Netflix's CEO Reed Hastings in the call discussing his company's fall 2011 results reaffirmed suspicions that the company was no longer working on video game rentals. The decision to cancel the Qwikster spinoff had also ended plans to rent games at the same time. The still-united company would be focused solely on its movie and TV businesses.
We had the opportunity to explore Razer's whole CES 2012 lineup this week. The company kicked off the year by shipping the Blade and revealing thhe Naga Hex mouse, but its true surprise was exploring tablets with Project Fiona. We'll see how all three have fared after the break.
Microsoft and Google made both official and unofficial plans for their TV strategies on Wednesday. A leak uncovered by Reuters had Microsoft freezing its long-rumored plans for live subscription Xbox TV. The company had decided that the rates TV channels were asking for the Internet-only service were "too expensive" for the plan it wanted to offer, industry insiders said.
OnLive on Thursday night brought its live play Android app (free, Android Market) to Sony Ericsson's Xperia Play. The already gaming-oriented phone can stream games and get full access to the physical gamepad, making it a much better fit for console and general action games. Gamers can now skip playing the touch-optimized adaptations if they prefer the hardware feel.
Acting on promises from E3, OnLive late Wednesday launched its mobile gameplay apps. The iPad, iPhone, and Android apps are gradually rolling out and should let gamers play, not just watch, titles either using the touchscreen or with the Universal Wireless Controller. It normally needs Wi-Fi, but the shipping version now works with any LTE-equipped tablet, including the HTC Jetstream, Motorola Xoom, and Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 LTE.
HTC's most ambitious Android phone ever may have been unveiled in a sighting that matched both a press shot and details. Just called the Edge, the device would be the first phone with the upcoming Tegra 3, PocketNow heard. The AP30 chip would clock in at 1.5GHz on its four cores and possibly double the speed of a phone like the Rezound.
HTC chief executive Peter Chou believes the Taiwanese company needs to develop more content deals in order to become the best-known smartphone brand. Speaking with the FT [free reg. required], Chou said users need a "holistic experience of hardware, software and content" in order to be successful. HTC already made deals with Saffron for streaming video, OnLive for gaming and a 10 percent stake in KKBox, a Taiwanese online music service.
OnLive has announced that its cloud-based gaming service is now available to customers in the UK. The initial launch, which will be formally introduced later today at the 2011 Eurogamer Expo, will enable users to access approximately 150 games via broadband connections and a television, PC or Mac computer, and iPads or Android-based tablets.
GameStop on Friday sought to quickly contain the bad publicity surrounding its decision to pull OnLive coupons for free games from Deus Ex: Human Revolution. Those who bought copies of the game before it was temporarily pulled from shelves will get both a $50 gift card for the store as well as a two-for-one deal on used games they might buy. It's stil unknown if or when the action RPG will return to shelves.
GameStop has responded to the backlash after it was found to open PC copies of Deus Ex: Human Revolution and removing coupons for the game on the OnLive games streaming system by pulling all copies of the game from store shelves. A copy of the e-mail sent to franchise stores was sent to Wired urges stores to pull the regular PC copy of the game for a later return and refund to maker Square Enix. Surpisingly, Square Enix supports GameStop's decision.
GameStop drew widespread criticism from gamers Wednesday after it confirmed that it had been altering copies of Deus Ex: Human Revolution to silence competition. Store field operations manager Josh Ivanoff sent a memo asking staff to "immediately" open boxes and pull the OnLive coupons for a streaming version of the action RPG from all standard copies. While the note only said that GameStop didn't want the coupon to "go to any customers," GameStop spokeswoman Beth Sharum tried to portray it to Ars Technica as an act of subversion by Square Enix.
Acting on promises, OnLive founder Steve Perlman on Thursday published a white paper (below) outlining a technology that could theoretically clear up cellular and other Wi-Fi networks. Distributed Input, Distributed Output (DIDO) skips computing the direct signal waveforms of most technology and instead has a datacenter handle the task. Because the datacenter can produce different waveforms, each device gets its own distinct waveform and doesn't face interference, even if a more powerful other signal is in the area.
