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OnLive woos free Founding Members, launch lineup detailed

E3 2010: On-demand game-streaming service offering chance to get first year on the house; 23 titles slated for June 17 launch; Japanese pubs sign on.

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LOS ANGELES--Last year, on-demand game streaming service OnLive publicly snubbed the Electronic Entertainment Expo, saying its service has no place at the "retail-oriented conference." However, that tune has changed a bit for E3 2010, as the company took advantage of the publicity surrounding the event today to announce its first-year-free membership program, as well as a batch of games prepped for the service's June 17 launch.

OnLive goes online this week.
OnLive goes online this week.

Making good use of that attention-grabbing four-letter "F" word, OnLive announced today its Founding Member Program, a limited-availability promotion that grants lucky registrants a free year of the game-streaming service. Those interested in the Founding Member Program, which is offered in collaboration with AT&T, can now register through OnLive's Web site. Those selected will also be eligible to receive a second-year monthly subscription rate of $4.95.

OnLive also announced today that the service will launch with 23 titles from a range of high-profile publishers. Highlights of the launch lineup include Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed II, Square Enix's Batman: Arkham Asylum, and EA's Dragon Age: Origins. A full list of launch titles can be found below.

Further, the company has secured additional publishing partnership deals. Newly added to OnLive's roster are Square Enix, Sega, Capcom, and Konami. All together, the service boasts support from more than 25 publishing partners, including Electronic Arts, Take-Two, THQ, Ubisoft, Epic, Atari, Codemasters, and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment.

The OnLive service aims to offer lag-free PC gaming via the Web. The company claims that since the heavy lifting of graphics processing will be done on the service's servers, it will offer high-definition gaming on any PC or Mac, regardless of graphics card or CPU speed. The service will initially be available as an application for the Windows and Mac operating systems, with a micro-console that can be attached directly to HDTVs to arrive later on in the year.

The service will offer 1080p high-definition gaming at 60 frames per second starting in 2011. An international launch is also planned for an undetermined date.

OnLive launch titles:
aaaaAAaaaAAAaaAAAAaAAAAA!!! -- A Reckless Disregard for Gravity
Assassin's Creed II
Batman: Arkham Asylum
Borderlands
Brain Challenge
Defense Grid: Gold
Dirt 2
Dragon Age: Origins
F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin
Just Cause 2
Lego Harry Potter: Years 1-4 Demo (Full version available 6/29)
Madballs in Babo: Invasion
Mass Effect 2
MLB 2K10
NBA 2K10
Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands
Puzzle Chronicles
Red Faction Guerrilla
Shatter
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Conviction
Trine
Unreal Tournament III
World of Goo

Coming soon:
Aliens vs. Predator
Alpha Protocol
Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood
Darksiders
Deus Ex 3
Driver San Francisco
F.E.A.R. 3
Homefront
Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days
Lego Harry Potter: Years 1-4
MLB 2K10
Red Faction: Armageddon
Shaun White Skateboarding

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evaneself

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Wait fo Fanpack UT3 << LINK REMOVED >>

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dragusica

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I won the 1 year free of charge but it says that is not supported in my region. i hope i have fun in one year.

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shrink45

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I'm trying out the program now. So far, I LOVE it. I always had doubts that this would not possibly work (lag between button presses, bandwidth intensive etc). Man, was I wrong. Because of this service, I now regret not looking into Batman Arkham Asylum sooner. This kicks major ass!

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Jpleblancfinal

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I got it and it shows that my Internet connection speed is to slow. So much for that

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KrazzyDJ

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The launch list is pretty impressive !!!

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emacdaddy08

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why does it say 2011, shouldn't it be 2010?

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donmega1

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i got it and its awesome. this will change the game in a few years. so far the games list is weak and the pricing is not acceptable at this point. im looking foreword to what comes next.

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Flakcon

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mehh.. good for the casuals but a definite NO-NO for competitive players. I can't imagine playing RTS/FPS on multiplayer on this. Also imagine when Onlive service goes down for maintenance. You got no access to the games you purchased. How does that sound? And when the service ends, the full price purchase you bought might be gone with the wind. Then again, its really good for people at work to kill time. XD I could use this right now but not if i wanna play games that a second's delay could cause me to lose.

