onlive - Gizmodo

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OnLive Beta Now Streaming Spectacular Games to Crappy PCs/Macs
OnLive Streaming Games: Hands-On Impressions
OnLive Demos Streaming Games: Yes, That's Crysis on Integrated Graphics
OnLive Streaming Games Turn Any TV or PC Into a Bleeding-Edge Gaming Machine

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eXo
09/03/09

In reply to OnLive Beta Now Streaming Spectacular Games to Crappy PCs/Macs
My current video card cost me $150 and my cpu/board combo would be about $250 these days. So for a total cost of about $500 I have a quad core machine with an ATI HD5870 that runs Crysis in ultra high mode at 86 frames per second.

With this set-up I can buy any game I like, play it whenever I like (net connection be damned), and never have to deal with lag. Not to mention the added benefits of the processor speed when doing work and other useful things like using it as my media server.

This service will be subscription based and while I don't know the exact cost, $15-20 per month is very likely- and there may even be a start-up fee.

So in two years you will have paid more than the price of the computer. Some may argue that 2 years is enough time for a machine to become completely outdated, although I would then point out that I have had my quadcore q6600 processor and board for just over two years, and the only part I have upgraded in the past two years was the video card.

Short story - isn't it cheaper and a better investment to just buy/build a machine?
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HAZman27
09/03/09

@eXo: Really now? You have a video card that hasn't even been released yet, and you bought it for half of it's speculated price?
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CustomFirmware
09/03/09

@eXo:

Oh hai there! I like you're imaginary video card you have! Especially with it's imaginary price!
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eXo
09/09/09

@HAZman27: apologies, I have the 4870. Although this comment is now old enough that i doubt any one will see this correction.
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bigbaddaddy
09/03/09

In reply to OnLive Beta Now Streaming Spectacular Games to Crappy PCs/Macs
Thin client always looks good on paper at first. But keeping up the back-end for the long term has never been practical. You just can't keep everybody happy all the time.
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deanbmmv
09/03/09

@bigbaddaddy: Virtual Machines. They've already said they'll be using them. Which allows them to scale from Sims upto Crysis 2.
Also means if someone goes AFK they can do a save state n load someone up until they come back.
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OCEntertainment
09/03/09

In reply to OnLive Beta Now Streaming Spectacular Games to Crappy PCs/Macs
The only possible downside I could see to this is losing the long-standing effect of gamers driving down the cost of electronics.

As a video editor, I'd like to personally thank each and every one of you obsessive computer gamers, because I know that we home editors couldn't have driven the demand for awesome hardware at cheap prices by ourselves. We've had some good times, my friends.

I hope you'll reconsider leaving us.

We....we love you.
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anexanhume
09/03/09

@OCEntertainment: You'll have to pry graphics hardware from this gamer's cold, dead hands.
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i38warhawk
09/03/09

@OCEntertainment: There is no reason video editing couldn't be done remotely as well. You'd just have to get your files up into the cloud.
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OCEntertainment
09/03/09

@i38warhawk: *Technically* speaking, yes, you're correct, there's no reason why it couldn't be done.

But you'd have to be out of your friggin' mind to waste the time uploading all of your raw files to the cloud for the sole purpose of getting some extra performance. For just an average size project I'd work on, I could get into the tens or hundreds of gigabytes of raw video easy. And I don't even work on full-length feature films or such. With the current average broadband speed (and especially with folks hitting data caps), that's just not a practical solution.

Motion graphics, maybe, though. I mean, you can create some pretty screaming graphics inside After Effects alone, so you'd only need to use up bandwidth for downloading the final file. And that would also be where you'd need more power. Honestly, I think that could happen very easily.

In the meantime, I have had the idea myself to get a major power rig set up at home, then get a cheap laptop to remote login to the desktop, give myself the combo of power and portability. Power in the desktop I wouldn't afford in a laptop of comparable price. In concept, it's the same basic idea, except I have direct access to the server in this case, so I can import my videos without eating up huge amounts of bandwidth/hitting data limits.
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(blue) enchanted duck
03/25/09

In reply to OnLive Streaming Games: Hands-On Impressions
im betting if you have the money to pay for the internet connection required for this, you have the money to get a decent gaming pc. At any rate, my 300kbs dsl probably doesnt cut it....
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blash
03/26/09

@enchantedduck: Stop with the lies. If I have $55 a month to spend on computer-related stuff and I feel the need to spend $50 on broadband (since thats what Comcast rips us off for), then no way in hell can I save up for a decent gaming computer at $5/month saved.

