14 DAY TRIAL // Google is making some interesting announcements around Google TV these days, to be expected perhaps during CES. The big announcements were that the platform would be available on a lot more devices this year, as Google has managed to convince more partners to use the software.
With the Android Market now available for Google TV, apps and games are becoming a reality for Google TV. But no Android game can compare, yet, to what OnLive has to offer.
The online service promises access to current-generation console games available via the internet. The service works in a browser, there is a dedicated box as well, but now it's becoming part of Google TV, albeit in a limited way for now.
With OnLive users can access any of their favorite games, instantly, without having to pay for a console or hook up several cables.
Since everything is in the cloud, all of the games and saves are available on any device that supports OnLive.
"With Google TV, you take it for granted that you can stream just about any type of linear media—video, movies, music—on demand and experience it instantly," Steve Perlman, founder and CEO of OnLive, wrote in a guest post on the Google TV blog.
"But, when it comes to the latest high-performance console-class games, you probably still need discs and big downloads to experience them, and gameplay is anything but instant," he said.
"With OnLive, the latest high-performance videogames stream just as instantly as videos or movies. It’s really cool," he added.
The caveat, and it's a big one, is that, for now, users can only view games and use the social features of the app, but they can't play anything. For a service that bills itself as cloud gaming, that's a pretty big omission.
However, the Viewer app serves as a preview of things to come. OnLive and Google are working on bringing the full service to the platform. In fact, it's very close, the first devices with Google TV and OnLive playability will debut at CES this year, coming from Vizio.