OnLive

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OL2, Inc.

OnLive logo, 2009–2015

Former type Private

Industry Cloud gaming

Fate Patents sold to Sony Interactive Entertainment

Founded 2003

Founder Steve Perlman

Defunct 2012 (original, AfBC liquidation then 'phoenixed')

April 2015

Headquarters Mountain View, California

United States
 Area served United States
United Kingdom

Key people Mark Jung (Executive Chairman)

Gary Lauder (Lead Investor)

 OnLive MicroConsole
Products
 OnLive Wireless Controller

Parent Lauder Partners

Website www.onlive.com

OnLive was a Mountain View, California-based provider

of cloud virtualization technologies. OnLive's flagship product was its cloud
gaming service, which allowed subscribers to rent or demo computer
games without installing them on their device. Games were delivered to OnLive's
client software as streaming video rendered by the service's servers, rather than
rendered locally by the device. This setup allowed the games to run on computers
and devices that would normally be unable to run them due to insufficient
hardware, and also enabled other features, such as the ability for players to record
gameplay and to spectate.[1] The service was available through clients for personal
computers and mobile devices, as well as through smart TVs and a
dedicated video game console-styled device known as the OnLive Game System.
OnLive also expanded into the cloud desktop market with a sister product, OnLive
Desktop—a subscription service offering a cloud-based instance of Windows
Server 2008 R2 accessible via tablets.
The OnLive service received mixed reception. Critics noted that the video quality
and amount of input lag varied on a game-by-game basis, and did not consider
OnLive to be a complete substitute to owning games and playing them on local
hardware due to these inconsistencies and other factors that prospective users
may consider, such as the overall cost of the service as opposed to simply
upgrading their existing computers. Critics praised the service for allowing users to
demo games without the need to install them, along with its built-in spectator
mode.
On April 2, 2015, it was announced that Sony Interactive Entertainment had
acquired OnLive's patents, and that all OnLive services would be discontinued on
April 30, 2015. Sony operates PlayStation Now, a similar service built using the
infrastructure of Gaikai, a former competitor to OnLive.[2]

Contents
 1Gaming platform
o 1.1OnLive Game System
o 1.2PlayPack flat-rate plan
 2Desktop service
 3Architecture
 4International availability
 5History
o 5.1Layoffs and buyout
o 5.2Relaunch
o 5.3Sale to Sony and Shut down
 6Reception
o 6.1Pre-launch
o 6.2Post-launch
 7References
 8External links

Gaming platform[edit]
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OnLive main menu

The game service was available via the OnLive Game System and a number of
different device categories:

 Windows PCs: PCs running Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, or Windows
8 (including Windows 8 with Bing for low cost devices such as the HP Stream).
 Apple Macintosh: Intel-based Macs running Mac OS X 10.6 or later.
 Smartphones: Android smartphones running 3.2 or later.
 Tablets: Android tablets running 3.2 or later. The OnLive Android player app was
released to the Android Market on December 7, 2011.[3]
 Gaming-centric tablet devices: Wikipad,[4] Nvidia Shield, and Nvidia Shield tablet.
 Android TV: OnLive announced that the OnLive Game Service will be pre-installed on
Philip's new line of Android-based smart TVs.[5][6] OnLive is also compatible with
various Android set-top boxes for TVs (MadCatz M.O.J.O.).[7]
 Connected TVs: OnLive announced that the OnLive Game Service will be integrated
into new VIZIO VIA Plus TVs along with LG TVs and GoogleTV.[8]
 Internet connected media players: Amazon's Fire TV and Fire TV Stick, VIZIO Co-Star,
and VIZIO's line of VIA Blu-ray players.[9][10]
A web browser based demo service was also available for Windows PCs and Intel-
based Macs running Mac OS X 10.5.8 or later enabling trials of games to be
played without the need to download the OnLive Client.
The service was also demonstrated on the Apple iPhone.[11][12][13]
Network requirements:

