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OnLive
File:Onlive-Logo.png
ManufacturerOnLive
TypeGaming on demand
LifespanUSJune 17, 2010
UKend of 2011[1]
MediaN/A (on-demand content)
Controller inputOnLive Game System: OnLive Wireless Controller (Max. 4)[2], PC & Mac: Mouse and Keyboard
Online servicesOnLive Game Service
Websitewww.onlive.com

OnLive is a cloud computing, gaming-on-demand platform: the games are synchronized, rendered, and stored on remote servers and delivered via the Internet.

The service is available using the OnLive Game System[3], PCs running Microsoft Windows (7, Vista, XP) and Intel-based Macs with OS X 10.5.8 or later.[4] A low-end computer, as long as it can play video, may be used to play any kind of game since the game is computed on the OnLive server. For that reason, the service is being seen as a competitor for the console market.[5][6] All games on the service are available in 720p format and to play in high-definition OnLive recommends an Internet connection of 5 Mbit/s or faster.[7] The average broadband connection speed in the US at the end of 2008 was 3.9 Mbit/s, while 25% of US broadband connections were rated faster than 5 Mbit/s.[8]

Over 20 publishers, such as Electronic Arts, Take-Two, Ubisoft, Epic Games, Atari, Codemasters, THQ, Warner Bros., 2D Boy, Eidos Interactive, and others have partnered with OnLive.[9] Approximately 35 game titles are currently available from the OnLive service.[10]

History

OnLive was announced at the Game Developers Conference in 2009.[11] The service was originally planned for release in the winter of 2009.[4][12].

OnLive's original investors include Warner Bros., Autodesk and Maverick Capital.[13] A later round of financing included AT&T Media Holdings, Inc. and Lauder Partners as well as the original investors.[14] In May 2010, it was announced that British Telecom and Belgacom invested in and partnered with OnLive.[15][16].

On March 10, 2010, OnLive announced the OnLive Game Service would launch on June 17, 2010, in the US, and the monthly service fee would be US$14.95,[17] however at launch the membership option available was through AT&T's Founding Members promotion which provides the service free for the first year and US$4.95 per month for the optional following year.[18][19] On October 4, 2010, OnLive announced that there would no longer be any subscription fees for the service.[20]

On March 11, 2010, OnLive CEO Steve Perlman announced the OnLive Game Portal, a free way to access OnLive games for rental and demos, but without the social features of the Game Service. The Game Portal will launch sometime later in 2010.[21]

The OnLive Game Service was launched in the United States on June 17, 2010.[22]

Service

As of July 2010, the game service is available for PCs running Windows XP, Windows Vista, or Windows 7, or Intel-based Macs running Mac OS X 10.5.8 or later. The service requires a 3 Mbit/s Internet connection (5 Mbit/s recommended).[7] OnLive initially required a wired connection, however beta Wi-Fi support became available to all members on September 15, 2010.[23]

The OnLive service has been demonstrated on smartphones such as the iPhone,[24][25][26] and tablet computers such as the iPad[27][28]. Steve Perlman has also suggested that the underlying electronics and compression chip could be integrated into set-top boxes and other consumer electronics.[29] The OnLive viewer for the iPad has been released in December 7, 2010.

OnLive Game System

File:OnLiveMainMenu.jpg
OnLive main menu (during beta)

The OnLive Game System consists of an OnLive Wireless Controller and a console, called the "MicroConsole TV Adapter,"[3][30][31] that can be connected to a television and directly to the OnLive service, so it is possible to use the service without a computer. It comes with the accessories needed to connect the equipment, and composite video users can purchase an additional optional cable.[3][32][11] The MicroConsole supports up to four wireless controllers and multiple Bluetooth headsets. It also has two USB ports for game controllers, keyboards, mice, and USB hubs. For video and audio output it provides component, HDMI, S/PDIF ports, and an analog stereo minijack. An ethernet port is used for network access, which is required to access the OnLive service. Pre-orders for the OnLive Game System began to be taken on November 17, 2010.[3]

