14 DAY TRIAL // OnLive has been announced for quite a few months, promising to bring cloud gaming into the living rooms of everyone with a decent Internet connection. The possibility of playing any game anytime, even though you don't have a PC powerful enough for such as thing or a current-generation console, is something truly interesting, but, in the eyes of many experts, isn't feasible just yet.
In an effort to answer some of their arguments and to clear things up about how OnLive will be the best thing that ever happened to the whole industry, its chief operating officer, Mike McGarvey, has posted a statement on the blog of the service that will be released at the end of the year.
He goes on to say that games are facing the same troubles as movies, because development costs have skyrocketed but the money coming in has stayed almost the same, because of prices of movie tickets or of games haven't changed for some time. This, coupled with the extended costs of distribution and marketing, made the process of creating a game a very risky endeavor, one that would be resolved by OnLive.
“OnLive has the potential to change these dynamics by removing packaging and distribution costs,” McGarvey revealed. “Because we’ve eliminated physical media and full downloads, there’s nothing to steal and nothing to resell, giving publishers complete control over their product. By providing a powerful end-to-end development-to-distribution model, OnLive can dramatically alter video game economics, increase profit margins and provide new and enhanced monetization channels. Not only does this increase revenue, but it also means that the money typically allocated for high distribution costs can be spent instead on design, development and marketing, leading to better overall product with greater awareness and a better value for the consumer.”
This all means that OnLive will become the most profitable way to release a game as it will be available to everyone straight away, without the problems encountered by normal retail methods. “So, while retail has been the mainstay for distribution of top video game titles since the industry’s inception, OnLive is now breaking that mold. We will be delivering the same top video games titles exclusively through broadband Internet, in the same release window they are available in retail, but with significant economic, convenience and feature benefits to both publishers and gamers. “
OnLive executives are trying hard to convince people that the service will work but we still need to see it in action in order to see just how much potential it has. Look forward to new announcements as OnLive will approach its beta stage.