130°

OnLive Demonstrates The Fear Of An 'All Digital' Future

Cinelinx: "OnLive has just abruptly announced that their services will be shutting down as Sony has acquired their assets with no plans to keep the service afloat. It might not come as a surprise that the service is vanishing because honestly who remembered they were even still there? OnLive has been trying to find an exit route for some time now as they switched owners and were constantly trying to sell themselves to console makers. That isn’t the problem we see thought, the problem is that the service is shutting down and all of their customers are totally left in the dark. Read about what they are going through after the jump."

Read Full Story >>
cinelinx.com
JoGam3311d ago (Edited 3311d ago )

Damn that's crazy. Feel sorry for those people who still uses the services. Hopefully they can get nice discounts for Playstation Now.

johndoe112113310d ago

"Hopefully they can get nice discounts for Playstation Now."

Why? As bad as this may sound sony has no responsibility to the people currently using onlive. This is the risk you take when you decide to sign up for a cloud based service. This is what makes the whole idea so risky and why people should not be embracing this as the main form of gaming.

Onlive has been looking to close up shop for a very long time now, the people using the service knew this, it wasn't a secret. This is why having a physical copy will always trump digital download and streaming. If sony, microsoft or nintendo goes out of business right now I still have my ps1, ps2, ps3 and ps4 with a cabinet of games I can enjoy for the next 20 years. The people who were using onlive are now SCREWED!

Dafreakzo3310d ago

No they are not. Every person who purchased CloudLift titles get's to keep their Steam copy of the game. That is far from being screwed.

joab7773310d ago (Edited 3310d ago )

They wont. And Sony just bought out the other console competition.

I will say it again. Sony NEEDS to either compete w Samsung via TV'S and Mobile phones, or put the Now app everywhere. They could sign with Verizon etc., make an affordable line of TV'S and use Now and Vue to battle Samsung. These would be huge selling points. Or allow everyone to use these apps on their smart devices.

Better yet, make a new mobile device like the Vita, but use Google OS like the Z, and include these apps as well as exclusive games. Imagine having a tablet that does everything an ipad and Vita does, as well as having access to Now, Vue, and Plus. And sell bundle subs for x amount a yr.

It seems so simple to me. Ppl would jump all over that. It would put playstation into everyone's hands.

But instead they rest on their laurels and superior quality products. Take a page from your own Playstation. More PS4, less PS3...cheaper products targeted for today's consumer.

I love ya Sony. Playstation doesn't have to be your only profitable department. Use it to make everything else profitable.

UKmilitia3310d ago

its built into bravia TVS from the 2015 lineup

Thatguy-3103311d ago

An all digital future won't work. The way I see it is that it will Co exist with a subscription service just like the ps4 and ps now.

NuggetsOfGod3310d ago (Edited 3310d ago )

This is one thing no jounalist talks about.

Onlive Cloud lift feature!

"The idea, executives said, is that gamers will be able to play games they’ve previously purchased, own a physical copy, and play them on any platform OnLive supports: phones, tablets, PCs, the OnLive console, and smart TVs that support the service."

http://www.pcworld.com/arti...

All doom and gloom articles for cloud gaming.

Maybe sony will do that now!

That sounds like a good thing for gamers.

Servers are not cheap so this feature for $5/month sounds good to me.

I could play bloodbourne on my lunch break lol

It seems even onlive wanted a hybrid physical/cloud service and think that is a cool thing.

At least people don't pay for online multiplayer because that would be awful to. And it's good that psn ps3 games work on ps4 lol

Good thing people are not buy mainly online mmo like destiny. That game sold horrid number thankfully.

In the end if cloud is to be done right valve will do it right.

joab7773310d ago

The future is subs for sure. Absolutley!!

Imagine this. Sony begins selling their flagship products...TVs, mobile phones etc...for cheap. $199 for the smart phone, $499 for a 50" TV. But, you have to pay a monthly sub fee for Now, Vue, and Plus. Make it $49.99 for everything. Now you have access to a ton of content...and they have a constant revenue stream.