Stop thinking of broadband like a luxury, because for many of us, it's not. We pay for the broadband first and worry about non-essentials like upgrading later.
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ripfire
03/26/09

@blash: What, you're expecting this service is going to be free?

Save your money; get an xbox.
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madog
03/26/09

@blash: Yes! I pay for internet too and have about $10 extra to spend a month. So far I've got 150 months left until I can stop using the computers at my library for "special time", and get my own rig.
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Ryanraven
03/25/09

In reply to OnLive Demos Streaming Games: Yes, That's Crysis on Integrated Graphics
I feel like this is essentially a badass system based wherever the server is with very very long extension cords going to one's house (for the controller and video). I am really curious about lag time.
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Greg Lloyd
03/25/09

In reply to OnLive Demos Streaming Games: Yes, That's Crysis on Integrated Graphics
The "boner" moment? I thought boner meant to make a mistake (among other things). A "lowly Dell Studio 15 plays Crysis without even flinching" is hardly a boner moment.
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John Herrman
03/25/09

@Greg Lloyd: we think literally 'round these parts
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GitEmSteveDave_IsNotLarryGaga
03/25/09

@Greg Lloyd: I think they were referring to Richard "Boner" Stabone.

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dicknervous
03/24/09

In reply to OnLive Streaming Games Turn Any TV or PC Into a Bleeding-Edge Gaming Machine
Let's think about this for a second. Right now if you play a MP game like say, Call of Duty, there are 3 primary performance bottlenecks: the server, the pipe, and the client. Currently the server does all the math, the pipe transmits the results or those calculations along with other meta data between the client and server, and the client renders it all, as well as taking input from the gamer and sending it to the server, via the pipe. This model is typical client-server computing which has been popular for quite some time now.

Now they want to take the rendering and move it from the client to the server. Okay, that's not a bad idea, it allows for very thin clients. This is the general premise behind web-based applications such as Salesforce.com etc. However, there are two problems that need to be addressed for this to work.

1. Rendering: Currently if 20 people are playing a game that means there are 20 videos being rendered. In order for this to work a "server cloud" would have to have the power of 20 high end video cards along with the CPU and RAM to manage all the variables. Now multiply that by the number of people playing at any one time. Now clean the brain matter off your screen from your head exploding.

2. Bandwidth: Now you are not only sending a data stream back and forth, but fully rendered HD video. The amount of bandwidth used for one 20 player game that lasts 30 minutes would be tremendous on both the server and client side. And with several major ISPs (Time Warner anyone) setting bandwidth caps you could blow through that in one game.

This is an interesting idea and will make an excellent proof-of-concept, but I simply can't imagine it is ready for prime time or will be anytime soon. Not only do I think the tech is not there, but only people who buy more than say a dozen games a year will be willing to pay for it. I only play 3-4 games a year, so it would have to be less than $10/month for me to even consider it. Oh, and they would have to carry the games I want to play.
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ripfire
03/24/09

@dicknervous: I don't see rendering as a problem because that's scalable; you can always put more hardware to it to deal with the problem. Same with bandwidth.

The one problem they will have the hardest time is latency over internet. I don't think they'll ever get that same buttery-smooth movement you get playing locally on your PC.

Of course, they can always solve that problem with auto-targeting. :)
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GitEmSteveDave_IsNotLarryGaga
03/24/09

In reply to OnLive Streaming Games Turn Any TV or PC Into a Bleeding-Edge Gaming Machine
I see from the screen cap that it can play Crysis. Talk about nipping a question in the bud.
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Maximillian
03/24/09

In reply to OnLive Streaming Games Turn Any TV or PC Into a Bleeding-Edge Gaming Machine
I have to wonder how bad the lag would be. I mean, you're streaming an interactive video across the 'net. It can't be good for online gaming.
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closhedbb
03/24/09

@FlashSandbox: I could see single person gaming working decently on this, but playing multiplayer could run into some problems. That's a lot of distance for stuff to be traveling back and forth to handle multiplayer. The best case scenario will probably work just fine, but how often and how consistently do you get the best case?
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teasa94
03/24/09

@FlashSandbox: In perspective, it would be the same as streaming HD videos constantly while playing online gaming.
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logantrox
03/24/09

@teasa94: if that's the case i believe its time to upgrade the internet connection at my house.
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Hello Mister Walrus
03/24/09

@logantrox: Stupid Comcast will never let me do this. They are basically the internet monopoly in my city.
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ripfire
03/24/09

@closhedbb: Actually, that wouldn't be the problem because all multiplayer process is done on the server. The problem is with the latency on the interface. Not only will it be laggy, but it's very random.
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