OnLive: It Just Works

Intro
The concept for OnLive is pretty cool: you install a small client program or use their set-top box with your TV, and as soon as you click the Buy button (or Free Trial button), you're playing the game, in flippin' sweet graphical goodness. No installs, play on any computer, easy peasy. The whole concept is that the games are running on their servers, so you're simply sending keystrokes/mousing to the server, and watching a video stream of the action in real-time. If you're computer can handle YouTube, it should be able to handle any game on OnLive. So, does it work as advertised?


OnWard to Victory!
I decided to try the 30-min. trial for Unreal Tournament III, a game that I already own. That way, I could compare the two experiences. Just like the company claims, as soon as I clicked the button to start the trial, I was looking at the title screen. I played a round of Warfare and one of CTF, against bots. I was a little curious how well a twitchy shooter like UTIII would work via streaming, especially since I use wi-fi (something OnLive doesn't recommend). If this works, the only thing more demanding regarding accuracy would probably be Homefront, since Counter-Strike isn't offered for some reason. ;)  Amazingly, it worked. Really well. There was a tiny bit of lag, but on par for me with playing online. Never did I wish I was playing my installed version instead, and that's the big thing for me; if you can forget that the game you're playing isn't installed on your computer, mission accomplished for OnLive.

If you don't want to be restricted to playing on a computer, purchasing some AAA-titles will score you an OnLive 'mini-console' for free. It's a little box that you plug into a wired internet connection, your TV via HDMI, and a USB keyboard and mouse if you don't feel like using the included wireless controller. When the price for the device is $100, spending $45 on Warhammer 40k: Space Marine (pre-order) and the mini-console and the game Darksiders doesn't seem that bad of a deal.

A nice bonus to having someone else handling your game's hardware is that the game will look as pretty as they can make it look. Although it's rather early to see this in action, one conceptual advantage to OnLive is that they can upgrade their servers to whatever's cutting edge, freeing you from the expensive cycle of hardware upgrades. Also, they offer a $9.99/month PlayPack subscription that gives you access to 50-something games at a time. Provided that the selection changes regularly, it would be like NetFlix for computer games. Some games also offer rentals for a few days at a time, something that you can't exactly do through Steam or store-bought PC games. Not all of the games offer this, but that may be the game publisher's decision.


OnDead
Maybe I've gotten too used to the Steam school of storefront aesthetics, but the vertical-scrolling list of available games seemed rather quaint. When your library of games is small, however, it works. As an unproven concept, OnLive is in a catch-22 where publishers don't want to invest in an unpopular system, but it won't become popular without compelling games/prices. The list of upcoming AAA titles like Duke Nukem Forever and the new Deus Ex are encouraging, but this definitely isn't Steam yet. One oddity when I was playing UTIII was that it was in widescreen format, with the video options being customized so I couldn't change it. I suppose that shows how determined OnLive is about promoting their service as an alternative to gaming consoles (vs. PC gamers). Just like Steam, if the company ever disappears so do your games. And with no local files at all, your OnLive games are VERY gone. For some reason I felt inspired to actually look over the TOS agreement when I updated the client, and something stood out to me: apparently OnLive can delete your account if you don't log in and actually use the service for a year. I'd be curious to see if the TOS for Steam has anything like this. I still reinstall old games on occasion (American McGee's Alice right now), and I'd hate to think that a chunk of my gaming library would just vanish if OnLive doesn't offer any new games that I'm interested in for a year or more.

This isn't a ding against OnLive, but I'm wondering if they're slightly ahead of their time given the current state of American internet access. When the ISPs have things like undisclosed bandwidth caps & traffic shaping to combat what they consider "excessive usage" of their advertised unlimited plans, it makes me nervous to pay full price for, and then play for hours on end, a game that could cause service charges or get my internet cut off for the rest of the billing cycle. (But considering how much NetFlix some of my friends watch on their Xbox 360, maybe I'm just paranoid. :> )


Conclusions
I really hope OnLive survives to reach the critical mass that Steam saw, with tons of new games big & small added all the time, and crazy-cheap sales. Right now I can't see myself paying $50-60 for a game when the company doesn't have a very long track record for their completely new concept yet, but if three things happen I could definitely see myself splitting my online purchases between OnLive and Steam:

1. OnLive emerges as a stable company that will still be around in a few years.
2. They offer impulse-buy sales for games. Under $10 is my sweet spot.
3. American ISPs legitimately upgrade their infrastructure, enabling truly unlimited, fast connections.

Also, if more games offer the rental option, I could definitely see myself trying them out on long weekends. I'd highly recommend downloading the client and playing a trial or two to test the OnLive service before plunking down any cash, but it's definitely something to keep an eye on.