450°

OnLive Streaming Game Service Tested (At Home, Finally!)

We've checked out the OnLive pure-streaming gaming system before, but it was always in a somewhat controlled environment. Finally, the service has launched, and we can see what it's like to play this at home. Where it matters.

Sitris5479d ago

Hmm, in Aus it will not work as our internet is alot slower than USAs, but meh looks like it might work....?

peowpeow5479d ago

What's the max speed here in Aus?

I'm on 20mbit now, just curious

Sitris5479d ago (Edited 5479d ago )

Not sure on actual numbers, but the best internet i have now is the best my area can have and it is only ADSL, yours is around about the max for aus. Mine is like 1.5 MBit......yeah sucks

But the best would be around what you have I think, thats to the best of my knowledge anyway. Does anyone know the speeds needed for this service?

Edit: Another thing that makes it hard for Aus is the caps and the higher prices than other countries.

Theonik5479d ago

It isn't so much that it is slow. Australian connections usually have a high ping that depending on where the servers of this service are could be an issue.

JonnyBadfinger5479d ago

Depends on what ISP your with... I have the Telstra 100mbps download and 2.5mbps upload cable ultimate package with 50gb data allowance, which is also bundled with home phone which sets me back $170 a month.

On speedtest.net i can, depending on time of day hit speeds of 98mbps download... but the 2.50mbps is always the same 2.50mbps upload.

But im pretty sure the offer is only available in Melbourne so far should be in Sydney and Brisbane soonish.

Its pretty sweet i can host over Americans and Europeans in all peer to peer based multiplayer games.

Epicor5479d ago

I just spent 4 months travelling your eastcost (between Cairns and Melb) and the one thing I missed most during my trip was my fast internet connection back in Finland.

It was really rare to find decent connection in Australia. Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne weren't that bad though (still much worse than in Finland). Nevertheless I had a wonderful time in your country and I'm def coming back. I loved especially Melb, Cairns and Byron.

peowpeow5479d ago

What was your speed in Finland? The highest in Aus I've seen is 30mbps..but 100? Awesome.

Tomdc5479d ago

where I live it sucks, i know people a few miles away who get around 10 mbit but the maximum my area can get is 1 mbit even though we pay BT for 8mbit. I hate BT and every other broadband provider in the UK the customer service record of all of them is so shoddy.

BT promised us a wireless printer to sign up for one of there new deals and never sent it and we called them up dozens of times and they kept saying it was on its way and then that it was a problem with the supplier and then oh sorry sir it was only while stocks last.... twats.

Epicor5478d ago

100 Mbit/s is pretty common already. Mine is only 30 Mbit.

+ Show (4) more repliesLast reply 5478d ago
hakis865479d ago

we might see OnLive approaching the level of detail we see in consoles, but maybe that would require even higher internet speeds.

In my country (Norway) I think there could be potential for OnLive. yes a good deal of people live in remote areas and have crappy net, but most people that live in cities or near cities have the opportunity to buy a 20mbit line, and there's even being built 1Gbit fiber in more and more areas.

kneon5479d ago

I think it will be a while before onlive can catch up to console quality graphics. They need to apply compression to the video stream for the service to be viable, and it won't be lossless as that requires more bandwidth and usually more horsepower to decompress quick enough as to not introduce further lag. But by that time we'll be into the next gen of consoles where they will surely be running native 1080p for all games, and likely in 3D as well. The bandwidth requirements for that are just too huge for Onlive to deal with any time soon.

But there are many who would be willing to sacrifice a bit of graphics quality if the service is structured correctly, and in my opinion OnLive is not. It should have been setup as a subscription service such that for x$ a month I can access any game in their library. If that's too generous then perhaps limit it to a fixed number of different games each month. And that pricing to "Own" games is ridiculous. $50 for a game which I will cease to have access to if I cancel the service is just dumb. Even $30 is too much for that.

DaCajun5479d ago (Edited 5479d ago )

My personal opinion is the concept is good but the way they are using it is not.

For single player games I rather have the physical game on my system so if the servers or internet connection goes down I can still play my games.

This concept would be better used for Multi-player online games. Benefits I see for this is cheaters can't cheat. They can't edit the code to help them cheat and if they use a lag switch it would cause them more harm than good because since the game is on the servers not local on your hardware and it is streaming back to you and you use a lag switch the server can't receive your commands to your character on the server so it stands still until it does get one.

