OnLive
Company type | Private | |
---|---|---|
Industry | Cloud gaming | |
Founded | 2009 | |
Founder | Steve Perlman | |
Defunct | 2012 (original, AfBC liquidation then 'phoenixed') April 2015 | |
Fate | Patents sold to Parent Lauder Partners | |
Website | www |
OnLive was a provider of
The service was available through clients for
The OnLive service received a mixed reception. Reviewers noted that the video quality and amount of input lag depended on the Internet connection and varied on a game-by-game basis. Games featuring fast movement or requiring fast reactions could be frustrating to play. On the other hand, the service received accolades for its built-in spectator mode and its ability to trial games without installing them.
On April 2, 2015, it was announced that
Gaming platform
This section contains content that is written like an advertisement. (April 2015) |
The game service was available via the
- Windows PCs: PCs running Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, or Windows 8
- Apple Macintosh: Mac OS X10.6 or later.
- Smartphones: Android smartphones running Android 3.2 or later.
- Tablets: Android tablets running Android 3.2 or later. The OnLive Android player app was released to the Android Market on December 7, 2011.[3]
- Gaming-centric tablet devices: Wikipad,[4] Nvidia Shield, Nvidia Shield Tablet.
- Android TV: OnLive announced that the OnLive Game Service will be pre-installed on Philips' new line of Android-based smart TVs.[5][6] OnLive is also compatible with various Android set-top boxes for TVs (MadCatz M.O.J.O.).[7]
- Connected TVs: OnLive announced that the OnLive Game Service will be integrated into new
- Internet connected media players: Amazon's Fire TV and Fire TV Stick, VIZIO Co-Star, and VIZIO's line of VIA Blu-ray players.[9][10]
A web browser based demo service was also available for Windows PCs and
Network requirements:
- The service required a 2 Mbit/s Internet connection (5 Mbit/s or higher recommended) with low latency.[11]
- OnLive initially required a wired connection. On September 15, 2010
OnLive Game System
The OnLive Game System consisted of an OnLive Wireless Controller and a
PlayPack flat-rate plan
OnLive confirmed the details of its PlayPack
Desktop service
On January 10, at the 2012 Consumer Electronics Show, OnLive announced "OnLive Desktop". OnLive Desktop used desktop virtualization technology to create a remotely hosted Windows Server 2008 desktop environment.[citation needed]
On March 12, 2012, Microsoft told OnLive that its OnLive Desktop service was a violation of the Windows 7 license agreement, and threatened legal action, contending that the license agreement did not permit the use of Windows 7 as a hosted client, nor for Office to be provided as a service on Windows 7 since this would be only allowed using
Architecture
In the U.S., OnLive was hosted in five co-located North American
The hardware used was a custom setup consisting of OnLive's proprietary video compression chip as well as standard PC
International availability
The service was launched in the United Kingdom on September 22, 2011 in partnership with
History
OnLive was announced at the
On March 10, 2010, OnLive announced the OnLive Game Service would launch on June 17, 2010, in the US, and the monthly service fee would be US$14.95.[34] At launch the membership option available was through AT&T's Founding Members promotion, which provides the service for free for the first year and US$4.95 per month for the optional following year.[35][36] On October 4, 2010, OnLive announced that there would no longer be any subscription fees for the service.[37] On March 11, 2010, OnLive CEO Steve Perlman announced the OnLive Game Portal, a free way to access OnLive games for rental and demos, but without the social features of the Game Service. It was stated that it would roll out later in 2010 after the OnLive Game Service launch.[38] The OnLive Game Service was launched in the United States on June 17, 2010.[39] Shortly afterwards, on December 10 Onlive was awarded a patent for cloud gaming The US Patent Office.[40] The service was launched in the United Kingdom on September 22, 2011.[41] On January 10 at the 2012 Consumer Electronics Show, OnLive announced "OnLive Desktop". OnLive Desktop used virtualization technology to create a remotely hosted Windows 7 desktop.
