OnLive: It Works On Your iPhone Too
Today OnLive CEO Steve Pearlman dropped a great nugget of info about the OnLive service we’ve heard so much about over the years. It works on mobile devices. Fire up your iPhone and watch your buddy fragging away while you are in the office, err…I mean while you are on your lunch break. He basically, goes on to state that while this technical demonstration works on the iPhone, the real value is in the social aspects. I really doubt we’ll see anyone playing Modern Warfare 2 on an iPhone via the OnLive service with any success, but being able to use the service to watch games and participate in the other things it has to offer is pretty cool.
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Today, I FINALLY get to answer a question that so many people have been asking about: Yes, OnLive works on cell phones, too.
Today, at a Wedbush financial conference in New York I showed OnLive running simultaneously on 2 iPhones, a TV, and a computer. What is really cool is that all 4 devices had access to the full OnLive Game Service, so they could play the same games, spectate on each other’s (and Beta users’) game play, watch Brag Clips, check out Gamer Profiles, etc.
While we only showed a tech demo today, it was great to give people in the audience a chance to try out OnLive on an iPhone. The large tiles that make up the OnLive user interface work perfectly on the iPhone touch screen, allowing easy access to all of the features of the OnLive game service.
That said, it’s important to understand that a cell phone is a very different beast than TV, PC or Mac. And while we’re thrilled about eventually bringing many new games to cell phone platforms, currently, games on OnLive are tuned for TVs and computers. So initially, it’s the Community and Social elements of OnLive that we’re most excited about on mobile devices. It’s amazingly cool whipping out your phone, checking out what your OnLive friends are up to, and then spectating their live game play: Unscripted live user-generated content, available anywhere.
I’m afraid we are not announcing a date for availability of OnLive on particular cell phones just yet. We have further development to do, and we need approvals from some cell phone makers before we can release OnLive to the public. So, for now, OnLive on a cell phone is only a technology demo. But, for those of you who have been asking about OnLive on cell phones, the answer is yes, it is coming. And, it is REALLY cool.
- br3ntbr0
I don’t understand why they are doing OnLive. Who is funding this witchcraft? (I used witchcraft in an old man voice. I really don’t think it is some hocus pocus. I just think it is very futuristic and I don’t understand it)
This reminds me of Natal. What’s the point of that and when do they think these new technologies will be out. I can see people playing WoW screaming at their monitor to move… Wait they already do that.
OnLive seems cool, but is there going to he a hefty service fee. OnLive service fee $$ internet connection $$ and monthly MMO fee $$. We just added more $$ than we have now with the same gaming experiance as before. I could be wrong. I haven’t researched it enough and my ignorant comment shows.
I’m not coined an ITG! Troll lol
Often missed in these discussions is that the iPhone and most mobile processors can not process the video stream required to make this functional. Tech demo only and I doubt a reality anytime soon.
I’m really worried about the whole bandwidth side of things. I mean, essentially you’re transmitting the data twice right? One to the onLive service and then from their service to the gamer servers? And then all of the way back again? Hmm.
Depends on the game. Some games will not require outside servers and will be completely hosted via OnLive. Some games, of course, will require going through a 3rd party server somewhere and thats double dipping. However, for most MMOs, they are usually parked right the backbone of the Internet in a data center and bandwidth is rarely an issue for them. Its usually the last mile to your house thats the problem. So, between On Live’s servers and the game’s servers, it will be nothing compared to your latency at your house.