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vamsi000

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one word "Amazing"... I was skeptical when i first heard of Onlive, but I started using it 2 days ago and have to say its very impressive, I have not seen any lag so far in my system. This service truly has the potential to change gaming by simplifying console choices and making games more accessible.

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ztron370

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Out of all the games that were or was supposed to be released for Onlive Mass Effect 2 was the only game that did not make it.

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e1ysium

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Am I the only one that has a bandwidth limit? I mean i could get unlimited service but it's way slower, I know there's a lot of places and providers that offer unlimited bandwidth but I figure this would take quite a bit of bandwidth. I want to see multiplayer gaming on this service.

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derek_g

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I've also been on Onlive since it launched and frankly I'm amazed that it really does live up to the hype. Runs like a champ on my i7 system but just to really put it to the test I fired it up on my AMD3000 XP system. I ran into a little stuttering at times but to be able to play Arkham Asylum or Assassin's Creed on a 10 year old system is pretty amazing. I also like the ability to spectate on other games as it can help learn tricks I can use when playing. Library is pretty weak right now and so are the prices they're charging, but hopefully that'll improve with time.

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bwgamer

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Onlive rocks!!! I've been playing it over the weekend on various computers and this very well can change gaming forever! For all those bashing Onlive you need to shut up and give it a try first. Some people keep saying things like "all the hardcore gamers know it will fail," well I'm a hardcore gamer and I think otherwise. I've been playing games ever since pong, lol. I own the Xbox 360 and PS3 (other consoles as well but won't mention for time sake). Each offers something different. Xbox: great online play, PS3: blu-ray and now Onlive: instant gaming on your PC or Mac....awesome!!! Also coming out soon they will release the MicroConsole for your TV. Not only is gaming instant and in HD, but also cheaper. Right now games vary in price from $19 to $59 (Splinter Cell is the only game at full price at $59 and I don't think that will stay that way) and rentals from $3 for 3 days and $5 for 5 days. I'm sure it will fluctuate for a few months until publishers find a good medium for making money and keeping the users happy similar to how apps varied on the iPhone when it first started. All you need to enjoy Onlive is a computer and a broadband connection. So, give it a shot. Right now its free to join so why not??? You won't be disappointed.

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Marky360

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I saw them show this off at E3 working on an Ipad the guy was playing Borderlands and it was the exact same as wat u would see on a game console or PC.

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Paintballa

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This service is very exciting but confusing on what kind of system you have to have in order to use this service. In the beginning all of the videos and info was that you don't need a super computer to play games or anything too heavy. Now they have released required specs for your computer. Dual core processor, certain video card that can display 1280x720 HD. That's not what they advertised. But anyways, I do hope this comes around quickly for us all and I hope they can keep the prices decent for games. I heard Splinter Cell: Conviction is still $59 to play it. Again not what they advertised.

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Immartinez

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This was for me the most exciting item at E3 2010. This type of service addresses many issues that get in the way of PC game sales, and it promises to do away with my biggest problem with STEAM (which I do love) huge downloads and almost complete hard drive space usage. If this catches on and they price it right it may also do away with a large chunk of piracy. I think developers and publishers should support services like this. I got a chance to play a few titles in the booth and I was very impressed. I can't wait to start playing.

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Toysoldier34

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I got the free year and game, just gotta wait for my account to activate today or soon

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JimmyJimJim

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@vodoo Well your right about a couple things, They have rental options usually setup in either 1day or 3day to 5day options. Then theirs the full paypass which is basically like buying the game, only difference is it's somewhat like a lease as they only host the games for so long. For example Splintercell conviction says " will be available until atleast june 17th 2013" So you could end up not even being able to play a game you bought at a certain point in time. Also it does buffer if the internet connection slows, usually what you'll see is the screen/graphics will start to look a little bit blurry till your internet speed catches back up and then everything goes back to looking crisp.

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shkar

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I just hope that this Onlive thingy will not shift the companies interests in making consoles and making physical copies of games..........