PlayPack flat-rate plan

OnLive confirmed the details of its PlayPack flat-rate payment plan on December 2, 2010. With this option players pay a monthly fee for unlimited access to "recent, classic and indie titles" in the OnLive library, which is expected to exclude the newest releases. PlayPack is currently available for owners of the OnLive Game System as a free beta period until the plan officially launches in January 2011.[33][34] The OnLive PlayPack is priced at $9.99/month and will allow players to play over 40 different games whenever they wish. There will be more games available in the future as OnLive adds them to their library. [35]

Architecture

The OnLive service will be hosted in five co-located North American data centers. Currently there are facilities in Santa Clara, California and Virginia, with additional facilities being set up in Dallas, Texas, as well as Illinois, and Georgia.[36][37] OnLive has stated that users must be located within 1,000 miles (1,600 km) of one of these to receive high-quality service.[38][39][40]

The hardware used is a custom set up consisting of OnLive's proprietary video compression chip as well as standard PC CPU and GPU chips. For older, or lower-performance, games such as LEGO Batman, multiple instances can be played on each server using virtualization technology. However, high-end games such as Assassin's Creed II will require one GPU per game. Two video streams are created for each game. One (the live stream) is optimised for gameplay and real-world Internet conditions, while the other (the media stream) is a full HD stream that is server-side and used for spectators or for gamers to record Brag Clips of their games.[29]

International availability

Steve Perlman plans to offer the service in the United Kingdom[41] in partnership with British Telecom as a bundled service with their broadband packages,[42] as well as in the rest of Europe, after getting it established in the United States over the coming year.[43]

OnLive plans to offer the service in Belgium and Luxembourg in partnership with Belgacom.[44] Belgacom has the exclusive right to bundle OnLive in Belgium and Luxembourg with their other broadband services, but gamers in these countries also will have the option of ordering directly from OnLive through any Internet service provider and it will be offered in multiple languages there.[44]

Performance

Eurogamer's DigitalFoundry conducted tests on OnLive that showed latency was greater than that for a locally-installed game.[45] Best-case response times for button press to action was 10 frames or 150 ms, while other games ranged from 150 ms to 210 ms, and they noted that this would vary greatly depending on quality of connection to OnLive's servers.

They also noted that such a response time "never meets anything like the claims made for it by company front-man Steve Perlman, on the record as describing end-to-end lag as being under 80 ms and 'usually... between 35-40 ms'.",[45] and that while this may not be a problem for slower-paced games, for faster-paced games, "it is most definitely not a replacement for the local experience".[46] Video quality was also analyzed with the finding that, owing to the use of video compression, "video quality is hugely variable in OnLive, ranging from very good to absolutely, diabolically dreadful. You will never get that disparity of performance on a local system",[46] with video quality best when there was little motion or change in picture.[46].

Framerate and graphics quality was generally good, being comparable to the console versions of the games offered, but DigitalFoundry noted screen tearing due to the unlocked frame rate and the lack of full-scene anti-aliasing as mentioned by the developer briefing at GDC as being "mandatory".[46]

Reception

Pre-Launch

Soon after the company's announcement at GDC 2009, there was skepticism expressed by game journalists, concerned about how the OnLive service might work and what the quality of the service might be both in terms of the hardware required in OnLive server centers to render and compress the video, as well as the impact of commercial Internet broadband connections on its delivery. During GDC 2009, which was held in San Francisco, the OnLive service was 50 miles (80 km) from its Santa Clara data center. The closed beta had "hundreds of users on the system".[47] Near E3 in 2009, which is approximately 350 miles (560 km) away from their data center, OnLive demonstrated their service performed well with a consumer cable modem and Internet connection.[48][49]

Matt Peckham from PC World stated in his blog that it might be technically difficult to transfer the amount of data that a high definition game would require. He stated he believed OnLive customers would need a broadband line with "guaranteed, non-shared, uninterruptible speed", but "broadband isn't there yet, nor are ISPs willing to offer performance guarantees". He also mentioned his concerns that the mod community would be unable create and offer mods since all game data will be stored on the OnLive servers, and that games played on OnLive might not be "owned" by the user, and thus if OnLive were to go under, all the user's games would be inaccessible.[50][51]