As technology and infrastructure gets better, they will be in place to go completely console-less, offering a steam like service for your living room. Yet, it will have cable, movies and games. It may never be able to keep up with high end PCs, but they don't now anyway.

If can offer alternatives like Playstation TV (a new one) that has everything, in a box device. Then, go one step further and make a tablet that marries an ipad to the Vita and the Now, Vue, Plus bundle.

Ogygian3309d ago (Edited 3309d ago )

Indeed. For one thing, it prevents modding, so I'm not even sure if I would want a digital subscription to become the sole method.

Razputin3310d ago

Unless these services are extremely cheap, don't see them succeeding at all, at least I wouldn't want them to.

I was an early beta tester of OnLive and even tested its Windows OS service too, but you literally keep or own nothing. With Steam you don't really own it either, but at least you have the licenses and can use it offline as well.

Sony has to think out their strategy very hard, it seems as though it will more than likely become a Streaming service and have a set top box instead of a console.

Outthink_The_Room3310d ago (Edited 3310d ago )

This is why I laugh when I see people say 2018 for a new console. No way will everyone or at least 85-90% of the world have internet capable of streaming only.

By 2021 or 2022, that number will obviously be higher, but still *might not* be ideal. There is no way we could rush into a streaming only console in a few years, it's going to be at least another 6 years we before could.

That's why I'm kind of pissed that MS's policies had to be undone. At least with their system, we had physical disks. MS really just needed to make the "online policy stuff" an opt-in program.

It would have slowly shown what a digital ecosystem could offer and slowly moved everyone into a digital space. But MS went and made it mandatory, which was stupid. They really messed up a good chance at bridging the physical and digital space. They simply had to do an opt-in program.

ginsunuva3310d ago

Who cares what percentage of the world, just enough of gamers to keep a profit for the time being, then expand to rest of world later.

Razputin3310d ago

Digital only can be done, it could have been done even years ago.

OnLive and other services proved it. You just need the software and tech to provide and compensate for bad internet connections.

Just like Netflix, Hulu, and OnLive it is extremely possible to roll it out now.

Yes, it is true not everyone has an internet connection 24/7, but these companies will make it a big effort that there is some form or internet around you and stride for a digital only console.

DillyDilly3310d ago

This will be the next Playstation. A Digital only service

MysticStrummer3310d ago

Highly doubtful unless Sony wants Playstation to be used by drastically fewer people.

ginsunuva3310d ago (Edited 3310d ago )

But with streaming the audience grows from (# people willing to spend $400 on a console) to (# people with internet > 5Mbps).

Anyone in the second category only needs to pay per game at any time they please.

Brettman20083310d ago

Maybe with a hard drive and no disk drive, I think that all games may be downloadable. However, I think game streaming is a horrible idea which would always have a degree of latency that would be unacceptable for FPS and driving games etc.

BitbyDeath3310d ago

Infrastructure won't be ready by nextgen to go all digital.

Debaitable3310d ago

Definitely not the Playstation. Xbox tho? Maybe. My reason being is that most Xbox consumers are from the west and in the next few years internet speeds will be increasing. Comcast is already planning on increasing their speed to 2Gbps by the beginning of next year. It will definitely alienate consumers from outside the country, but there's so few of them to begin with.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 3310d ago
Majin-vegeta3310d ago

Unless we live in a peaceful world with no internet monopolies only digital services will succumb.Data caps,lag etc...factor a huge problem for this.

Show all comments (29)
290°

6 console flops that were actually amazing, from the Sega Dreamcast to the Neo Geo Pocket

DS:
Sometimes life just isn't fair. Vincent Van Gogh went completely unappreciated during his lifetime despite his obvious genius; Jesus - a man who could turn water into wine, don't forget - was nailed to a cross and left for dead; while Steve Brookstein has only ever had one number one single, despite winning the very first series of The X Factor. Now what's that about?

Read Full Story >>
digitalspy.com
WilliamSheridan2980d ago

Dreamcast was definitely ahead of its time....

