Top news networks such as CNN and The New York Times, among others, have already pointed out the many benefits OnLive has in the world of video games. Steve Perlman and his fantastic creation has been able to shift the world of video games from a hardware standpoint to a software-based system- proving many useful benefits.
If you don’t have a high speed Internet connection, you won’t be able to use OnLive. The service requires a connection of 1.5 Mbps, and even higher for high definition applications. This is due to the nature of the service, which relies heavily upon streaming content from a remote server as compared to having the data already stored on a DVD, CD, or even a hard drive. This counts many people in rural areas out.
The neat idea behind OnLive is that hardware isn’t needed. Aside from a small device that is necessary for television play, the service doesn’t require any expensive hardware such as that of Microsoft Xbox or Sony PlayStation consoles. This is good news to consumers, who don’t like shelling out big dollars just to be able to play games they will have to buy separately.
OnLive has already signed on developers such as EA Games, Atari, Ubisoft, and others. It is continuing to convince developers to modify games to be able to play on the OnLive network. OnLive has also released a game developer’s SDK that can allow anyone with the proper tools to make video games for their system. This could allow young developers to share their ideas without going through troubles of finding a publisher.
Since the OnLive program doesn’t use hardware, aside from a small box if you decide to use the television option, speculators are wondering what the response will be from Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo. It would seem that hardware-based consoles are slowly coming to an end as software-based entities will now be taking the lead. Some services such as GameStop or Netflix may also see harder times as a result of OnLive.
Those who have a Mac will be glad to know that OnLive is able to work on a Mac. This is great news for Apple users, who previously didn’t have many video game options to choose from as compared to Windows users. The same holds true for Linux users, who currently do not have support from the OnLive team, and no immediate plans are in action to do so.
In Conclusion
The video game industry has changed much since the early 1980’s, and will continue to do so in the next decade. As services such as OnLive come out and change established norms, we can only wonder what will come next. It seems like it will be a waiting game from here on out.
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