OnLive modifies subscription plan to $9.99/m rate, removes game purchase req.

[Saga]

http://pixelatedgeek.com/2010/12/onlive-introduces-new-flat-rate-monthly-plan/

Yeah.. I've been skeptical about this since the beginning, and once it was released I still found no interest in it due to a monthly subscription AND the fact that I would have to buy the games in question - which made it nonsensical to me over a two at a time GameFly subscription.

Considering I have a real gaming computer, this still doesn't appeal to me, but now I think I would genuinely recommend it to others.

 

[Dankk]

Just a few things:

• This subscription plan only applies to a small group of games.
• It's only available IF you buy their $99 console for the beta.
• This is a sign that OnLive is in desperate need of cash, because they are going out of business soon (give it a year).
• OnLive is worthless to me anyway because of the latency/lag (and I have a 15mbit connection, so it has nothing to do with my internet speed).

I would most definitely *not* recommend OnLive to others.

 

[mindcycle]

With the new flat-rate plan, you can play any game that OnLive offers at anytime for as long as you want.

Then the next paragraph below that states..

“Top-tier titles are available as individual rentals and purchases, while everything else is available at a flat rate.

Talk about a misleading article.. What do they consider top-tier?

Edit:
haha, I just read the list of games available to play with the flat-rate program. You could probably pick just about all of them up retail for under $100 nowadays. If you have to purchase a $100 unit on top of a 9.95/mo subscription that's a horrible deal IMO.

 

[KeithP]

[*]It's only available IF you buy their $99 console for the beta.

Just so it is clear, the beta of this service is available free to the console buyers. When it goes live Jan 15th, anyone can sign up.

-KeithP

 

[mindcycle]

Just so it is clear, the beta of this service is available free to the console buyers. When it goes live Jan 15th, anyone can sign up.

-KeithP

Thanks for clarifying that Keith. However, it's still a confusing mess IMO.

 

[slag]

Then the next paragraph below that states..



Talk about a misleading article.. What do they consider top-tier?

Edit:
haha, I just read the list of games available to play with the flat-rate program. You could probably pick just about all of them up retail for under $100 nowadays. If you have to purchase a $100 unit on top of a 9.95/mo subscription that's a horrible deal IMO.

I think its not a bad deal at all. Its so small and ultra portable and works on slower broadband connections. I kind of like it.

 

[Nintendesert]

It's bound to fail with the move to higher performing fusion type CPUs and bandwidth restrictions growing.

 

[wirednuts]

the bandwith crap is just because the us economy took a severe blow. i bet they are already doing stuff like this in korea with great results. were going to need another 10 years before our internet infrastructure can readily support services like onlive. i said that 10 years ago, and we SHOULD be there now, but we just arent.

 

[Nintendesert]

In ten years however the fusion CPUs will be outperforming the 580 by huge margins. People won't pay a fee, the cost of a box and the bandwidth costs and the cost of the game to play at a lower quality than what their CPU will be able to produce without the need to purchase an expensive discrete graphics card.

This product is doomed to fail.

 

[Maximilian]

In ten years however the fusion CPUs will be outperforming the 580 by huge margins. People won't pay a fee, the cost of a box and the bandwidth costs and the cost of the game to play at a lower quality than what their CPU will be able to produce without the need to purchase an expensive discrete graphics card.

This product is doomed to fail.

Agreed.

 

[PingSpike]

I've already made my feelings of how pointless a technology this is known. It simply makes no sense to push massive amounts of streamed video that has to update interactively over often shoddy, expensive, limited (capped) consumer broadband connections when PC hardware has never been cheaper and all the games will run on a $200 console anyway. It doesn't matter how impressive the technology is, it doesn't actually solve a problem...it is one. Not only is it a bad idea, they really couldn't have introduced it at a worse time.

But at least if you only pay the $9.99/mo (and don't buy any 'premium' games) you'll only be out a relatively small amount of cash when the company goes belly up and liquidates their data centers. I have looked, but I wouldn't be surprised if the EULA says that even purchased premium games are technically rented and could be revoked at anytime. Perhaps some of the more upstanding publishers will make an effort to compensate their screwed customers later on but I doubt OnLive will.