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OnLive: The End of consoles?

2010-03-12T05:04:00.000-08:00

A gaming service that aims to kill off the traditional gaming console will begin streaming popular games over the internet in June this year.

OnLive, which launched to much fanfare in 2009, announced details of its service at the GamesBeat conference.

Instead of games taking hours to download or buying them off the shelf, OnLive promises games on-demand.

"OnLive breaks the console cycle. We don't need new hardware devices," said company founder Steve Perlman.

That sentiment was echoed by his chief operating officer Mike McGarvey.

"We want to take your dollars from hardware and let you spend it on software. 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," Mr McGarvey told reporters.

'Disruptive'

OnLive has been in development for eight years and will officially become available on June 17.

The company said it will deliver on-demand video games via the cloud to the PC, Mac or TV and that it could provide high quality gaming on low-end machines.

OnLive relies on video compression technology, which instantly streams video via the internet so if feels like the game is playing locally.

The reality is that all the heavy lifting is done by remote data centres that can be no more than a thousand miles away.

Players use a PC or TV hooked up to a broadband connection to connect to the system.

"It could be very disruptive to the console vendors," Billy Pidgeon, an independent game analyst told Bloomberg News.

"This also wouldn't be good for retailers or anybody selling physical software formats."

Research group NPD reported that last year, US video-game sales fell 8% to $19.6bn (£13bn).

OnLive said that it was reacting to a change in gamers' habits, as they increasingly migrate online.
"There is this huge shift from download and use later to use it right now. The bytes coming in are not being stored. They are being consumed the moment they arrive," said Mr Perlman.

Dean Takahashi of website GamesBeat believes instant success is not guaranteed.

"It is going to be small at first. At the beginning it becomes one more great channel for the game companies to pursue. But at some point, yeah there is going to be a transition," he said.

OnLive will be available for a monthly rental fee of $14.95 (£9.99) for subscribers to then buy or rent games over the internet.

It will have titles such as Assassin's Creed, Prince of Persia and Borderlands.

No date was given for when OnLive will be available in the UK, Europe and the rest of the world.

Source, BBC News

Strong aftershock shakes Haiti

2010-01-20T04:50:00.000-08:00

A strong aftershock has rocked Haiti, sending screaming people running into the streets, eight days after another quake devastated the country.

The extent of the damage is not yet known. The magnitude 6.1 tremor struck north-west of Port-au-Prince at 0603 local time (1103 GMT).

An estimated 200,000 people died in last Tuesday's quake and another 1.5 million were made homeless.

Despite an international aid operation, supplies are slow to reach survivors.

However, international rescue teams are still rescuing people alive from the rubble, including a 69-year-old woman pulled from the ruins of a church in the capital.

The US military has defended its handling of the rescue operation, as aid groups complained of long delays in getting vital supplies of food, water and medicine.

Haitian President Rene Preval said aid delivery was the main problem now.

Help came "very fast," Mr Preval told a French radio station. "When it arrives, the question is: where are the trucks to transport it, where are the depots?"

New Haiti Earthquake

2010-01-20T04:40:00.000-08:00

News comming in of another earthquake in Haiti, 6.1 magnitude. Will keep you updated.

Haiti Earthquake Causes

2010-01-20T03:52:00.000-08:00

It's just so random isn't it? So terrible. One thing: Amercia should be proud. Since the Haiti earthquake, Amercia has been there. There's no oil there and it's costing them a lot of money. Let's hope people remember that next time they call them invaders and savages.

Consumer Electronics Show 2010

2010-01-04T09:28:00.000-08:00

It's all happening at Silicon valley apparently.

The Consumer Electronics Show 2010 is arguably the biggest electronic show of the year and it's not just for geeks or something.

There's huge speculation this month over the upcoming release of the Google Nexus One phone as well as anticipation over what Apple have in store.

Personally, I'd be interested to see if they have any 3d TVs on show. I saw Avatar and loved it, but I'm not sure people will be happy to wear those goggles all night watching the TV. Porn might be good in 3D though! Only thing is, imagine getting caught watching it with those things on. Brrrrrrrrrr. "Sorry Honey, I was getting out the shower and I fell onto a pair of 3D goggles". Better than "sorry Honey, I was vacuuming naked while peeling potato's and...

Apocalypse Island

2010-01-04T01:16:00.000-08:00

OK, so we have more so called evidence that we are all going to die courtesy of the History Channel's show on Apocalypse Island last night. It apparently holds the last clue to our destruction in 2012 as predicted by the Mayan prophecy, and where is Apocalypse Island? In the middle of the pacific or something.

I'm sorry if I sound less than interested by this subject, but how many times have we heard doomsday dates in the past? The comet Hale-Bopp in 1997 was meant to bring our end. Then the millennium Bug in 2000 along with Nostradamus's predictions. Now this stuff with the Mayans and Apocalypse Island is starting to sound tired.

I know in these difficult times it's easy to focus on fantasy, but forget Apocalypse Island and concentrate on our real problems, like global warming and over population.

If you think I'm wrong, feel free to comment, I'd love to hear from you.