OnLive, the cloud-based gaming service founded by Apple alum Steve Perlman launches tomorrow. The service hopes to mark a monumental shift in the way gaming works: no more downloads, no more patches, no more discs.
Instead of running a video game locally, players on OnLive connect via broadband to a gaming system that runs and stores not just their data, but the entire game itself. OnLive enables video games to be played on Mac or PC and, using their “micro console device” on your TV.
In a world where “lag” – latency due to Internet or graphics hiccups – means “death,” there have been a lot of obstacles to overcome in order to make cloud-based gaming feasible. Some eight years in development, OnLive’s vision of instant-access, on-demand gaming has necessitated huge tech developments in both the servers’ and in the broadband capabilities. The machines required to run these games, for example, have to have graphics capabilities not typically associated with servers. According to Venture Beat, the service will limit players’ access, depending on their location from a server and the processing power of their computer, in order to ensure gameplay that’s, well, playable.
According to CEO Perlman, the launch marks “the first step toward a future where video game content is increasingly free from the restrictions of device and location, while showcasing the ability to instantly play the latest, most advanced games at the touch of a button.”
OnLive promises over twenty games available at launch, including Prince of Persia, Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell, and Mass Effect 2. For a limited time, founding subscribers are being offered their first year of OnLive membership for free in a program sponsored by AT&T.
