OnLive Game Demos Come to GameSpot

Funny it's under the Xbox 360 section... For me it is irrelevant due to the fact that I live outside the US. As for the service itself, I read that the game settings are set to low (compared to the PC version), no 1080p, game support for only 3 years, no mod community (!), bandwith and lag problems (not for everyone, though), small game list offer (temporary, I guess), and more. I do believe this is the future. But I think that the limitations and drawbacks surpass the advantages for now. But interesting partnership.

Sounds like a great idea. It sucks to throw down 60 bucks for a game that might end up sucking. But here's one more way to try before you buy. I just might sign up for this.

Broadband video delivery isn't ready to replace real gaming, and may never be. If you have low requirements or a handheld device, then it can be useful for you. There will also always be the issue of user input and lag imposed by bi-directional de-localized gaming. Press a button and only .25 seconds later (possibly more) does the server do what you want. I foresee cloud gaming as being a highly niche market, one which will fade away after a while.

Interesting idea for sure, although it will defintely take a toll on people's bandwidth. Damn ISPs.

Sounds delightful.

Good for you gamespot! Cloud gaming FTW

The one important property of clouds ? They dissipate....the faster the better as far as i'm concerned. This is supposed to take the place of traditional PC gaming, eh ?....in yer dreams !

@Frame_Dragger For a service that claims "it doesn't matter what your system specs are" it sure looks like some crap. Even on a gaming rig with a 20/20 connection the thing won't run a game on Max, nor is there an option to adjust ANY graphical settings period. I played Borderlands just to try it out and it looked like it was barely running at Normal. Basically, disappointing all around.

i think onlive would have been better off being a cloud computing game rental service and MMO subscription site. OnLive would have been amazing for playing MMO's on any rig. If they offered that, I would get it. Also, I love to rent games because most of them are so short these days, I can't justify spending $60 per title for console games. If I could rent PC games on OnLive?! Sold! IDK why they haven't thought about doing this.

bloody awesome!!!!

THIS IS INCREDIBLE!!!! officially

Onlive still exist?

It's a great idea GameSpot! This is an awesome feature for demos. :D

You better not let the Gaming Gestapo known as Gamestop see this. They might sue you, remove all your adverts from anything in their store, and cry to mommy.

It doesn't work!!!!! I installed it and everything, but it does nothing when I press play now!!!! Not cool!

This site works great at home on my 12Mbps wifi, I mean, sure, the quality has its hitches. But it still gives me an opportunity to play high-end PC games on my POS laptop.

Takes a hit on bandwith: 5Mbit per second = 0.625 Mbytes per second and is their recommanded usage Let say you have 60 G of download per month which is your average user limit in canada (about 40$ per month) ((60*1024)/0.625)/60/60 = 27.3 hours of gameplay per months (less than 7 hours per week, 1 hour per day)

excellent site!

Wow! I just tried Arkham Asylum on my ancient p.o.s. laptop and it worked great. Gamefly is out of business. This is amazing. Cloud computing is the future, how can a console compete with this?

OnLive is acceptable as a rental service with a monthly fee (a good alternative to GameFly), and it's also a great idea for demos. But if you buy a full priced game through OnLive, then you're a tool.

Seems like the 30 mins trials lets you see full game then cuts you after your 30. This is excellent for games that have no real demo out, so people can at least try it first. I hate buying a game because it looks amazing, and ends up sucking couldn't try it due to no demo. For this, I likey!

OnLive is cool if you like playing your PC games in YouTube quality video and with significant input lag (tested on a 100Mbit connection). I saw a guy playing Braid in one of real time videos and just felt bad for him. That game can be played on a simple netbook smoothly without having to experience any OnLive disadvantages. I really can't think of a reason to recommend this service to anyone. If you have slow computer you are better off playing games on medium or low settings, they will still look better than OnLive because you won't have to deal with video blocking and lag introduced by streaming. And if you have really old computer you won't be able to run OnLive smoothly anyway, because believe it or not 720p video stream is pretty demanding on a system. If you have laptop/netbook chances are you won't be using it at home, but instead some place with limited connection speed so once again no use for OnLive.

VerY cool, WOW

I've been trying out Onlive, and they are pretty decent. The quality of the games aren't as high in terms of how it looks, but the performance is slightly marred if you're not connected directly. I mean, there is a slight paused after you hit a button, before something happens. It's not horrible as it's not even a second pause, but if you are connected directly to your modem, it's great. Not sure if I wanna put my money down on it yet, but if they improve int he future, I may really consider it! :D It was nice playing AC2 on my computer that would have had a coma trying to run it.

@jamyskis: You are spot on! The reason I posted my cryptic message, lol!

@themedianerd you must be close to a hub in order to go under their recommended specs, because if you have the cheapest comcast then you are well under the requirements posted by Onlive. I guess kudos are in order, but then again it only proves how much it fails as a service to be so inconsistent. Again the service is way before its time in my opinion, but they have to start somewhere.

Cloud tech and Onlive are eeeeviielll! indeeeed!! Do not buy cloud games! This has been an interruption to wake you up...now back to your regular programming!

very cool.

I would totally try out the Rage demo on this. I can't wait to get home and try it out!

@Gamer_4_Fun I believe the minimum OnLive requires is a steady 5Mbs connection... So as long as your not dial-up or bare-bones DSL you should be fine.

I like it, I like it a lot. :D

This is a fantastic idea!

A very VERY smart partnership. Well done Gamespot ^^

Saints row 3!!!!

A creative partnership. Will give GS an edge over other gaming websites.

As bandwidth gets faster (and cheaper), this WILL be the future of gaming. It's practically inevitable.

'Decent Internet connection' yeah by decent they mean a really powerful one :\

OnLive would be a great service for playin game demos... but i will never buy a game on OnLive... i mean I WANNA HAVE A FREAKIN DISC IN MY HANDS!

not bad......

i think OnLive will be successful

For demos and game rentals, maybe. For buying games, not a chance. It's bad enough buying digitally and not knowing whether your games will be pulled at any given moment. Now people are willingly handing over their consumer rights to OnLive where publishers can rip your games from under your feet as it pleases them. I know people scream "progress" and "times are a'changing", but progress should be about improving the service. All I see is gamers getting less product for more money.

MrDoomLWest, Of course your hardware doesnt matter, thats teh whole point of the service, this isnt made for pc gamers who have good rigs capable of playing games, this is for people with crappier computers.

I hated ONLIVE personally, the resolution and picture quality were terrible. It defeats the whole point of PC gaming.

umm im gonnna have to agree to disagree with everybody on here. i been using ONLIVE for close to a year and i think its useless. its a good idea but i dont see the games and i dont see the graphics!! the picture quality sucks!! when they showed ONLIVE at gaming events they showed awesome looking games with bright vibrant colors and graphics and they were showing crysis but its been a year now and i have yet to see any of that. all the games they keep releasing are just console games so why would anybody stick with ONLIVE? I was told they were gonna release pc quality titles but where is at? where's BF1942 or any of the PC games that makes PC games worth choosing to? ITS A SCAM.

NICE......

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i love the concept of onlive, but having tried it the lag is too noticeable and it looks like a youtube video...much prefer my gaming pc and consoles, though onlive is good for testing games i may consider buying for other systems.

was any1 able to play assassin's creed brotherhood multiplayer? cause i wasnt able to play.it was locked

I love onlive, the sales are pretty good too. Just bought Borderlands GOTY for $3.50 a couple days ago :)