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Ladiesman17

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Publisher(s) make enemies with companies that support them from behind!! ATI & NVidia, Sony / Microsoft!! will be angry!! lol :)

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Vodoo

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You people are being rediculous and completely ignorant. Someone said they wouldn't consider it without having a straight fiber connection for internet speed of at least 5 Mbps. First off, there's lots of broadband connections that go WAAAYY over that and they aren't fiber. I have cable broadband and I GET, not advertised, but get 30Mbps down and 8Mbps up and that's not fiber. Second, it may not be all rentals. You'll most likely be able to buy games and they're just kept server-side instead of taking up space on your drive. I'm sure the manufacturers have thought about the majority of peoples' internet connections and if you have a slow speed it probably buffers alot more to avoid slowdown. All of the hardware performance is done on their end, so it's almost the equivalent of streaming video. And if you don't like or trust American products or technology, why are you on an American gaming site? Use the site where you're from then! Microsoft is an American company and the Kinect seems to be much more technologically impressive than the Wii or the Move combined. So before you go making rediculous statements about a product that nobody even knows anything about, wait for some concrete evidence before you bash something you haven't even tried.

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theKSMM

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There's way too much speculation in this thread. Why don't we all just relax and take a deep breath until some of us have actually had a chance to use the service? Then we can hear all the criticisms and pick all the nits without complaining about performance we've never seen and prices that haven't been published yet.

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ogara0c9

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I'm not even remotely considering buying into this at the moment (don't game enough and not willing to upgrade internet speed to really justify it), but from a technological stand-point, I'm interested in how this turns out. Hopefully this doesn't disappear in short order, at least for the sake of those who jump aboard.

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Swedish_Chef

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You need a mammoth connection to be able to use this service, it's going to exclude so many people that I don't know why they're bothering.

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WPack911

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Really bummed and even confused why Crysis is not on that list! As a founding member it was gonna be my first Onlive game, the one I got for free with the free year and game deal, and the only one I really cared about, since it is PC exclusive and there for the only game I could not get on my consoles. Now it seems after they demoed it on the Onlive service everywhere and on almost any device it might not even be coming out on the service, WTF is that crap? Bad show Onlive, that better be in the cards for release down the line, sometime before Crysis 2 comes out!

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mark_unix

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i don't rent movies, and i am not going to rent games...

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mark_unix

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going to fall flat on it's face

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batsy4life

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There are way too many "middle-men" with this thing...I'm perfectly fine with my console and games.

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partytimekegs

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Just to let anyone know.. this service is a HUGE gamble. First and foremost.. you are technically renting the games you pay for. In no way shape or form will you actually OWN them. (As far as I can tell from the service, correct me if I'm wrong.) If for any reason the service goes down, and I mean permanently, so do your games. Also, its a gamble on wether the games you like will be on it or not. This is the future of gaming and networking. Like it or not. However, I don't think it is being done right and it sounds to me like they are going to go the route of being crooks about it. The United States isn't exactly the cutting edge of networking or communication and definitely can't step up to something like this right now. Which is a good thing because I'd rather not get into something like this unless it was done better with a company that doesn't sound sketchy (one that is better funded and has more capital) and ONLY if my connection was straight fiber optics. I mean.. do you really expect to have no lag if you run below 5mbps up and down? Come on.

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D1zzyCriminal

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None of the games listed are exactly hardware killers or PC exclusive. No Crysis, or Stalker, or Dawn Of War, or ARMA 2 (you probably get the point by now...) so whats the point? You may aswell buy a console.

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RobVII

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i know there seems to be a lot of hate for onlive, but for a student this is really useful for those games i want to get for my laptop but just require too much power. I'll see what it's like when it comes out and if it seems pretty good i might get it.

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NoX5

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once more to the person who clearly doesn't know much about onlive. YOU CAN HAVE THE SERVICE FOR FREE AND BUY GAMES. the first year free has nothing to do with what I'm saying. YOU CAN HAVE THE SERVICE JUST LIKE YOU CAN HAVE THE XBOX LIVE SERVICE. YOU DON'T GET ALL THE PERKS WITHOUT THE PAID MEMBERSHIP. LOOK IT UP!!!!!

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killing_spree20

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This is silly. Console gamers are happy with owning their consoles for 5+ years, making them very cost effective and PC gamers like spending lots of money on their PCs and overclocking the hell out of them...I'm trying to see where the market for OnLive is and I just can't. Plus its a huge rip off. What if I have a subscription, buy some games on that account. and then cancel the subscription...I loose my games. Great. No thanks, I'll keep buying fast CPUs and GPUs and own the games I buy on disk, so I can play them when I want, no worrys. Hello and goodbye OnLive.

