Home Gaming OnLive is back and this time it has a good idea

OnLive is back and this time it has a good idea

3 min read
47

CloudLift

When OnLive first launched I scoffed and stated that it will never work. Through the numerous trade shows and press releases that followed I never once thought they had a chance and it was absolutely no surprise that they virtually collapsed in late 2012.

Since then we’ve not heard a thing out of the company and if you had asked me yesterday what happened to OnLive I would have told you that it’s probably dead… and I would have been wrong.

In fact while it’s been hibernating some really good ideas have been implemented and they have just started talking about the company again.

OnLive had two truly impossible issues the last time they tried to launch. Firstly there is the issue that most customers simply didn’t have the Internet connections available to make the idea of streaming a AAA title viable.

The second and the reason I believe it died at the time was that it was trying to position itself as a new distribution method entirely and that meant it was not only taking on retailers but also the might of Steam, Origin and smaller players.

The main publishers may want their game everywhere but at the same time they want the experience to be good and it was taking a lot of time and money ensuring OnLive could compete on that level.

However it seems that OnLive has now changed their plans and instead of wanting to compete against Steam they have decided they are going to partner with Steam.

The new OnLive offering, CloudLift, will enable you to sign into your existing Steam account and start playing your Steam purchased games instantly from no matter where you are. Now that’s cool.

Unfortunately right now it doesn’t work for all titles and according to Engadget is only available on the following 20 titles right now.

The First 20 Games

  1. Batman: Arkham Asylum GOTY
  2. Batman: Arkham City GOTY
  3. Batman: Arkham Origins
  4. Darksiders II
  5. Dead Island GOTY
  6. Dead Island: Riptide
  7. LEGO The Lord of the Rings
  8. Metro 2033
  9. Mortal Kombat Komplete Edition
  10. MX vs. ATV Reflex
  11. Painkiller: Hell and Damnation
  12. Red Faction: Armageddon
  13. Saints Row IV
  14. Scribblenauts Unlimited
  15. Strike Suit Zero
  16. The Book of Unwritten Tales: The Critter Chronicles
  17. The LEGO Movie Videogame
  18. The Raven: Legacy of a Master Thief
  19. Truck Racer
  20. Type: Rider

So how much is this going to set you back? Well $15 a month.. yeah they replaced a serious problem with another one. Why would you pay $15 a month to play games you already own?

They have a second offering now called OnLive Go which appears to be a way for existing games and publishers to provide a mobile interface to their experiences through OnLive instead of creating one from scratch.

At the moment they are also trying to score $10 per subscriber if you want to take Second Life on the go which is again ridiculous. The idea of outsourcing the mobile development would be appealing to developers but the costs OnLive are charging makes me think their infrastructure is far too expensive to realistically maintain.

Oh and most of us don’t live close enough to an OnLive server to make the service viable anyway.

So in short, OnLive have some fantastic new ideas but the cost makes it unrealistic to the mass market. I still don’t see OnLive making it.

If OnLive could convince Steam, Origin and publishers to use their service exclusively instead of maintaining their own infrastructure I could see them doing very well, but until that time this all seems like a pipe dream.

Last Updated: March 6, 2014

47 Comments

  1. Admiral Chief in Vegas

    March 6, 2014 at 10:08

    Subscription?

    Pass

    Reply

    • General JJ the Fett

      March 6, 2014 at 10:12

      Had to fill in my ESO post-play survey this morning.
      Subscription…will you buy the game?… NO

      Reply

      • Hammersteyn

        March 6, 2014 at 10:16

        Wish I could do the same, also I wonder how many people said no as well.

        Reply

        • General JJ the Fett

          March 6, 2014 at 10:17

          Me too. I’m damn interested in seeing what the statistics show after the survey. Not that they’d ever release that info.
          All we ask for is an SP Elder Scrolls with an MP component, or option, like in GTA V.

          Reply

          • Alien Emperor Trevor

            March 6, 2014 at 10:27

            MP Elder Scrolls will probably have a ton of people doing faux nature documentaries. It’s the most interesting part of the game.

          • General JJ the Fett

            March 6, 2014 at 10:28

            I really squinted at that “nature documentaries”.
            LOL

          • Alien Emperor Trevor

            March 6, 2014 at 10:30

            lol – I never even thought of that. Although given some of the armour sets you get I shouldn’t have missed it.

          • Admiral Chief in Vegas

            March 6, 2014 at 10:29

            “And here you find the native fauna frolicking, OH SWEET LORD IT HAS BEEN FIREBALLED!!!!!”

    • RinceThis

      March 6, 2014 at 10:21

      No, that’s Online Pass 😉

      Reply

    • CrasH

      March 6, 2014 at 10:38

      I love to play games but if i am not at home playing, it means i am busy with “real life”.
      And if i logon to steam on someone elses machine, i can download a game or even restore it and play. So all i need is a extranal HDD with all my steam backups.

      And who does not have an external?

      Reply

  2. Alien Emperor Trevor

    March 6, 2014 at 10:12

    Er… no thank you.

