Not sure how feasible this is right now to implement since you'r e going to need lots of hardware( as much as google has?) and have to turn to 1 Gb fiber optics for the last mile to the end user but this could signal a sea change in gaming if enough of the industry follows up.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8556874.stm

as far as Fallout MMO is concerned this may be the way to go if one does not have the resources necessary.

In about 10 years, this may be the future of gaming as we know it. No console, no expensive PC Hardware beyond the basics.

Just a super fast connection to a central hub as long as latency issues are taken care of.

Thoughts?

More links:

http://games.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=10/03/10/2239224

http://kotaku.com/5490382/onlive-starts-streaming-games-on-demand-this-june-for-15-a-month

I'm not sure that their pricing model makes economic sense, but we'll have to wait for details.

More advantages would be:

* 1st MMO to sign up with ONLIVE!
* LOTS of publicity being associated with ONLIVE!
* Being one of only 20+ games on offer...(as of now)... V13's name on the list makes it very visible.
* Post VIDEO Blogs and DEV-Blogs while as it develops.
* Gather a supportive following while development happens.
* More prominence than Bethesda!
Wastelander since C=64!

Awaiting Alpha/Beta testing!

OnLive can give gamesas games more exposure and help legitimize its recovery attempt.

This is also a way to go around PC/Console game piracy without having your own expensive infrastructure.

It all depends on how much a cut they can get but I'm sure that it won't hurt to get in contact with them.

First you have to know how many beta testers are going to want to play PV13 and sample the market in order to determine whether or not your own enterprise server/storage infrastructure is going to be needed or whether it needs to be outsourced to an active data center or a hybrid your equipment/their datacenter infrastructure. Also you have to have disaster redundancy at other locations plus there's the whole overseas fan base issue and latency that can be eliminated( mainly Europe for starters).

Ultimately, if you're looking for 50 million a year revenue based on exposure from Fallout 3 and existing F1/2 fan base, you will need your own infrastructure.

Is gamesas prepared to use its own infrastructure or will they farm out the infrastructure or will it try the hybrid route?

Also you have to be able to use new advertising realms that have not previously existed before gamesas's collapse between 2000-2005

Many forms of viral advertising hubs did not exist that do today and should be wisely exploited to generate additional interest. Youtube was not around, nor was myspace and facebook( They are all free except for the time that is spent on them)

This is important since It has to do with the " if a tree fell in a forest, can anybody hear it anology."

Not saying everything should be marketing oriented like some not to be mentioned developers but there has to be some marketing otherwise the road is going to be tougher than it should be for all the hard work involved.

gamesas needs to start evangelizing its MMO successfully using many forms of available media and needs to implement new features that are not present in other games.

What is needed is genuine interpersonal communication which would also have helped had there been some back in 2008 concerning the lawsuit but that's another issue.

There is a simple idea that would add to the immersion that needs to be implemented that was not in Fallout 3.

There's also a cross marketing/in game theme that can be easily implemented.

I'd rather not discuss them on an open forum in so that they do not get stolen by competitors.

EDIT: Wastelander and myself seem to be on the same wavelength here with his post of what I was typing out before I saw his post.

EDIT 2: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7960498.stm
Looks like the BBC PC gaming articles keep coming

All above stated.... while it is a good publicity strategy... you might wish to take an insider peek here:

http://www.pcper.com/article.php?aid=859

The image quality DOES get affected!

HOWEVER.... if gamesas/V13 does NOT exclusively *bind* itself to ONLIVE... then its a win/win scenario: Those who wish to play on ONLIVE can... and those who wish to sub can. And that is what I'd recommend.

PS. I'd also recommend a F2P option with some restrictions. If you've followed bleeding-DDO's return from the brink of death to becoming the BEST MMO of 2009.... then you will understand what I'm saying.

PPS. I'll be happy to discuss DDO f2p model and its implementation for V13 if needed.
Wastelander since C=64!

Awaiting Alpha/Beta testing!

First of all; there obviously has to be some kind of End User Hardware; either MAC or Windows compliant computer. A crappy computer is a crappy computer; how the video card operates will always be an issue unless the game is streamed in a video format (which does not seem likely at this point).

Secondly; the OnLive system operates through a browser plugin.... a browser plugin? Don't get me wrong I love the internet, and I obviously use a browser to enjoy the majority of it, but one thing I've noticed is that browser Plug-ins can be pretty tempremental, and different plug-ins often cause a conflict. Plug-ins just don't offer the stability of a solid stand-alone.

