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Is OnLive the future of gaming?

Posted by Mavrik | Filed under Gaming

YES! I stand here before you saying the one console future everyone’s been talking about may be as close as next generation. It may even be here as soon as this winter when OnLive debuts. You should definitely watch the videos below to get the big picture, but in a nutshell OnLive is a streaming video game service that will allow you to play any game on any machine at the highest quality, even console games, given you have a good internet connection. They say 5 megabit is all you need. The service can either be used through a unit you can hook up to your TV (pictured right) or through a browser plugin on your computer. I’m sure when they say console games, that doesn’t include console exclusives because if that was the case, I think we can all say goodbye too the expensive PS3.

I’m a little skeptical since I’m sure there will be the occasional lag here and there from hiccups in internet connection. But still, this is amazing. You can play on your TV with their own little box that looks  to be about the size of a portable hard drive, or you can play it on your computer through your internet connection. I seriously can’t wait to get my hands on this thing. They already have 9 publishers and developers on board: Atari, Codemasters, Eidos, EA, Epic, Take Two, THQ, Ubisoft, Warner Bros. Those are top-end publishers too so this thing really has a huge backing. The publishers/developers have also promised to submit the games to OnLive at the same time they go to retail so no apparent delay either before the games arive on the service.

According to the guy in the video, the SDK only requires a “couple more weeks of work” so it’s really not that bad compared to having to port games over to the PS3. Sorry to knock the PS3, but you all know it’s hard to develop for so don’t shoot the messenger.

Imagine this, you’re playing Crysis (a game that requires you to sell your kidney to buy parts to play at the highest setting) with perfect visuals on your shitty 4 year old laptop that has a low-end graphics card. Don’t like the controller that comes with the box? OnLive works with any controller that is compatible with a PC or Mac. How can you NOT want this?? I can’t wait. Watch the two 5 minute videos below for more info.

Check out the site here: [OnLive]

Here’s another video from G4 that does a quick run through of the service.

Tags: Atari, Codemasters, Consoles, EA, Eidos, Epic, Gaming, OnLive, Take Two, THQ, Ubisoft, Warner Bros.