At a recent speech at the Columbia University in New York, OnLive CEO Steve Perlman spoke about one of his companies, Rearden, finding a way to go beyond Shannon's Law in wireless technology. Shannon's Law sets the limits for wireless data capacity but Rearden's invention is said to beat what Shannon's Law says is possible by a factor of ten. As for current wireless networks, the new radios are said to be able to send 100 times the data using the same spectrum.
HTC Flyer owners are reporting getting the promised OnLive Viewer app as an official update. The app seen by early XDA adopters gives those with the Android tablet the option iPad users have already had to spectate games and view gamers' 10-second Brag Clips. Actual gameplay will have to wait until the OnLive Player app in the summer.
Among the numerous things OnLive unveiled at E3 was a demo of an OnLive Player app for the iPad and the HTC Flyer. We gave it a turn at E3 and came back with a strong promise, although there were some bumps along the way. Read ahead for our early impressions.
We had the opportunity at E3 to try OnLive's new Universal Wireless Controller well before it ships. The gamepad, although it's meant for anything ranging from an iPad through to a Mac or PC, feels very much like an Xbox 360 controller in the hand -- that's a good thing, as it's very comfortable. Buttons and sticks all fall easily within reach, and we liked the media controls for Brag Clips (replay videos) as a way of keeping it keyboard-free.
OnLive swung into action ahead of E3 on Thursday with the unveiling of a gamepad that should work on nearly every platform. Its Universal Wireless Controller can directly control the streaming game service from not just Macs or Windows PCs but also the MicroConsole, Android tablets like the HTC Flyer, the iPad, and some Vizio TVs. Bluetooth is available for those devices that can use it but is braced by a USB adapter that can plug directly into devices that normally want a wired link.
GameStop during its Investor's Day event on Friday outlined major plans to get into remote gaming and the tablet field. Its purchase of Spawn Labs, which provided remote console streaming for developers, will let it offer an OnLive-like streaming service to play many games, including console titles, on a tablet, a notebook, or other devices with large screens. The Dallas Morning News was told that GameStop would still try to protect its retail business by limiting the streaming to buyers who register their games with the Power Up Rewards program and may take on an additional subscription fee.
AT&T after a leak on Sunday confirmed that it will join other Internet providers in capping its service. Beginning on May 2, regular DSL subscribers will have up to 150GB per month, while those on its U-verse VDSL connections will have the same 250GB as a Comcast user. BBR was told overage fees of $10 for each extra 50GB of data will be in effect, but will only kick in for those who run over the cap three times, albeit over the duration of the account and not per year.
OnLive hoped to kickstart adoption of its MicroConsole this weekend with a special promo tied into the launch of the resistance shooter Homefront. Those who pre-order the game through OnLive's streaming service get the MicroConsole for free and can play the game from most any HDTV without having to have a computer. The deal saves the $99 price and still gives access through Macs and Windows PCs, although it doesn't include shipping or taxes.
HTC this morning kicked off the launch of a slew of new hardware headlined by its first tablet in years. The Flyer revolves around an uncharacteristically fast 1.5GHz processor and a seven-inch, 1024x600 display. It's also the first known device to be shipping with Android 2.4, a new but relatively mild upgrade to Gingerbread (2.3); Google didn't give it enough time with Android 3.0, HTC said.
HTC on Tuesday said it planned to buy a stake in OnLive's gaming service. The Android phone pioneer expects to get 5.33 million shares at the equivalent of $40 million. It didn't say how soon this would take place or what its ultimate aims would be other than streaming games and media.
OnLive has now launched its PlayPack subscription service introduced in December. For $10 a month, users can play for an unlimited time, picking from 38 titles. They are different from the stand-alone game offerings, which tend to be newer and more popular titles.
A patent filed by OnLive, the company behind approved at the US Patent Office. Called 'Apparatus and method for wireless video gaming,' or Patent 7,849,491, it describes a remote server for processing the game with a MicroConsole at the user's home to interface with the TV and controllers. Filed back in December of 2002, the patent reveals that the game card used in the system has a data rate of at least 200Mbps.
OnLive at the D: Dive Into Mobile show today expanded its scope beyond just gaming with plans to stream regular apps and websites to other devices. The company targeted it at mobile users and showed apps and features running through the OnLive Viewer iPad client (free, App Store) that wouldn't have been possible otherwise. Users could run an instance of Internet Explorer with Flash on Apple's tablet, or even a high-end professional rendering app like Autodesk's Maya, chief executive Steve Perlman proved on stage.
