OnLive cloud gaming service set for June launch

Thu Mar 11 2010, 09:06 AM

OnLive will launch its cloud-based gaming service in the US in June in a move which could mark the beginning of a radical shift in the videogame industry. The service will offer on-demand gaming, with its own servers meeting the processing requirements which restrict most modern games to high-end PCs or dedicated consoles. OnLive will charge a USD14.95-a-month subscription fee, with rentals and game purchases costing more.

"OnLive breaks the console cycle. We don't need new hardware devices," says OnLive founder Steve Perlman. He says 71% of US households have fast enough internet connections to support the service effectively. 

"We want to take your dollars from hardware and let you spend it on software," says OnLive COO Mike Garvey. "We are a new platform and we're building a network and infrastructure to last for the next 30 years of gaming, not the next five years."

Though analysts do not expect the service to transform gaming habits overnight, they agree that the service and others like it could lure consumers away from consoles and expensive hardware. Many say such a shift would also hit retailers of physical games. As such, cloud gaming is likely to face fierce resistance from many involved in the gaming industry.