Knushwood Butt2980d ago

Loved my Neo Pocket Colour

Spent hours on card fighters clash games

InTheZoneAC2980d ago

the dreamcast was not amazing:
-It's graphics were in between ps1 and ps2
-the controller felt so narrow and skinny
-no dvd drive

I don't know why people act like it was anything more than another overrated undersold flop of a console. My friend had one because "next gen" and I told him I'm just waiting for PS2.

He always talked about graphics, non stop. Of course when I played it did look better than anything I've seen before, but that was it. The games were ok at best. I didn't like NFL 2K's control scheme compared to Madden's.

Even as a kid I predicted this console would die off in 2 years, well what happened...

filchron2980d ago

You must have hated arcades. Youre probably real fun at parties /s

between PS1 and PS2? no. DC had much better filtering than grainy ass PS2. compare the DOA2 on PS2 and the DC and then revise that wrong statement buddy. and the sad thing is PS2 had TWICE the ram of the DC and the 480p signal from DC still came out WAY cleaner than PS2's.

InTheZoneAC2979d ago (Edited 2979d ago )

arcades are definitely fun. Went to celebration station any time we could :)

"you're" probably real fun at parties...because wtf does that have to do with anything...

if dreamcast was any good it wouldn't have died faster than the wii u has...

don't be so defensive, I'm not the one that controlled everyone else not to buy it lol

DivineAssault 2980d ago (Edited 2980d ago )

DC ran games at 60FPS and was an arcade players "Dream" come true.. For the first time, arcade games were surpassed by a console.. Saturn had it 1:1 if you imported with the 4mb cart.. I wasnt in love with the DC controller but i had a 6 button layout 3rd party i used for all those great fighting games.. PS2 was superior in hardware but why is it games like Grandia 2 played like crap on there? Just like the original that played way better on Saturn than PS1..

Yes they both died but they werent bad machines.. Sega was always a middle gen console.. Genesis was meant to compete with NES, Saturn was meant to 1 up Nintendo again but the PS deal fell through and there it went.. VMUs, online, high res 60fps gameplay, 4 control ports... They were ahead of their time..

FlyingFoxy2980d ago

That's the main reason that DC failed, because people lost faith in Sega after the 32x, MEGA CD & kinda the Saturn. People were hyped for the PS2 and that's a big reason why DC failed to sell, it really didn't have many poor games at all and most were good to great.

Not sure what you're on about with the graphics either, most games were just as good looking as ones on PS2.

The only thing you could say was lacking on the DC was storage on the GD roms and maybe they could've added a second thumb stick. There wasn't really anything wrong with its graphics capability for the time, don't forget it came out way earlier than the PS2.

You kinda lost credibility by saying the DC had grainy graphics.

Godmars2902980d ago

Part of the DC's failure was the loss of faith from the core gaming audience coupled with finical choices which left Sega in bad sorts, but another was the lack of a similar hook to the PS2, namely movie playback. At the time GD roms had the option, remember seeing discs for the format in a few places, and if Sega had included it things might have been different.

People/gamers look at the PS2 and only say/think that the games for it made all the difference, sold well over 100 million of the consoles, but it was DVD movies that tipped the scales as far as the general public was concerned.

InTheZoneAC2979d ago

who said anything about grainy?

Segata2979d ago

I should kick you into outer space for such a ignorant comment.

Picnic2979d ago

Of course the graphics were inbetween PS1 and PS2... because it was released between PS1 and PS2!

The graphics were closer to PS2 level than PS1 level.

In fact, many early PS2 games did not look as good as Dreamcast games. And Jet Set Radio and Shenmue look great for the time to this day.

Picnic2979d ago (Edited 2979d ago )

Your prediction that it would die off within 2 years was not without basis - the MegaCD, the 32x, the Saturn. Sega's past history of releasing expensive add ons, abandoning some of their previous successes (like no new Sonic game on Saturn!), coupled with a new entrant in the market, Sony, meant that, unfortunately, Sega was like the Ghost of Christmas Past to many people. And if you didn't like arcade games, or arcade-STYLE games, or RPGS, there really wasn't all that much on it. It was a bit like having a new NEO GEO in a way- quite good visually, if a little rough round the edges sometimes, but just not as personal to many people as the competition and not having sufficient sense of depth gameswise apart from Shenmue.

iplay1up22979d ago

Um, when Dreamcast came out it was the most powerful system available. In some ways it was MORE powerful than PS2.

