Onlive launches in the UK

.Griff. · Sep 22, 2011, 15:04:17

http://www.onlive.co.uk/

OnLive cloud gaming launches in UK

Pioneering on-demand cloud gaming service launches in the UK at the Eurogamer Expo gaming convention in London on Thursday

Gamers will gain access to nearly 150 top-tier titles on Thursday as OnLive, the on-demand cloud gaming service, launches in the UK.

Consumers can sign up for free at and stream triple-A games via almost any broadband Internet connection to their HDTV, PC or Mac. OnLive says the service will soon extend to iPad and Android tablets.

OnLive founder and CEO Steve Perlman says the cloud-gaming service can offer game experiences on virtually any connected device.

"OnLive is incredibly excited to bring instant-play, on-demand cloud gaming to the UK," said Perlman. "It's an entirely new way of experiencing top-tier video games, anywhere, anytime with awesome cloud-powered features and community unlike anything you've ever seen before."

Among the titles on offer through OnLive's service are recent releases such as Deus Ex: Human Revolution, DiRT 3, Homefront and F.E.A.R. 3. Players can also gain access to top-rated titles such as Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, Lego Harry Potter: Years 1-4 and Batman: Arkham Asylum.

Gamers who sign up for OnLive's services have several offers in front of them. First-time buyers can purchase their OnLive PlayPass Game for just £1.

OnLive has also announced a partnership with BT for its launch, in which BT's broadband customers will be offered three months of free access to the cloud-gaming service.

Finally, anyone attending the Eurogamer Expo gaming convention in London can get a free OnLive Game System, while supplies last.

In addition to its deal with BT, OnLive has also announced a strategic launch partnership with retailer Game, which will introduce the OnLive Game Service to UK consumers via its e-commerce sites later this year.

wecpcs · Sep 22, 2011, 17:11:46

I have just tried it and it is utter c**p. I tried a trial of Just Cause 2 which I already own and the resolution was very, very poor and the video kept breaking up on my 22" HD monitor making it totally unplayable and I dread to think what it would be like on my new 46" Samsung 3D Smart TV.
I have a download speed of 6-7Mbps over twice what their claimed figure is required for their service. I think launching in the UK with our current dire speeds except for the lucky few on fibre or cable, is a big mistake, as is all "Cloud Computing".
I have just emailed them to cancel my account and to delete all details given.

Colin

Technical Ben · Sep 23, 2011, 09:49:26

Yep. Apparently their servers run the games really well. While I hate input lag, others don't notice it. But the quality and bandwidth use of the video completely negates any savings. The cost of bandwidth alone would pay for the PC required to play and purchase the games anyhow.

esh · Sep 24, 2011, 14:48:47

"Service Unavailable

The service is temporarily unavailable. Please try again later."

Ooops... that's a problem then.

They were handing out OnLive free "microconsoles" at eurogamer in London yesterday to an absolutely enormous queue. I have no idea whether it'll work, but they are really bringing out all the incentives to try and get people onboard.

Athena · Sep 25, 2011, 01:09:07

The video quality changes based on bandwidth available, and the infrastructure in the UK is a long way behind what's required to really support onlive properly, add to that that most ISP's have moderately incompatible download caps aaaaaand...

Yeah.

Not gonna happen.

esh · Sep 25, 2011, 10:11:05

I know my 40GB cap on the best home package on this line will be strained a bit unless I only play games after midnight where the 180GB cap comes into effect. A fair chunk of my monthly 40G is just general downloading. I would be extremely cautious of the bandwidth to be sure. I guess maybe I could play an hour a day or something.

Some quick math shows that's about right actually. Since they recommend 3Mbit, one hour comes out at 1.3GB. At 30 days a month that's 39.55GB. So, yeah. Pretty hard.

Glenn · Sep 25, 2011, 11:32:33

I host an online racing session twice a week, each race uses approx 1Gb/hour on upload bandwidth.

esh · Sep 25, 2011, 15:21:45

Quote from: Glenn on Sep 25, 2011, 11:32:33
I host an online racing session twice a week, each race uses approx 1Gb/hour on upload bandwidth.

Wow I hope that really is indeed gigabit not gigabyte

That would be 36.4 KB/s upband which I guess is about right for a multiplayer game. So OnLive is about 10x that on the downband.

Technical Ben · Sep 25, 2011, 20:51:42

Quote from: esh on Sep 24, 2011, 14:48:47
"Service Unavailable

The service is temporarily unavailable. Please try again later."

Ooops... that's a problem then.

They were handing out OnLive free "microconsoles" at eurogamer in London yesterday to an absolutely enormous queue. I have no idea whether it'll work, but they are really bringing out all the incentives to try and get people onboard.

Always be weary of people offering things out for free. Unless it's an actual health scheme, a good deed to neighbours or a charity work. If it's a for profit company, then nothing they give out is "free" and probably comes with a massive small print and fees!