ON LIVE is now live..

geoffky

This is a games cloud that's free to sign up...if you have a computer you can not play games on as it is slow then this will let you play on a low spec computer..free games and demos

http://www.onlive.com/welcome/3

PS i have nothing to do with it...saw it on the gadget show(they raved about it)

RussJK

It's a good idea. Some of the packages are overpriced, but I think there are people that this service could actually save money.

You could spend hundreds on a gaming PC, but unless one actually has time to play games most of the time then in reality it'll probably get used for browsing the net 90% of the time.

The service could also be a temporary measure until someone could save up for good machine.

RussJK

Personally my immediate emotional reaction is to want to have my own machine, with my own games, permanently - but I can see the advantages to this, particularly for the latest and greatest games (with no replay value).

Normally I just play games when they get a few years old, but it does give an option that wasn't there before (other than watching Let's Play videos on youtube e.g. to see what Bioshock on full settings looks like). From time to time I still play games from the 80s, 90s, and 2000s so you can understand that new games aren't a necessity for me.

jamespir

this is fab im so impressed

Sicksorry

Onlive has been around for a good wee while now, but on the 22nd September it will officially launch in the UK, meaning the games should run alot smoother and faster coming from UK based Servers rather than trying to stream them all the way from the states.

jaydeeuk1

Been trying this and gaikai recently (made a thread about it a month or so ago).
Shame you need a semi decent pc to run it on, kind of defeats the purpose! Won't launch on my samsung n150 netbook, even though it plays highly encoded 720p vids at 24fps comfortably.

Although its connecting to European servers (and has been since June or so) its not officially launched in the UK until the 22nd I think

Edit - sicksorry, I don't think there will be 'UK' servers, just european from Luxembourg, the speed you get now, will be the speed you get on the 22nd afaik.

david81_2

(Note: not sure why there is a angry face above but i'm not angry... can't get rid of it!)

been using this for a while now, connecting to the US servers, I have a 20meg connection and it runs ok (bit slow when someone else is using the internet) But hopefully this will run much better when the euro servers open.
@aydeeuk1 - Never heard of Gaikai but it looks good and have a better range of games (from what I've seen) Why do you need a semi decent pc to run it though?

As for onlive I think its really good idea, don't have to buy a console and don't have to keep upgrading your PC Plus I like the idea of being able to run the games on a TV!
Also i like the 30min free trial to test the game and can even rent them for a low price for a couple of days. And since games these days don’t have much replay value you may complete them in that time period!

Down side is you need to be constantly connected to the internet which means streaming data and racking up your monthly limit (if you have one)
Graphics wise they are ok, not great a bit low res but that may be beacuse I'm connecting to the US servers which are far away. May be fixed when the euro servers open.

Its new but I can see in 10years or so, everything will be cloud based. games, movies, music! (scary thought!)

NathanielB

Yer I see this on the gadget show and I am defo on the side of not thinking this is a good idea!

I dont think the UK is ready from streaming games over a cloud, yet! The average connection speed in the UK is just 6m, which is not a constant download stream (check your logs if you have access and you will see, or even stream a movie without letting it buffer to start).

Plus to add to the poor UK connection speeds, you have to think about the "fair usage" that most ISP have, do you not think streaming large games like BF3 for example, would use a lot of your internet resources and thus !!!! off your ISP? And if you do use more then your "fair" amount you risk being put on a rubbish connection from a lot of ISP's in the UK!

I dont think its good for the UK, not with our rubbish internet (BT need to do a lot of updating to catch us up with the rest of the world!). Plus i would much rather keep my own games on my own gaming rig! Yes its cost me over £1000 to build the perfect gaming rig, but its not gunu need updating for some time and can play every game I want on max (including BC2 and BF3 when its out) so why would I want to be controlled by some cloud when I have it all in my own room!

Plus (not checked the cloud prices as I dont care to), but spending £1000 on a custom PC (and thats the whole lot and 3 large HD's) that will last me at least another 1-2 years for the games we have coming out, IMO is much better then paying a monthly subscription to use some cloud, which I dont even know how long is going to last or how reliable the up time is or will be!

david81_2

NathanielB wrote: »

Yer I see this on the gadget show and I am defo on the side of not thinking this is a good idea!

I dont think the UK is ready from streaming games over a cloud, yet! The average connection speed in the UK is just 6m, which is not a constant download stream (check your logs if you have access and you will see, or even stream a movie without letting it buffer to start).

Plus to add to the poor UK connection speeds, you have to think about the "fair usage" that most ISP have, do you not think streaming large games like BF3 for example, would use a lot of your internet resources and thus !!!! off your ISP? And if you do use more then your "fair" amount you risk being put on a rubbish connection from a lot of ISP's in the UK!

I dont think its good for the UK, not with our rubbish internet (BT need to do a lot of updating to catch us up with the rest of the world!).

Totally agree, for this kind of service to go mainstream the Uk really needs to sort out its broadband infrastructure, however if you already have a good speed then it would work ok. Just not on a country wide scale....yet

Plus i would much rather keep my own games on my own gaming rig! Yes its cost me over £1000 to build the perfect gaming rig, but its not gunu need updating for some time and can play every game I want on max (including BC2 and BF3 when its out) so why would I want to be controlled by some cloud when I have it all in my own room!

Plus (not checked the cloud prices as I dont care to), but spending £1000 on a custom PC (and thats the whole lot and 3 large HD's) that will last me at least another 1-2 years for the games we have coming out, IMO is much better then paying a monthly subscription to use some cloud, which I dont even know how long is going to last or how reliable the up time is or will be!

of course! if you already own a £1000+ rig then this service is useless to you! it's more aimed at the causal gamers like me, who enjoy playing games but don't play enough to warrent buying a 1000rig or a ps3.

Also there is no monthly subscription and the prices of the new games are average to the prices in the stores... (in US dollars at the moment )

jaydeeuk1

NathanielB wrote: »

I dont think the UK is ready from streaming games over a cloud, yet! The average connection speed in the UK is just 6m, which is not a constant download stream (check your logs if you have access and you will see, or even stream a movie without letting it buffer to start).

I dream of getting 6mbps! At best I've managed to get 2mbps, thats the trouble living out in the sticks.
I' like the idea of bonding internet connections (I have 2 phone lines at home) and will look in to it further one day.

carly

What do I need to do to get this to work ? I am unable to connect and get a message telling me to allow UDP traffic through my router. I have tried opening the required ports on my Netgear DG834n router but obviously I am doing something wrong as I cannot connect, anyone gort any advice please?