 The service required a 2 Mbit/s Internet connection (5 Mbit/s or higher recommended)

with low latency.[14]
 OnLive initially required a wired connection. On September 15, 2010 beta Wi-
Fi support was made available to all members.[15]
OnLive Game System[edit]
The OnLive Game System consisted of an OnLive Wireless Controller and
a console, called the "MicroConsole TV Adapter",[16][17][18] that could be connected to
a television and directly to the OnLive service, so it was possible to use the service
without a computer. It came with the accessories needed to connect the
equipment, and composite video users could purchase an additional optional
cable.[16][19][20] The MicroConsole supported up to four wireless controllers and
multiple Bluetooth headsets. It also had two USB ports for game controllers,
keyboards, mice, and USB hubs. For video and audio output it
provided component, HDMI, TOSLINK ports, and an analog stereo minijack.
An Ethernet port was used for network access, which was required to access the
OnLive service. Pre-orders for the OnLive Game System began to be taken on
November 17, 2010.[16]


 

PlayPack flat-rate plan[edit]

OnLive confirmed the details of its PlayPack flat-rate payment plan on December
2, 2010. With this option players pay a monthly fee for unlimited access to "recent,
classic and indie titles" in the OnLive library, which includes new
releases.[21][22] PlayPack subscribers also receive a 30% off discount toward
purchase of OnLive merchandise excluding PlayPack membership fees. This
discount can be applied to sale items, OnLive wireless controllers, and the OnLive
Game System.[23]

Desktop service[edit]
On January 10 at the 2012 Consumer Electronics Show, OnLive announced
"OnLive Desktop". OnLive Desktop used desktop virtualization technology to
create a remotely hosted Windows Server 2008 desktop environment.
On March 12, 2012, Microsoft told OnLive that its OnLive Desktop service was a
violation of the Windows 7 license agreement, and threatened legal action,
contending that the license agreement did not permit the use of Windows 7 as a
hosted client, nor for Office to be provided as a service on Windows 7 since this
would be only allowed using Windows Server and Terminal Services.[24] On April 7,
2012 it was discovered that the OnLive Desktop Service had changed and had
begun to use Windows Server 2008, bringing it into license compliance.[25]

Architecture[edit]
In the U.S., OnLive was hosted in five co-located North American data centers.
There were facilities in Santa Clara, California and Virginia, with additional facilities
in Dallas, Texas, as well as Illinois, and Georgia.[26][27] OnLive stated that users must
be located within 1,000 miles (1,600 km) of one of these to receive high-quality
service.[28][29][30]
The hardware used was a custom setup consisting of OnLive's proprietary video
compression chip as well as standard PC CPU and GPU chips. For older, or lower-
performance, games such as Lego Batman, multiple instances could be played on
each server using virtualization technology. High-end games such as Assassin's
Creed II required one GPU per game. Two video streams are created for each
game. One (the live stream) is optimised for gameplay and real-world Internet
conditions, while the other (the media stream) was a full HD stream that was
server-side and used for spectators or for gamers to record videos of their
gameplay.[31]

International availability[edit]
The service was launched in the United Kingdom on September 22, 2011[32] in
partnership with British Telecom as a bundled service with their broadband
packages.[33] The company planned to make its service available in the rest of
Europe as well.[34]

