Well, it seems that the talk so far at GDC this year is Playcast Media System's service called OnLive. To many analysts, this service is said to be the future of gaming and the end to consoles that we know today. Even Michael Pachter is getting into the argument saying that current gen systems will be the last consoles that we ever see. Now this has me worried, because if OnLive does what its supposed to do then we very well could be on the verge of consoles being a thing of the past.
If you don't know already, OnLive is supposed to be a service dedicated to bringing you live streams of games that you can play on any computer meeting basic requirements, provided you have a decent internet connection. You can also drop the PC altogether and buy a hub that connects directly into your TV and play straight from that if you wanted. Now, there are services out there that already do this type of thing but Playcast just seems to be taking it to the next level.
Sure this all sounds great but there is a pretty big downfall that Playcast is going to have to hurdle through to become king of gaming. OnLive requires an internet connection to be at all functional and according to Sony and Microsoft, a majority of gamers that own systems, are not even online. I can't remember the exact numbers but I know its a pretty big margin. I know more and more users are getting online everyday but could something like OnLive survive today? Another thing is, could consoles and OnLive both coincide together or is this actually the last gen we see consoles? Or could OnLive just be a gimmick and actually never take foot in the gaming forefront? To tell you the truth, I love my consoles and the idea of having to be online all the time just doesn't sit well with me. Well GDC is still going on this week and we can only find out more from Playcast. I'm curious to see what else they bring to the table.
For more information about OnLive, here's the link to the official site. http://www.onlive.com/
Travis (MWG)
This is horrible in my opinion. I had about an hour long conversation with my friend about this and we are in agreement...this is nooooo good. The ramifications of doing this (if they ever do) will be extremely devastating. god this gets me fumed.
ReplyDeleteThere is no way in hell I'm going to continue gaming if I can't buy games on a disc. I'm a gamer first...and a collector second. I buy games to enjoy beating them and then adding them to my vast collection. One reason why I'm reluctant to buy games off the PSN is due to the fact that they're on my HDD and not in my hand. Idk, maybe I'm just a weirdo or something, lol.
ReplyDeleteWell, it's good to know that I'm not the only one. Owning a physical copy of a game is something that I also like and if we have to rely on an internet service to be available to play our games, then gaming just isn't going to be the same. Like I said, I love my consoles. There is nothing better than an E3 fill next-gen console rumblings. Now if OnLive and consoles both have a place to coincide with one another, then that's great, but I cannot see this replacing consoles.
ReplyDeleteTravis(MWG)
Right now I can only see this device filling in a very niche market where someone wants to get into PC gaming but doesn't want to spend thousands of dollars on a PC to handle all of it. But, I'm just as scared as the rest of you in thinking that this might eventually hit the mainstream.
ReplyDeleteI'm one for buying games physically and proudly displaying the boxes, artwork, and guides around my home. It worries me to think that it'll eventually all go digital and buying a game will be reduced to entering a number from my credit card, waiting a few minutes, and having the game downloaded to some device, which might eventually fail on me.
It could also hurt the used game market significantly. If we start buying all of our games on some service like this, where I just turn on some box, log in and can play anything I've purchased, what does that do for used games? How will GameStop, let alone smaller local places, stay in business?
-Phil, Inside The Console
Steam didn't end gaming, neither will this.
ReplyDeleteGood point Hans. The more I think of this, I think OnLive is going to be vaporware and it probably never work. Thats not saying the concept won't. I just think its going to take a different company to fulfill what they are trying to do.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure there will always be retail. Just like CDs, they will always be around. Online is just a great alternative and super convenient. Still though..... not having a physical copy of something you paid roughly $60 for would be hard to get used to.
Travis(MWG)