Lord of the Web

With every passing year, as the games get more and more graphics intensive, we have to upgrade our PC hardware. The same is the case with the consoles. Only the time period for upgrades is different. From the PS1 to PS2 to PS3 we have seen them all and we might have to upgrade to a PS4 in a few years from now. Hardware upgrade has been taken for granted in today’s Gaming arena.

But that might soon change with OnLive, a startup that has the potential to make Microsoft, Sony and Wii to run for their money. OnLive is basically Games on demand where the games are streamed on to a PC, Mac or TV ( through a set-top box kind of device).

The visuals of the games are streamed, in high quality, to the user’s current hardware and the game input is obtained similarly and sent to the dedicated gaming servers of OnLive where the actual processing takes place. The game data is resident on these servers. The user just has to download a small plugin to make use of this service, or obtain the set-top box to connect to a TV. The specialized hardware comes with a wireless joystick like the ones on a console. If the user can satisfy the minimum requirements - a 1.5mbps boadband connetion for SD gaming or 5mbps for HD gaming - he/she can get started with gaming.

What this effectively does is to rule out hardware updates ( of course, at this stage, we have to consider this with a grain of salt). As games get better and better, we can enjoy them with the very same hardware we have been using. With the world of computers moving towards the cloud, it is but natural that high quality games go the same way too.

OnLive is really an interesting concept. If it works out as advertised, playing games like Crysis on your own PC will become a breeze. By collaborating with major publishers like EA, Take Two, Atari, Eidos, Codemasters, THQ, Ubisoft and Warner Bros, OnLive has ensured that it can offer quality games — 16 at the moment –to its customers. The service is in a closed beta and is expected to go live in a few months.