History[edit]
OnLive was announced at the Game Developers Conference in 2009.[19] The
service was originally planned for release in the winter of 2009.[35][36] OnLive's
original investors include Warner Bros., Autodesk and Maverick Capital.[37] A later
round of financing included AT&T Media Holdings, Inc. and Lauder Partners as
well as the original investors.[38] In May 2010, it was announced that British
Telecom and Belgacom invested in and partnered with OnLive.[39][40]
On March 10, 2010, OnLive announced the OnLive Game Service would launch on
June 17, 2010, in the US, and the monthly service fee would be US$14.95.[41] At
launch the membership option available was through AT&T's Founding Members
promotion, which provides the service for free for the first year and US$4.95 per
month for the optional following year.[42][43] On October 4, 2010, OnLive announced
that there would no longer be any subscription fees for the service.[44] On March 11,
2010, OnLive CEO Steve Perlman announced the OnLive Game Portal, a free way
to access OnLive games for rental and demos, but without the social features of
the Game Service. It was stated that it would roll out later in 2010 after the OnLive
Game Service launch.[45] The OnLive Game Service was launched in the United
States on June 17, 2010.[46] Shortly afterwards, on December 10 Onlive was
awarded a patent for cloud gaming The US Patent Office.[47] The service was
launched in the United Kingdom on September 22, 2011.[32] On January 10 at the
2012 Consumer Electronics Show, OnLive announced "OnLive Desktop". OnLive
Desktop used virtualization technology to create a remotely hosted Windows
7 desktop.
Layoffs and buyout[edit]
On August 17, 2012 the company laid off all of its employees.[48][49] OnLive entered
into a proceeding known as an "Assignment for the Benefit of Creditors", wherein
OnLive shareholders lost their stakes in the company.[50] OnLive then sold off its
assets and started a new company, also called OnLive.[51] On August 20, 2012 the
company officially revealed Lauder Partners as the buyer.[52] On August 27, 2012,
founder Steve Perlman stepped down as CEO,[53] Gary Lauder became Chairman,
and Charlie Jablonski, former VP of Operations, was appointed COO and acting
CEO.[54] It was revealed in October of that year that OnLive was sold for only $4.8
million. For a company that analysts once estimated was worth approximately $1.8
billion, there was some surprise at the low figure for which the company was sold.
Some analysts speculated that the true value of the patents held by the company
was potentially in the hundreds of millions of dollars, but that the firm's poor
bargaining position led to the cheap sale.[55]
Relaunch[edit]
In March 2014 the company hired a new CEO, Mark Jung and released a new
gaming service, CloudLift.[56] Cloudlift links to selected titles in a player's game
library and allows the player resume gameplay on another device.
Sale to Sony and Shut down[edit]
On April 3, 2015, OnLive announced it had sold most of its assets to Sony
Interactive Entertainment and would be shutting down all services on April 30,
2015.[57]

Reception[edit]
Pre-launch[edit]
Soon after the company's announcement at GDC 2009, there was skepticism
expressed by game journalists, concerned about how the OnLive service might
work and what the quality of the service might be both in terms of the hardware
required in OnLive server centers to render and compress the video, as well as the
impact of commercial Internet broadband connections on its delivery. During GDC
2009, which was held in San Francisco, the OnLive service was 50 miles (80 km)
from its Santa Clara data center. The closed beta had "hundreds of users on the
system".[58] Near E3 in 2009, which is approximately 350 miles (560 km) away from
their data center, OnLive demonstrated their service performed well with a
consumer cable modem and Internet connection.[59][60] Matt Peckham from PC
World stated in his blog that it might be technically difficult to transfer the amount of
data that a high definition game would require. He stated he believed OnLive
customers would need a broadband line with "guaranteed, non-shared,
uninterruptible speed", but "broadband isn't there yet, nor are ISPs willing to offer
performance guarantees". He also mentioned his concerns that the mod
community would be unable to create and offer mods since all game data will be
stored on the OnLive servers, and that games played on OnLive might not be
"owned" by the user, and thus if OnLive were to go under, all the user's games
would be inaccessible.[61][62]
Cevat Yerli, the CEO of Crytek, had researched a method for streaming games but
concluded that Crytek's approach would not be viable until 2013 "at earliest". Yerli
made it clear Crytek was not directly involved with the OnLive service, and Yerli
had no personal experience using the service. Rather, Electronic Arts, the
publisher of Crytek's Crysis Warhead, had partnered with OnLive and had tested
and endorsed the OnLive technology. Yerli stated:
I want to see it myself. I don't want to say it's either 'top or flop'. I hope it works for
them because it could improve gamers' lives. The technology of video-based
rendering is not actually a very new concept but they do some things that others
didn't do before so it will be interesting to see.[63]
Eurogamer's Digital Foundry was amongst the most harshly skeptical in an article
published upon OnLive's unveiling and public demonstration entitled, "GDC: Why
OnLive Can't Possibly Work" by Digital Foundry's Richard Leadbetter. The article's
analysis characterized OnLive as a faked demo that was technically impossible to
accomplish over a consumer Internet connection.[64]