[DaveFromRaleigh]

Found this article very interesting -- it's about the launch of OnLive in June. It basically takes gaming into the cloud. You'll pay $15/month (that doesn't include game purchases or rentals) to play on any device when you log in.

They feature a heavy load of popular games, too. The kind of games you need a big rig to play. And they promise that you'll be able to play the games on ANY computer with a broadband connection.

I can't imagine they'll feature FSX, but if they did, would that mean playing on the tiny acer on typing on right now? Could cloud simming be far behind? Will our big 'ol gaming machines be obsolete in a year or two?

Here's the website --
http://www.onlive.com/index.html

[Stevo]

I know absolutely nothing about the technology Dave but I'd guess that system and video ram will still be key aspects of performance of any of these games. I can't see any other way of throwing the data up to your screen. Does the term 'cloud' just refer to an online hard drive type of setup?

[DaveFromRaleigh]

Stevo, on 11 March 2010 - 02:39 AM, said:

I know absolutely nothing about the technology Dave but I'd guess that system and video ram will still be key aspects of performance of any of these games. I can't see any other way of throwing the data up to your screen. Does the term 'cloud' just refer to an online hard drive type of setup?

That's what I thought, too, but they're selling it in a way where your broadband connection is your biggest challenge. Curious to hear other thoughts....

[Stevo]

hmmm... just had a look through the FAQ and can only assume it runs in something like a Flash window using your browser. Interesting. Perhaps we'll need to spend less money on our computers and more on our internet connections? I can see it now, a peltier-cooled cable pulsing with a cool, neon-blue glow.

[BionicCrab]

Nah.. all the magic is done in that "microadapter"... it probably just streams the full motion video that's it...oh and manages to charge 15/month. That's 180 dollars a year, which is the price of an Xbox 360. But you don't get any games with it.. I'm not quite sure which market this is suppose to aim for.. but I can imagine the lack of any real coverage shows that even the media doesn't take them seriously. It's not a matter of having a slow computer that's in question.. you can always buy a console to solve that problem.

[Thomas]

Pc's are so much better for gaming though, it is only the Games for the pc format we are limited to.... But! there are Ps1, PS2 and Xbox emulators for the pc so you can play some console only games on pc.

Crash Bandicoot 2 FTW

[DaveFromRaleigh]

I think the appeal is portability. Everything is aimed at portability now. Imagine being able to log in and play the full version of any game, anywhere on any computer. I don't have a horse in this race, but I bet this finds a hungry audience.

And...could this be the direction Cascade is heading? By the way, what have those kids been up to lately?

[Emil Almestad]

Been following this for the last year, beginning to feel more and more like vapor-ware

[DaveFromRaleigh]

Emil Almestad, on 12 March 2010 - 11:42 AM, said:

Been following this for the last year, beginning to feel more and more like vapor-ware

You're not the only one... there are a few dubious folks that wonder if there's a market big enough to support it. Read here. Either way, I do think in some form or another, like movie rentals, this will be the future of gaming.