The first major reveal of this year’s GDC is OnLive, a service that seems in a lot of ways to be too good to be true. Put simply, OnLive wants to take the hardware out of the gaming equation: simply log in via a web browser-based plugin, start up any game on offer, and the game starts to play on some godly rig at OnLive’s server farm—with the glorious HD results beamed right into your trashy netbook.
The announcement materials for OnLive make the thing sound truly game-changing. OnLive will let you play modern games on anything, starting with PC, Mac, and a little “MicroConsole” that probably won’t cost more than $100. It will start with PC games (including computer crushers possibly including Crysis), but console games are possible. There’ll be unique community options like unlimited live spectators as well, and you can have it all for a low, Xbox Live-like annual fee (and the price of game purchase/rental, of course).
Read More...