    Reply

  3. Hammersteyn

    March 6, 2014 at 10:17

    Quoting @Admiral_Chief:disqus from earlier.
    NEIN!

    Reply

    • Admiral Chief in Vegas

      March 6, 2014 at 10:23

      INGWER!

      Reply

  4. RinceThis

    March 6, 2014 at 10:21

    Shame, they are trying to hard to push an idea that is not good.

    Reply

    • General JJ the Fett

      March 6, 2014 at 10:23

      That’s what the ladies say to the Emperor some nights.

      Reply

      • RinceThis

        March 6, 2014 at 10:24

        Some? HAHAHA

        Reply

        • Alien Emperor Trevor

          March 6, 2014 at 10:25

          Yes, some nights I’m not around.

          Reply

          • General JJ the Fett

            March 6, 2014 at 10:26

            And then they miss you. Never can understand them.

          • Alien Emperor Trevor

            March 6, 2014 at 10:27

            I don’t try, I can’t even understand myself.

  5. RinceThis

    March 6, 2014 at 10:30

    It’s like some rich kid has an idea and won’t let it die. Leave Steam alone unless you can offer something better. Flip, it’s like that kak weChat (CHINESE AVOID) trying to take on watsfacebookapp

    Reply

    • General JJ the Fett

      March 6, 2014 at 10:31

      Whatsface…O_O
      I use LINE. 90% of the reason being the emoticons.

      Reply

      • RinceThis

        March 6, 2014 at 10:31

        Totally 😉

        Reply

      • Alien Emperor Trevor

        March 6, 2014 at 10:33

        When you’re using your eyelinered face they’re called facial expressions, not emoticons.

        Reply

        • RinceThis

          March 6, 2014 at 10:33

          Ouch!

          Reply

          • General JJ the Fett

            March 6, 2014 at 10:34

            I think I’m part of the problem here. I should probably fight back.

          • RinceThis

            March 6, 2014 at 10:35

            No man, it’s not worth it. The only reason Trevor leaves me kindda alone is because I ply him with alcohol most weekends and take pics of him in funny positions with OVG’s blow up sheep…

          • Admiral Chief in Vegas

            March 6, 2014 at 10:35

            PICS OR IT DIDN’T HAPPEN

          • General JJ the Fett

            March 6, 2014 at 10:36

            A few people just looked at me when I laughed aloud here.

        • General JJ the Fett

          March 6, 2014 at 10:33

          *pats tear off cheek before makeup runs*

          Reply

    • VampyreSquirrel

      March 6, 2014 at 10:34

      I’m sure it should be called “whatsherfaceapp”

      Reply

      • RinceThis

        March 6, 2014 at 10:36

        LOL. Or ‘whatsherfaceforapp’ 0-O

        Reply

        • General JJ the Fett

          March 6, 2014 at 10:37

          This conversation is starting to take a different turn.

          Reply

          • RinceThis

            March 6, 2014 at 10:37

            Ya, think best we back the hell away…

        • VampyreSquirrel

          March 6, 2014 at 10:46

          lol! the whatchamacallitapp

          Reply

          • Admiral Chief in Vegas

            March 6, 2014 at 10:51

            lolz

  6. Hammersteyn

    March 6, 2014 at 10:30

    $15? Does CloudLift even lift?

    Reply

    • VampyreSquirrel

      March 6, 2014 at 10:35

      Should call it “WonderCloud”… or “CloudBra” or something 😛

      Reply

  7. General JJ the Fett

    March 6, 2014 at 10:38

    Remember kids…save often…
    http://loadshedding.eskom.co.za/

    Reply

    • Alien Emperor Trevor

      March 6, 2014 at 10:46

      We’re without power in parts of Montague Gardens now, N1 City was out of power when I went there earlier too.

      Reply

      • VampyreSquirrel

        March 6, 2014 at 10:47

        No power in Northwold Randburg

        Reply

      • General JJ the Fett

        March 6, 2014 at 10:50

        We just had an off/on moment. Nothing else though

        Reply

      • Admiral Chief in Vegas

        March 6, 2014 at 10:52

        Hmmmm, should have visited you the other day, our one branch is actually in Montague Gardens…

        Y U NO SAY?

        Reply

        • Alien Emperor Trevor

          March 6, 2014 at 10:52

          Because you never mentioned it 😛

          Reply

          • Admiral Chief in Vegas

            March 6, 2014 at 10:54

            I pop rince a message with pic of mountain (meaning I’m in his area) and the fool just responds with GET OUTTA MY CITY

          • Alien Emperor Trevor

            March 6, 2014 at 10:55

            Good. Damn tourists. 😀

          • Admiral Chief in Vegas

            March 6, 2014 at 10:56

            If only it was for pleasure 🙁

  8. Rudi

    March 6, 2014 at 11:41

    What they should rather do is have a kind of Netflix service, but for gaming – pay something like $10 a month, and you can play any game in their catalog – the limit would be you only have maximum 5 installed at any given time or something like that…

    Reply

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