Sony Questions OnLive Cost, Bandwidth Demands
OnLive plans to offer a subscription-based PC gaming service to consumers using cloud-based rendering technology, eliminating the need for expensive PC components to run the titles. The service, launching this winter, will stream games in real-time over a standard internet connection, to either a computer or television display.
Though OnLive claims the monthly subscription will be low, the company has yet to announce a price for the server-based service, which has Seybold wondering whether the cost will be prohibitive.
"What will be the final cost to the consumer when you start adding up what [OnLive is] selling?" asked Seybold in an interview with Edge.
Seybold also questioned whether consumers could afford the household bandwidth required for OnLive. The system will need a 1.5mbps internet connection for standard definition streaming, with a 5.0mbps speed required for high definition.
Said Seybold: "What will be sacrificed when you [put OnLive] into a real world environment where multiple devices are plugged into one broadband connection?"
Edge notes that Sony recently filed a trademark for the term "PS Cloud," indicating that the PlayStation manufacturer might be looking into similar cloud-based technology.
For more on OnLive, check out our hands-on impressions from GDC.
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Vincent Grayson
replyThis whole thing still seems weird to me. I mean, I assume the creators want it to become a huge hit, but what developers are going to be okay with the *huge* loss of sales that such a thing would create? (Unless, of course, they've got some crazy licensing agreement that will balance things out)
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Ah, I must've missed that. I was thinking this was more akin to GameTap.
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That's what I've read too. You have to pay for the "console", then paying a monthly subscription fee and then you can rent or buy games. No word on any pricing for any of it that I've come across.
I have a really hard time seeing this thing fly. Two of the key things are I'm skeptical that the Tubes can handle this at this point in time particularly for shooter/twitch games, and unless costs are really low for this thing it's probably cheaper to just buy a console/computer.-
I think one of their (OnLive) main arguments is that you won't ever have to upgrade your hardware to play the latest games. So it might not be cheaper than a console, but it would save you money in the long run as you would never need to upgrade.
I really think the 'console thingy' they sell to plug into TVs will be very cheap however. I think this because there won't need to be much hardware inside it. Certainly a lot less and a lot less complicated than any current console. And will therefore not cost much to produce. Was thinking that they could use the new NVidia Ion. Put it in a box, and there you go (almost).-
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That was my point, unless it's ridiculously inexpensive it won't be cheaper. We obviously have to wait until we see their pricing structure but even at $10/month I can' t see it being worth it, particularly when a console has a life span of 3-4 years, if not longer. And at the end of that life span you'll actually own a physical console and it's games, something that can't be said for OnLive. You can also sell the console/games too, recouping some of the costs. This plus all the other reasons that are getting mentioned on this story are why I don't think it'll fly.
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No one knows what they have in works with their subscription fees. But this is what I am expecting from this company.
-- They will probably have a tiered subscription fee. Tier 1 just gives you access to the system, Tier 2 is one plus free single game rental (1 game out at a time), and Tier 3 will allow you to have multiple games out at a time (like 2 or 3 games).
-- I read somewhere that the console will cost under 100 bucks. I think the console will cost 50 bucks with a 1 year subscription and probably free with a 2 year subscription.
-- The company said that their goal was to make games cheaper, so when you buy games on the system they may be 20 - 30 for a new game. What I would like to see is if I buy a new game from a BM, is that I can use the license key to access that game on the OnLive system.-
There's been no indication that they'll going with a tiered system like you're proposing. Everything I've read to date indicates a flat subscription fee plus the costs to buy or rent games.
There goal is to make money, not make games cheaper :) Theoritically game should be cheaper on such a system but I have my doubts that we'd see it. Just look at Steam, most new games are the same if not more expensive than buying them retail.
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