GameCube, had more power than PS2, as well as XBOX. PS2 was the weaker of that gen, but it still won, and went on to be the 1 selling game console o all time.

2979d ago Replies(1)
gangsta_red2979d ago

"-It's graphics were in between ps1 and ps2"

Wow, I was all set to read why the Dreamcast was not amazing and then all credibility became lost with your first point.

InTheZoneAC2979d ago

and I fail to see any of your points why it was great, completely disputing the fact that it died because it did suck

gangsta_red2979d ago

The Dreamcast was great because it did have better graphics than the PS2, they had some of the best looking games at that time. Capcom's fighters played flawlessly on the Dreamcast and was the go to machine to play their games because of how fast the gamer played compared to a much slower PS2.

Dreamcast was also the first system where I played Madden online. Which blew my mind at that time since online was mainly a PC thing.

The system was ahead of it's time, Sega channel and the VMU were just a few examples of what made that system so great along with online and the great Sega games that released with it.

The system failed partly due to lack of third party support. Sega burned many third parties by dropping the Saturn so quickly, many third party devs including Sega of America had games in development for the Saturn. The Saturn architecture was already a nightmare to develop for so imagine these devs having to scrap that work because Sega dropped the Saturn.

Sega also burned a lot of retail stores by not only moving the release date of the Saturn up but exclusively releasing the system in only some retail stores. Because of this some retailers KB Hobbies (i believe) refused to carry Sega products.

"..completely disputing the fact that it died because it did suck.."

You made even less points and more opinions based on nothing really and yet you say "facts"?

+ Show (8) more repliesLast reply 2979d ago
blawren42980d ago

Failure is always relative. How many sales makes something successful? "If your not first, your last", or in this case, you failed. I'll admit, I've never heard of a couple of these.

PhoenixUp2980d ago

GameCube made the most profit in its generation. I don't consider that console a flop.

I consider a flop to be a product that has a negative impact financially for a company.

Picnic2979d ago (Edited 2979d ago )

Have you got proof that the Gamecube made the most profit in its generation as, despite how cost effective Nintendo said it was to make a Gamecube, which had no complicated Emotion engine in it nor DVD drive, I would still highly doubt that the Gamecube overall made more profit for Nintendo than the PS2 did for Sony. The mass popularity of the PS2 meant that it was often sold at (a higher price (sometimes 2-3 times the price) of the Gamecube. For a month or 2, you could get a Gamecube and Resident Evil 4 or Wind Waker for just 40 UK pounds (55.55 dollars). And even if Sony could have made a bit more profit overall on the consoles, surely Sony get a cut on the games. With 155 million owners compared to Gamecube's 21 million, Sony would rake it in.

PhoenixUp2979d ago

Nintendo made profit on every GameCube sold since day one while it took Sony a while before they broke even on PS2.

Picnic2978d ago (Edited 2978d ago )

Please can you provide your source? I can imagine that piracy could have eaten in to Sony's profits whereas piracy was close to impossible on Gamecube. But it would have much more to do with that, I think, than with any minor difference in console manufacturing cost versus console price.

Concertoine2979d ago

Nintendo made the most profit that gen but that was largely due to the GBA and not the GC.

Show all comments (37)
30°

Gamer Created a Personal Cloud-Gaming Service, and So Can You

OnLive announced that they would be shutting down their streaming service for good at the end of this month, which has unsurprisingly upset some of the streaming service’s supporters. While some took to griping on forums, OnLive user Larry Gadea decided to take action.

Read Full Story >>
hardcoregamer.com
killatia3296d ago

That pretty cool actually. Glad something cool came out of the demise of Onlive

40°

The End of OnLive - Goodbye & Thank You

OnLive has been acquired by Sony and will shut down all services on April 30th, 2015. Vault of the Gameverse says Goodbye & Thank You.

Read Full Story >>
gameversevault.com