OnLive Game Demos Come to GameSpot

GAMESPOT I LOVE YOU WITH ALL MY HEART =]. Thanks for everything, cant wait to set it up and see how it goes (internet connection). Gamespot rules!

onlive is great for me =)

I have OnLive but the claim about hardware isn't true. Like my netbook sometimes it says my GB of ram isn't enough sometimes it is. GaiKai never works on my netbook even though my connection is really fast.

@kytomasi, Skargamer: Just go to onlive.com and download the launcher (about 1.1 MB) and play those demos (and many more) from that.

Due to various promotions, I bought Borderlands: Game of the Year Edition on OnLive for \$3.50, and Batman: Arkham Asylum for $0.69 (that's not a typo). Neither of them would run on my computer without OnLive. Needless to say, I'm quite happy with it.

When the OnLive service was originally offered, I pre-ordered my unit immediately. (It reminded me of the Phantom console that never happened!) I have tried various connections and have found cable broadband to be very good. The controller (wireless) takes some getting used to, but most of the games can be played via a keyboard/mouse combination as well. I am really enjoying the service. I should mention that I use the micro-console wired directly to my router, rather than connecting via my wireless network. It does make a significant difference. And, from what I have read, NetFlix may become an offering on the OnLive service at a future date. For ten bucks a month, I am extremely pleased with OnLive!!

AFTERTHOUGHT! I can play games at work now! Muhahahahahaha

Im connecting from Kuwait on a 4mb connection and I got to say I'm impressed. I wasn't even expecting it to work at all. Obviously the stream quality I'm getting isn't great and lag over this distance is a major factor (from the feel I'm guess 400-500ms), but if it means I can try a demo instantly I'm on board. PS, This is coming from someone sitting in front of a rig using 2 570GTXs in SLi running 3 monitors in surround gaming at reses of 5760x1080, 12gigs of ram, i7 950 CPU. So I'm not really a stranger to higher end PC settings. Basically for me, it won't make me buy any games on the service but I'm really impressed with the technology that goes into making this possible.

Sweet! Too bad my internet sucks. :(

so you're just adding links for us to download the client? Or did I miss something?

Pretty nice service

I'm from the UK and was just playing the Just Cause 2 demo. Use us.gamespot.com if it doesn't show. I usually switch to this because reviews don't show up right away on the UK site.

@jporter313 thanx for tellin me u don't have to pay to play the demos eventhough i have a PS3 if i get the urge i might use it to play something i can't get on playstation3

I'm getting OnLive if it leads to quality PC gaming without the need of a 400 dollar graphics card.

Seems like a really handy service. However, game-developers should just release more Demos anyway, cause I don't have a problem with downloading and installing any. The problem is more often that there just ISN'T a Demo. Hopefully this service will make developers release Demos more often though. And as it's also faster and more instantaneous, it's handier for the consumer of course. Just hope it's usable for people who don't have really fast internet. So, I guess online gaming is going to have a new meaning in the future huh? :P Cause if I see this, I see computers and consoles of the future without any games installed on them, but ran from a server and the consumer only having to buy a license to play it, kind of like buying a download, without the downloading-part. Only then you won't be able to get any game-data, as it's ran on a server, so piracy won't be an option anymore either. Unless they're going to try and hack the servers...

i will give this a try sometime, but i believe my internet is way too slow for it to work :(

The buttons aren't even there now. Why? :?

seems they look it offline already lol. i cant find the button on any of the demos

I have a crappy computer and no money for a tv + game console setup, so OnLive works great for me. The only issue I have with it right now is that their selection of games is not very large at this point (but I'm sure as their popularity grows, more games will become available). Also, although it isn't much of a problem for me, some people probably don't have access to a decent Internet connection, which would degrade the quality of gaming with the service. Overall, OnLive is a pretty awesome idea, definitely the future of gaming.

I just discovered this the other day and was very happy about it. I used OnLive to play the demo of Borderlands and Metro 2033 just to see if I would like playing them on my computer. Quality wasn't the best and it was a little laggy but it did what I wanted. I ended up picking up both games on Steam shortly after! :)

Eh, OnLive demo???? Let's put this thing on test!!!!!! I remember they said that you only needed broadband and a crappy PC and onlive should work like a charm... So it should work on my Latitude notebook isn't? Let's see if that's true. 1 minute later (during onlive client installation): "We're sorry, but this application requires Direct3D HARDWARE accelerarion and your system does not appear to support it.." So, I STILL need Graphics card (and possibly lots of memory) to use onlive... Then i don't see the purpose of the service.

I don't know about you guys but this is awesome. it ran perfectly on my computer with no lag

It's a good idea but I still download the demos. My Internet is too slow

This is really ironic considering Gamespot's coverage of Gamestop's removal of On-Live coupons from the recently released Deus Ex. I think it's a great idea for demos, but I just can't bring myself to download games from anyone, even Steam. I need the physical copy if I paid for it.

wow that guy has like a 5 % hit ratio lol

Interesting, but I like to give new tech 5 years to iron out all the bugs before I judge it, and 10 for polish, plus I suspect MS will steal the idea and do something a whole lot better by then. And this is to say nothing of internet download limits. I already broke my limit once just by watching a few hours of YouTube videos. Playing hours of video games would blow it away!