Cloud game service OnLive and TV maker Vizio are discussing separate deals for subscription movie services of their own, sources both official and unofficial said Sunday night. OnLive is publicly committed to expanding to movies through both subscriptions and other business models, but Vizio is unofficially believed to be in early talks for content. The details weren't known to the Wall Street Journal contacts.
OnLive today tried a new business model for its streaming gaming service for those wanting an alternative to per-title access. The PlayPack gives users access to at least 40 older but high-profile games, such as the recent Prince of Persia remake and LEGO Batman, for $10 per month. Game saves still work and will be kept for up to a year after a gamer stops subscribing, letting them resume if they either start another subscription or buy access outright.
OnLive has launched its MicroConsole first seen in beta form earlier this year. The MicroConsole TV adapter connects to both your wired broadband connection and your TV allowing games to be ‘delivered’ instantly over the internet. The selling point of this console is that it theoretically never needs to be upgraded as the games are run server side, and not locally.
OnLive this weekend switched on a Wi-Fi play beta. The Mac and Windows service had previously needed a wired link to stream games without hiccups but is now optimized to address the possible temporary interruptions and other connection issues with wireless. Using the wireless induces some extra lag but otherwise works the same as for wired.
Game streaming platform Gaikai has just announced two new partners in Intel and Limelight Networks. While details weren't released, Gaikai will use Intel's six-core CPUs and solid-state drives to handle the games. The devices will then be installed within Limelight Networks' infrastructure.
A new job posting for Amazon has hinted that the company is working on a secret gaming strategy. The position for a Senior Product Manager in Video Games asks for someone to work on a "stealth project" for a "completely new type of technology." While the post doesn't explain more, the recruit would have most of the control over the project.
At E3 on Tuesday, OnLive announced that its streaming online gaming service will launch on June 17. The first year of access will be free thanks to a partnership with AT&T, with a monthly fee of $5 applicable after that. It will allow access to 23 games at launch.
OnLive at the D8 conference demoed its streaming game service running on the iPad. The remote play interface works "great" on an iPad and was shown running the action RPG Borderlands where many of the PCs at the conference wouldn't have the power to run it properly. Videos also work properly, and a Harry Potter movie clip played without lag between the movie and its audio.
Streaming gaming service OnLive has partnered with UK telecoms provider BT to bring its service to customers' homes. Under the deal, BT will own 2.6 percent of OnLive and get exclusive rights to bundle the service with its broadband service. The service is expected to come to the US this summer.
OnLive at GDC today narrowed down the launch date and pricing for its streaming gaming service. The technology is now due to go live June 17th and will cost $15 per month for playing OnLive's entire catalog through a broadband Internet connection. An exact game library isn't fixed but should vary between 12 to 25 games, including modern games like Borderlands and Mass Effect 2 in addition to some older titles.
OnLive at a recent Columbia University demo (viewable below) showed off a functioning example of its streaming gaming technology that included a demo of its iPhone app. The Apple device demo, from about 17 minutes onwards, shows the smartphone being used both for the service's spectator and networking features but also for controlling the multiplayer shooter Crysis Wars. Company chief Steve Perlman describes the control as "funky" due to the use of a touchscreen for a keyboard-heavy game but notes that it's playable with little lag and a fast frame rate, since the computing isn't done on the iPhone itself.
Gamers should in the future be able to play OnLive titles via an iPhone, the company claims. The forthcoming service takes an alternate approach to processor load, shifting the burden from local devices to OnLive's servers; gamers play via a video stream, making performance more closely tied to bandwidth. Early iPhone support was demonstrated late last week alongside clients for TVs and computers.
The OnLive gaming console concept has been billed today by its founders, former Atari employee Steve Perlmann and one-time Eidos worker Mike McGarvey, as the future of gaming. The idea focuses on a very small gaming console that has no built-in hardware processing and would be less costly than Nintendo's Wii. What's more, it would be future-proof, letting users play newer games without requiring any upgrades. Instead, the OnLive console would need to connect to the Internet and access gaming data from a remote server via the OnLive service.
