Play time
OnLive recommends a broadband connection of at least 2Mb/s, and preferably as much as 5Mb/s to run games properly. My BT broadband connection is supposed to be 8Mb/s, but actually averages around 2.5Mb/s. Consequently, the Game System did warn me that the speed of my connection might affect the video quality, but I switched the output resolution down from 1080p to 720p and was pleasantly surprised to find that even action games, including Arkham City ran at playable speeds.
OnLive in action on my TV: Catwoman
Click for larger image
When dealing with latency, OnLive told me that it has fine-tuned the service to provide a round-trip latency of 100ms, which, it says, "will feel like a local game". Veteran gamers who are used to pings of less than 20ms might feel that’s not fast enough for their hair-trigger reflexes.
But hardcore players are going to want to use their own console or computer hardware anyway. The games I tried all ran fast enough for my more casual-player gaming skills.
And Lord of the Rings
Click for larger image
The one compromise caused by my relatively slow broadband was in graphics quality. The graphics definitely weren’t as sharp and detailed as you’d get from a PC or games console, and there were moments of frenzied Catwoman leather-and-whips action when things did get a bit blurry. However, I never experienced any pauses or slow-downs that marred the gameplay.
I have tried OnLive on a 5Mb/s-plus connection and the graphics were significantly sharper, so it’s definitely worth using an online speed measure such as Speedtest.net to make sure your broadband connection is up to the task before buying the standalone Game System.
Verdict
Testosterone-fuelled hardcore gamers will no doubt want to stick with their PCs or consoles, but I have to admit that the OnLive Game System worked better than I’d expected – even with my less-than-stellar broadband connection. The current selection of around 170 games certainly isn’t exhaustive, and for every Batman or Assassin’s Creed there’s a Cake Mania or Planet Horse. But for casual gamers and family audiences, the OnLive Game System really does offer an affordable alternative to a conventional games console. ®
OnLive Game System cloud gaming console
COMMENTS
I just don't see why
The little console thingy is £70 and buying a game costs the RRP and is unlikely to drop.
For that you're tying yourself to a service that may not last forever and you never actually own your game.
Why not just buy a second hand xBox 360 (I got a 2009 model Elite for £80 last year)? You can then hunt around for the best prices on new releases and pick up plenty of cheap old games. Or just rent them the old fashioned way.
No mention of the subscription fee. Is that still around or did they decide it was silly?
Oh god, it's you!!!
I keep having this recurring nightmare where you corner me at a party and never stop talking...
Bandwidth usage
Interesting thread here about the bandwidth used by OnLive:
http://onlivefans.com/showthread.php?3691-How-much-bandwidth-does-OnLive-use-I-have-the-answer.
In summary, I don't think this is going to be compatible with most UK ISP deals.
GJC
And how much does a decent PC cost?
And how much exactly does a decent PC with a decent Nvidia card to play it cost nowdays?
North of 600.
And how much exactly does a decent PC usable for daily non-gaming use cost nowdays?
South of 350.
That is without taking into account power consumption, etc.
If you do the _FULL_ math the numbers end up in favour of the onLive for anyone who plays less than 4h a day. If you are playing more than 4h a day... Well... Can you tell me who is your employer, I would like a job where I can spend 4h+ a day playing too.
Question...
It does look like this sort of thing is the future, but if everyone starts using this will the infrastructure handle it?
Sure the data speeds may be fast enough in a lot of the country to deliver this now (although not in many of the greener bits!), but you are talking about adding potentially millions of new users continuously streaming high quality video. Most providers already throttle torrents for large portions of the day, not for any copyright reason, but for 'fair use'.
If everyone that currently plays XBox, PS3, Wii and PC games was basically streaming HD video continuously any time they were playing anything that would take a huge amount of capacity - It would dwarf the stress put on the infrastructure by say catch-up TV and the ISPs were already up in arms about that...
