
The OnLive Game Service supports a live community of unprecedented scale. A revolutionary user interface allows videogame fans to watch thousands of live games in action, join in at any point, share their exploits with friends through social networking tools, or make Brag Clips that showcase their skills. With OnLive, gamers have immediate access to demos and can instantly try, buy and play top-tier games, whether playing solo or with friends.
OnLive offers significant benefits to publishers and developers. It costs far less to develop a game for OnLive, and the economics are far more efficient than retail or download distribution models. It typically only takes a few weeks to extend an existing version of a game to work on the OnLive service, so there is little cost incurred by developers and publishers to support the OnLive platform.
Through a partnership with Epic Games, the award-winning Unreal Engine 3 is compatible with the OnLive platform. Games leveraging the cutting-edge technology and versatility of the Unreal Engine will easily run on the OnLive service.
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I believe that the breakthrough of technology had gone a long way.We have our internet and so many things that will be of great help to improve more.Onlive is popular nowadays and regarded as one of the most sought game.I get tired of Blockbuster,and I hate having to spend $50 to $60 on every new game, never mind practically having to run for payday loans for a console.(Oh, and THEN online playing subscription fees.)I'm subscribing to onlive,or maybe Instant Action, the cloud gaming services.They're both coming online soon, and I'm getting pretty sick of worrying about the red ring of death, or rather,getting the red ring of death AGAIN.If gaming gets to be too much more of a pain I'm taking up guitar.
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