Cevat Yerli, the CEO of Crytek, had researched a method for streaming games but concluded that Crytek's approach would not be viable until 2013 "at earliest". Yerli made it clear Crytek was not directly involved with the OnLive service, and Yerli had no personal experience using the service. Rather, Electronic Arts, the publisher of Crytek's Crysis Warhead, had partnered with OnLive and had tested and endorsed the OnLive technology. Yerli stated:

I want to see it myself. I don't want to say it's either 'top or flop'. I hope it works for them because it could improve gamers' lives. The technology of video-based rendering is not actually a very new concept but they do some things that others didn't do before so it will be interesting to see.[52]

Post-Launch

After the launch of the service in the United States, favorable reviews by game journalists stated that the service performed well, and they looked forward to the service improving over time.[53][54][55][56] Hiawatha Bray of The Boston Globe stated, "It felt exactly as if I had installed the software on my local computer."[57] Chris Holt of Macworld, in his review of Assassin's Creed II on OnLive using his Mac, wrote that he looks forward to future higher resolution improvements that are already promised, he "never encountered any frame rate issues," and "the game is on the whole every bit as immersive, rewarding, and free as the console version."[58] Dan Ackerman of CNET wrote that, "OnLive was an overall very impressive experience, and several minds around the CNET offices were officially blown – a difficult task among this jaded bunch."[59]

DigitalFoundry tests on OnLive showed that latency was greater than that for a locally-installed game.[45], and that while this might not be a problem for slower-paced games, for faster-paced games, "it is most definitely not a replacement for the local experience".

Steve Perlman has said the OnLive console, joystick, and subscription would be cheaper than the cheapest of standard consoles.[60]. In examining the value of the OnLive system, DigitalFoundry noted that physical copies of games were often cheaper than those for use on OnLive, that OnLive's promise of better graphics quality than consoles counted for nothing if latency and video quality were inconsistent, and that the performance level could be "approximated or even exceeded" by purchasing an £80 graphics card bought for a computer that meets the minimum specification to use OnLive on a PC[46] .

Reaction of console manufacturers

None of the console manufacturers made any official announcements about OnLive; however, Sony registered a trademark for cloud gaming called "PS Cloud" the day after OnLive was announced.[60][61] The trademark covers a broad range of possibilities, including online videogames, Internet radio, electronic magazines, cloud computing, and thus no direct conclusions can be drawn from it.[62]

Competitors

The first company to enter this space was the UK based company StreamMyGame which launched its game streaming and game recording software publicly on October 26, 2007 and then released a version for the PlayStation 3 in January 2008.[63]

The California-based company OTOY made an announcement on January 8, 2009, at the Consumer Electronics Show that they were teaming with AMD to create a supercomputer capable of rendering graphics for up to a million users.[64]

Soon after OnLive was announced, another competitor, Gaikai, was announced.[65][66] Gaikai had not planned to announce its streaming browser-based Game-on-Demand service until June 2009, but founder David Perry said it had to bring this forward when OnLive made its announcement.[67]

Playcast Media System announced a pilot launch in Israel to allow, "PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 quality games, on demand," over the Hot cable TV network, though they have not announced any business relationships with publishers or specific titles.[68]

On October 18, 2010, French operator SFR launched a commercial games-on-demand service on IPTV as a gaming channel similar to OnLive except that the target audience is using their existing STBs and TVs for playing games.[69][70]

Portugal Telecom launched the service Meo Jogos [71], a gaming on demand service powered by Playcast Media, on November 11, 2010, as part of their triple play offering.[72] The service is only available on PCs running Microsoft Windows, with support for Macs "coming soon", and requires "Fiber to The Home" service and a special gamepad provided by the operator. The initial games offering includes Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising, DiRT 2 and Kung Fu Panda.

References

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  6. ^ "Le « cloud gaming », l'avenir du jeu vidéo ? - Actualités" (in Template:Fr icon). ZDNet.fr. Retrieved 2009-03-25.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
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  60. ^ U.S. Trademark 77,697,735
  61. ^ O'Gara, Maureen (2009-04-08). "Sony Trademarks the Term 'PS Cloud'". SYS-CON MEDIA. Retrieved 2009-04-28.
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  71. ^ http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/portugal-telecom-and-playcast-media-launch-high-end-video-games-streaming-service-107225233.html

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