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Frosty192

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Dumb, move on

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peachfuzz1

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as if, to what people are saying 3/4 of the people i have talked to, at least the core gamers think this is the worst e3 showing ever none of us care about 3d gameplay or move/kinect. so stupid

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mpeg3s

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A. There is no ownership here! B. No SLA guarentees C. No 3D games D. The graphics and interaction is not of the SAME quality of todays general PC games E. They don't own the network! So if they become #1 this won't cover data metering like AT&T Wireless data

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mpeg3s

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[This message was deleted at the request of the original poster]

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leeko_link

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If only this thing was released in 2005 then maybe I might see a brighter future for it but now everyone is turning their attention to all the brand new games and features of the Kinect, Move, PSP, PC, Wii, and 3DS. With all that, OnLive feels like yesterday news so unless if it brought some truly spectacular exclusive games to the service I can't see it last for more than several months (unless if they could proved me wrong).

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Yossi1007

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D4MN I PREREGISTERED AND GOT FREE ACCOUNT BUT IM ON ISRAEL AND I GOT 5MBPS BUT NOOOO IT WONT WORK!!!!! BECAUSE THERE MIGHT BE A COUNTRY FILTER

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enoslives7

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Onlive will fail unless they feature Atari 7800 games!!! This is obvious to everyone!

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Killingspree303

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I gotta see it, but I'm not gonna use it. Why should I when I've got a neat PC, where I can do almost everything that a console/external service can't? I think that OnLive will work pretty well for those with a high speed internet connection, but still. Not everyone has a great connection. Besides, I like to have the opportunity to do anything I want with my games. Mods, custom maps and so on.

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vampyre1985

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launch titles are underwhelming

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Moloch121

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I love fiber optics! 101 mbp downstream =D

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takreem95

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The developers will most likely use it for only PCs because no one will be able to pirate the games. Actually only in the beginning, then afterwards the good ol' Skulptura and other groups will find a way to get OnLive without a subscription and free games. Nice, huh?

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andrew_ribbons

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This is such a BS service, only launching in the US because they know that even then they're gunna have an AWFUL time with ping rates. "The service will offer 1080p high-definition gaming at 60 frames per second starting in 2011." Yea, and i notice nobody adds "With a 6.3Mbit+ constant downstream connection" which is, btw, only serviced to about 10% of the US as of now. I live in the UK and work in the US but i still won't be getting this useless service. The PC and Xbox 360 offer on demand gaming already, why would i want this and have to be tied into monthly payments?! I have yet to see any solid evidence that the service even works at ALL!

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Falmar

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they should make this a xbox live sort of service with a cheaper membership wich include a blockbuster title, placing load screens with adds and stuff so price could go off, oh wait... are you reading valve??? lol

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rb2610

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US only? Laaaaammmmmeeeee

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arabdude333

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@ Gelugon_baat Actually, the US is in last place in terms of internet speed in developed countries. I think the average in France is 10mbs, while here is about 3mbs. I myself have 20mbs with cable internet, and find no difference when using a friends 2mbs while browsing the internet. However, I die when I must wait for youtube to load up. I signed up for onlive a while back, and I am curious to see how it works at my speed.

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deactivated-5e928ab110493

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@ anyone that doesn't understand why people would get this: OnLive provides you, for $15 a month (or for free if you registered early), guaranteed access to a computer capable of running the latest games on high settings at any time on ANY COMPUTER, ANYWHERE. Yes you have to pay for the games as well, but you can also rent them cheaper than Blockbuster. You can also start a game on your friends computer in Wisconsin, and finish it on your TV in Florida. In short, it is a "convenience" service. You can play games anywhere, with no lag (multiplayer FPS's work great), and never have to drop the cash for upgraded GPUs, RAM, processors, etc. Obviously it is not for everyone, but I think that a lot of people will find it to be a very "convenient" service. Not to mention all of the community elements it has to offer.

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Gelugon_baat

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"...a 1.5 Mbps connection will be needed to display games in SDTV resolution (typical output of Wii and previous generation console titles) while 4-5 Mbps will be needed for HDTV resolution..." This was mentioned by Steve Perlman, president of OnLive. Really, do many of us live in nations with Internet infrastructure as advanced as this? Heck, can many of us even afford the fees charged for such bandwidths? OnLive won't fail if it can deliver on the above statements, but it won't be getting as many customers as it would like to have.

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