Video Game Streaming – The End of the Console?
September 6, 2009 00:10 
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A new company and service called OnLive is hoping to shake up the video game industry with a new cloud gaming service on demand. Think of it like your Netflix Instant Queue for games, where instead of buying physical media or even spending time downloading large files you can just log in and begin playing any video game across the internet.
That’s the experience OnLive hopes to deliver, and today marks the opening of the beta program for those who signed up after the company initially went public to the press back at the Game Developer’s Conference in March of this year.
Much like what Netflix or Hulu are now doing with online video, OnLive hopes to do with gaming. You’ll be able to access the service on PCs and Macs with compatible hardware requirements via a browser plug-in and hop right into multiplayer matches against other players on various platforms (you’ll need a broadband internet connection to use the service). Being able to provide true cross-platform multiplayer gaming itself would be rather novel, and the underlying goal of disintermediating the game console is indeed a revolutionary one.
They also plan to offer their own, as they call it, “micro-console” that is essentially a small device big enough to include a couple of USB ports, ethernet, HDMI, and optical audio out. The unit would accept up to 4 wireless controllers and bluetooth headsets, offering an alternative method of accessing the service if you don’t have a spare computer to play on and/or hook up to your television set for a living room gaming experience.
Still, it will depend greatly on the underlying technology and if it will be able to handle the significant technical challenges of synchronizing fast-response gaming experiences to multiple players simultaneously on different platforms. In many of the games players will want to enjoy, even a split second of lag time is unacceptable.
If OnLive is able to scale and meet the demand, however, it could pose a significant challenge to a game console industry that’s weathered the storm of multiple hardware cycles, but might face an uphill battle against a truly great on demand service. They haven’t released an official decision on their business model yet, but OnLive has indicated it will most likely be either subscription-based or possibly subsidized through the purchase of the OnLive micro-console.
What do you think: is the gaming industry ripe for a great cloud on demand service? Would you relish the chance to finally play Halo 3 on your Mac? Would you be interested in a monthly all-you-can-eat gaming subscription, or do you prefer to own your own games? What would the price have to be to start tempting you? Let us know in the comments.