Layoffs and buyout
On August 17, 2012 the company laid off all of its employees.[42] OnLive entered into a proceeding known as an "Assignment for the Benefit of Creditors", wherein OnLive shareholders lost their stakes in the company.[43] OnLive then sold off its assets and started a new company, also called OnLive.[44] On August 20, 2012 the company officially revealed Lauder Partners as the buyer.[45] On August 27, 2012, founder Steve Perlman stepped down as CEO, Gary Lauder became Chairman, and Charlie Jablonski, former VP of Operations, was appointed COO and acting CEO.[46] It was revealed in October of that year that OnLive was sold for only $4.8 million. For a company that analysts once estimated was worth approximately $1.8 billion, there was some surprise at the low figure for which the company was sold. Some analysts speculated that the true value of the patents held by the company was potentially in the hundreds of millions of dollars, but that the firm's poor bargaining position led to the cheap sale.[47]
Relaunch
In March 2014 the company hired a new CEO, Mark Jung and released a new gaming service, CloudLift.[48] Cloudlift links to selected titles in a player's game library and allows the player resume gameplay on another device.
Sale to Sony and Shut down
On April 3, 2015, OnLive announced it had sold most of its assets to
Reception
Pre-launch
Soon after the company's announcement at
Cevat Yerli, the CEO of Crytek, had researched a method for streaming games but concluded that Crytek's approach would not be viable until 2013 "at earliest". Yerli made it clear Crytek was not directly involved with the OnLive service, and Yerli had no personal experience using the service. Rather, Electronic Arts, the publisher of Crytek's Crysis Warhead, had partnered with OnLive and had tested and endorsed the OnLive technology. Yerli stated:
I want to see it myself. I don't want to say it's either 'top or flop'. I hope it works for them because it could improve gamers' lives. The technology of video-based rendering is not actually a very new concept but they do some things that others didn't do before so it will be interesting to see.[55]
Eurogamer's Digital Foundry was amongst the most harshly skeptical in an article published upon OnLive's unveiling and public demonstration entitled, "GDC: Why OnLive Can't Possibly Work" by Digital Foundry's Richard Leadbetter. The article's analysis characterized OnLive as a faked demo that was technically impossible to accomplish over a consumer Internet connection.[56]
Post-launch
After the launch of the service in the United States, favorable reviews by game journalists stated that the service performed well, and they looked forward to the service improving over time.
In examining latency, Eurogamer's Digital Foundry initial test found that in some of their test scenarios, users of OnLive could expect 150ms of latency over a consumer Internet connection; however, they also noted inconsistencies, in that some games had higher latency, and that this would also depend on the quality of the customer's internet connection.[64] Furthermore, they also noted that while acceptable, these values ran contrary to figures suggested by OnLive before release of lag "being under 80ms" and "usually... between 35-40ms".[64] In their later full-feature article on OnLive, Digital Foundry noted that "during intense gameplay, OnLive is hovering right at the boundary of what is acceptable lag and often exceeds it, resulting in a variable, often unsatisfactory experience", but that "the latency level is probably the most pleasant surprise with this system. Let's be clear: it is most definitely not a replacement for the local experience, but if the system can be tightened up and that 150ms becomes the norm, then it's clear there is potential here for the infrastructure to find a home with certain types of game or certain types of player".[65]
In terms of video quality, Digital Foundry noted that video compression meant image quality also varied depending on the title. Games with a lower number of frame-to-frame differences, or games where such changes were less important, such as Assassin's Creed II or Batman: Arkham Asylum fared well, with these games being "strongly suited to video compression" and "cut-scenes in particular can look very good". However, games that had a greater amount of motion or relied on fast reactions, such as Colin McRae: Dirt, Dirt 3 or Unreal Tournament 3 fared less well, with questions about the playability of the latter when video compression artifacts were taken into account.[66] Digital Foundry felt that the quality of rendering was mostly good, with high frame rates, but with less consistency than console counterparts and with screen-tearing in some scenarios.[67]
Gaming Examiner judged that the graphics were like "playing a PlayStation 3 on a 480p standard [definition] TV", that they thought that they experienced much lower framerates than expected, and that the controller was not working reliably.[68]
After the launch in United Kingdom, Computer and Video Games remarked that, after one month of use, the service was "working" and was adequate for trying or renting a game, but that it was not a substitute for owning a game on another platform due to the limitations imposed by internet connections (lag, freezing and smeary visuals, as well as high data usage for those on capped connections).[69]
References
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It's this sort of thing that really makes OnLive feel like the future. But that doesn't mean that you should throw away your console tomorrow. UK broadband needs a proper upgrade, increasing usage caps and speed across the board, and playing your game on your own system will for the time being always beat it for quality of visuals and feel