I am not going to lie. At first I did not care much for Onlive but now I think This is pretty awesome.

I've tried Onlive before, but my internet connection simply isn't fast enough. I WAS able to make the Onlive Viewer on the iPad to work, though, if I turn off everything else in my home that is using the internet. When it works, I have to admit it's pretty incredible!

It doesn't work in win 64bit? :\

@Frame_Dragger: As far as there already being demos and such, this was my thinking too before I tried it. but the cool thing about it is the instant gratification, no install, no download, want to try it? You're playing in 30 seconds. As far as bandwidth goes, on a personal level I haven't run into that problem, on a macro level I definitely see what you're saying. I played it here at work where we have some sort of insanely fast connection. Will have to try it at home this weekend. Sorry to sound like such a shameless promoter for all this stuff, I was just really impressed by this yesterday.

@Frame_Dragger You have to download and install a demo for Xbox360, PS3 or PC. Then when you're done, you've basically got crapware on your computer unless you make the purchase (it's a cleaner uninstall on Xbox360 and PS3). When you use OnLive you only need the client, which is a one-time install and is a quick install (slow in the video for some reason, though?). For a quick, limited 30-minute demo of a good chunk of quality games, OnLive is a good choice. I run Comcast cable at an average of 16Mbps and my experience with OnLive has been positive. Very little lag. There's plenty of room to grow and improve, but it's a good start.

I recently got an Onlive account, but have yet to use it. The problem is: you gotta be connected to the internet just to play what you've purchased. It's worse than Steam's DRM in that regard. And the selection isn't very good right now. I think I'll be using GOG for a good stretch: no DRM, LOW hardware requirements, great selection, dirt cheap, lotsa hard to find klassix...

i had a onlive account but a need a "stronger" pc, i think.

is this not available in the UK or am I blind???

Well, I not from the US or EU so I can't use it :/

I played metro 2033 and free trial and it worked great XD liked the idea to have 30 minutes demo of the games

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@godofwar1229: Nope, not to try the game demos, only if you want that unlimited package thing they have, or to actually buy games from them.

good idea but i'm guessin you still have to pay for onlive?

pretty smart idea gamespot....iloveyou

Just tried this yesterday when I heard about it. It takes a few minutes to install the onlive client and set up the account the first time, but from that point on, you click on any "play now" button on the site, and you're playing within 30 seconds. It's pretty amazing.

LAG is of GREAT concern to me. I know he says he doesn't notice any, but that may be cause millions of people aren't on it all at once yet. It's bad enough that the home-console lag we have now is acceptable. I really hope next gen consoles try harder to fix that. I guess that was the genius of the less sophisticated systems of yester-year. push a button, and the game responds INSTANTLY, not .0736 seconds later. Your games would feel sooooo much better to you.

So, I just gave this thing a second shot since it wouldn't let me try it out a year ago (live in the EU), and I must say that I am more than impressed with what I've seen. I just played half an hour of AC:B on my laptop over a wifi-connection, and while it wasn't up there in terms of graphics and made slight misshaps, it was a blessing of dimensions not having to deal with the immense (over)heat my HP laptop usually generates. On top of that, it's perfect for trying new games, and the arena function is amazing, though I'm not sure how useful it really is. It will never replace my PS3 though.

OnLive is interesting. They've got some decent deals and the demos are cool and you can be a spectator of any other OnLive gaming session so you can check out how a game actually plays before you buy it. That's cool. What I don't like about OnLive is that you don't have an option to download and install. Which means you pay the same price, but you don't even get a digital copy that will stick around as long as your system can support it. Let's say a licensing deal goes awry and OnLive is forced to remove a game from it's service. What happens to all the customers who paid full-price for this game? Oops; sorry; the game is no longer available. One way OnLive is trying to combat that is with the $9.99 unlimited play deal. But not all of the games are available on this and I'm sure they would have to raise the price in order for the service to add more titles. OnLive is doing a great job with getting this type of service off the ground. Especially in an economy where broadband access capable of supporting the service is limited mostly to major cities. With some broadband expansion and better ways of handling the purchasing of games OnLive could become a major player in the games industry. This "partnership" with GameSpot seems like a shallow promotional thing... it is what it is...

Interesting, have to give this a try later.

Why in the world does the onlive app Require a graphics card with at least pixel shader 2? I know it's really my bazllion year old computers fault but if the whole point of it is that it's suppose to be free of system requirements shouldn't there be a software fallback?

Tried it playing DarkSiders demo using WiFi and its pretty decent. However, my computer is a gaming rig so I have to test it out on a laptop if it is what they claimed it to be. This is an excellent idea if they offer a DECENT 1 month rental fee but I will not purchase a game because if the ONLIVE goes 'belly up' your purchases goes 'kapoot' along with hard-earned dollars!

I only knew about this a few days ago, its even in my blog. Why does GS take so long to tell us this?

I have to say it works quite well. Just make sure you're connected to the internet via a cable. I tried it at school via WiFi, it worked, but quite laggy. Next time, I'm bringing a cable to school:). Great service, and thanks Gamespot, for reminding me it existed:)