Gaming
is a huge business and many companies sell the hardware at a loss to
get the software business on the back end. This is how Sony
positioned the PS3 for a long time, though with each successive
update Sony inches closer to profitability with the console.
The
future of video games may not center around a console or a PC,
assuming the gaming hoards have access to the internet at speeds to
prevent lag and poor graphics with cloud-based offerings such as
OnLive.
OnLive
is advertising a Founding
Members program that offers a free year of service to those who
quality. After the first year of service, there member will be able
to buy a second year of service at $4.95 per month on a
month-to-month basis. OnLive states no purchase is necessary for the
free year, but those chosen for the free year will have to put a
credit card on file.
The free year is subject to availability
and only a limited number of spots are offered in different regions
of America. At launch OnLive will offer over 20 game titles including
Assassin’s Creed 2, Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands and Tom
Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Conviction from Ubisoft; Mass Effect 2 and
Dragon Age: Origins from Electronic Arts; Batman: Arkham Asylum and
Just Cause 2 from Square Enix; Borderlands, NBA 2K10 and MLB 2K10
from Take Two; Red Faction: Guerilla from THQ; Fear 2: Project Origin
from Warner Bros. Interactive Games.
The
service will get new games "constantly" according to
OnLive.
OnLive
was first
demonstrated back at GDC2009. The service promises to stream
high-end games from cloud servers to low end PCs and straight to TVs.
Games that are offered on the service are some of the more
graphically impressive titles that have been launched over the last
few years. OnLive promises that the games can be streamed in up to
720p resolution at 60 fps. However, some early reviews of the service
found issues with lag.
In
September of 2009, OnLive secured
additional funding to complete the back-end systems needed
to host the games and announced that it was nearing a beta
offering.