The current way now is you command the character locally and your hardware sending that info to the servers which in turn the servers sync to your hardware. If you lag you don't see it on your end because the servers always sync to you not you syncing to the servers which in turn benefits the laggers/lag switchers.

So also having a crappy internet connection benefits people becaue you may not notice the lag but the rest of us with good connections have to deal with it. Had a friend who always had really good KDR above 2.0 on shooters then he upgraded his sub 1Mb connection to 5Mb and his KDR dropped to below 1.0.

jessupj5479d ago

Yeah Online will never be viable in Australia. Well at least for another good decade. In Tasmania it's even worse.

pangitkqb5479d ago

Internet speeds obviously need to increase internationally, but the tech is very doable and the concept more than sound. I'm excited to try it myself soon. I hope my internet can keep up.

MNicholas5479d ago

First impressions tend to stick. Releasing the service in this poor state will only give it a bad reputation.

To succeed they have to partner with ISPs and negotiate for hosting with the ISP in order to have direct access to customer lines.

This will mean less profits in the short run but a better and much more successful business in the long run.

ISPs have much to gain from partnering with this kind of service as well.

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 5478d ago
r1sh125479d ago

The biggest issue for this is not everyone has an amazing internet connection.
With many people most likely playin during peak hours the game will not look as good.
Just get the xbox or ps3.
Those are made for gaming, onlive seems like it wants gaming to be on the cloud, which is a good idea but it cant work.
Internet speeds are just not fast enough in many parts of the world, not to mention the amount of data that will be transferred.
It could be the future, but I wouldnt buy this.
PS3 and XBOX 360 for me all the way.

ImmortalLegend5479d ago

I'm not going to buy OnLive, but I have to admit that I am mildly impressed based of what I read. I don't think this will be that successful now, but who knows? Maybe next gen it will. I think it's a good idea overall, but it still needs a lot of improvement.

starvinbull5479d ago

The whole point of Onlive to me was that even someone with a modest amount of money to spend on games could effectively play them with their choice of controller on a super computer standard hardware.

Now that the whole graphics side of things is gone and the controller side of things isn't there yet I'm a lot less impressed I have to admit.

nickjkl5479d ago

the question is how much bandwidth do you need in order to get it to that high standard of graphics

Redempteur5479d ago

modest amount of money ??
When you have to subscribe and pay each game aterwards ?
Just to rent them ?
Not to mention you need a fairly good connexion ..

NO thanks i'd rather buy my games and a console once every 5-8 years and be done.

Montrealien5479d ago

I was in the beta, and I was pretty impressed by this tech, I can only imagine where this kind of tech will be in 5 years.

Substance1015479d ago (Edited 5479d ago )

Would rather own my hardware & software.

Substance1015479d ago (Edited 5479d ago )

double post

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90°

The Cloud Gaming Graveyard: Dead Cloud Gaming Services

We take a walk around the Cloud Gaming Graveyard - listing all the failed cloud gaming services over the last decade.

We discuss the ups, the downs, and overall history of this technology. Turns out running a successful cloud gaming service that addresses the various technical hurdles and actually makes money is a real challenge.

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clouddosage.com
Chocoburger333d ago

I'm sure that there will be more to come in the future.

UltimateOwnage332d ago

Latency and video compression will always make cloud gaming an afterthought.

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
WilliamSheridan3399d ago

Dreamcast was definitely ahead of its time....

Knushwood Butt3399d ago

Loved my Neo Pocket Colour

Spent hours on card fighters clash games

InTheZoneAC3399d 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...

filchron3399d 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.

InTheZoneAC3399d ago (Edited 3399d 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 3399d ago (Edited 3399d 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..

FlyingFoxy3399d 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.

Godmars2903399d 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.

InTheZoneAC3399d ago

who said anything about grainy?

Segata3399d ago

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

Picnic3399d 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.

Picnic3399d ago (Edited 3399d 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.

iplay1up23399d 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.

3398d ago Replies(1)
gangsta_red3398d 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.

InTheZoneAC3398d 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_red3398d 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 3398d ago
blawren43399d 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.

PhoenixUp3399d 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.

Picnic3398d ago (Edited 3398d 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.

PhoenixUp3398d ago

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

Picnic3398d ago (Edited 3398d 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.

Concertoine3398d ago

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

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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.

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hardcoregamer.com
killatia3716d ago

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