Lastly; this concept isn't exactly new. In the mid 1990's Sega had a service which could stream video games to the console (no multiplayer though). The game library was pretty small, and people could easily breeze through all the games in a single month, and then cancel thier subscription. There was also a service called "Total Entertainment Network" which you paid a subscription for and could download and play premium games against other subscribers. It wasn't streaming, and it failed as a business model.

That being said; I hope I'm wrong. I hope that OnLive is the awesomest, uber'est, most coolest thing ever. But, I'm a big ol' skeptic.

That's exactly what ONLIVE is: It is bypasses any need for good hardware and latest consoles. It merely streams the video feeds from their servers to your "screen" (which is why it can run on your TV as well!).

ONLIVE is brainchild of Steve Perlman - the creator of Quicktime - so he is not a novice to this industry - took him 7 covert years to develop ONLIVE compression (1ms decompression ratio) - and if 20 huge game corps including sony and eidos and EA are "funding" the infrastructure (ONLIVE has no shares on the market - purely minor funded partnerships) - then there must be something to it that impresses the suits.

See the link on my above post to get an insider peek from a Beta tester account.

See this link for ONLIVE presentation: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGdecNDDr9g

And guess what - the tech is so robust that it even streams 100% on a iPhone and is playable from there as well!

Skeptical or not - this can effectively mark a new era of computing: No need for top of the line hardware to run latest games/mmos - no need for console investments - live video retailers & ebay shops - live video conferencing/messaging - live broadcasts - live film releases/dvd/video rentals/libraries - global phone services, etc etc. Applications are endless and they are keeping a low profile to not p*ss off a lot of the industry.

The only issue I have is the pricing: $14.95/month for ONLIVE service alone + any rentals/other games you purchase.

PS. gamesas Devs - if you take my advice and go via ONLIVE route - you owe me a free-for-life V13 account + free lifetime ONLIVE account.
Wastelander since C=64!

Awaiting Alpha/Beta testing!

Thanks Wastelander, the link you sent really answered alot of questions I had about the service.

I didn't see pricing for renting/buying games through the service, but it had better be hella cheap, since If I buy a game I would not be able to play it offline or if I discontinued service.... It's just renting a console off-site.

ONLIVE sounds like another run at thin client (like) technology.

Here lies the problem for me and tens of thousands of other gamers. This would absolutely kill single player and multiplayer games for me. Hardware malfunctions, internet traffic lags and corrupts, and companies default and go out of buisiness. All of this means that you can't neccessarily play the game you bought when you want to or it can also mean that you may not be able to play the game at all in the future. I do realize that we never own any game or software but we do buy the rights to use that software whenever and where we want with certain varying stipulations.

Central processing (Cloud Computing) however, does seem to be ideally suited to MMOGs and to games and applications meant for mobile and handheld devices. The millions upon millions of mobile devices alone make this concept a goldmine and this will ensure that this type of computing will only continue to grow and prosper into the future. Windows Vista Ultimate SP2 64bit
CaseThermaltake Armor+ VH6000BWS
PSU Corsair 1000HX
MB Asus P6T Deluxe
CPU Intel Core i7 965 3.2GHz
RAMCorsair Dominator 3x2GB DDR3 1866
SSD Intel X25-M 80gb G2 34nm
GPU EVGA GeForce GTX 295 1792mb

I cannot support onlive at this time, maybe in the future when I can be guaranteed that I will have an internet connection that will never slow down, or drop for any period of time whatsoever.

I also need a guarantee that the onlive servers will never shut down.

If it's a game I like, I would prefer to buy it than rent it. Honestly this seems to me to be exactly like the DRM that Ubisoft tried with some of the new games where they have to be connected to the internet just to play, and I want no part of it. *The first time I saw a Deathclaw...well, now that's a story for a different day.*

While it may be true that you cannot play when you're not "connected"... but then who these days does not have internet?

However on the plus side think about this: You travel a lot - and just plug in your laptop from anywhere in the world... and have access to ALL ONLIVE games wherever you may be!! No need to lug your consoles and games with you. (And, you dont need a gfx card on that laptop either!)
Wastelander since C=64!

Awaiting Alpha/Beta testing!

Old thread but I just want make this quite clear, HELL NO!



No steam accounts either. (Doesn't really apply to MMOs, but worth saying) Why do games studios have to fight and die? War, war never changes : (