OnLive made it’s debut last month in the UK – and if you were fortunate enough to be at EuroGamer Expo 2011 chances are you walked away with a free OnLive system to commemorate it’s UK launch.
If you’re unfamiliar with what OnLive, in short it is a cloud gaming platform where the games are synchronized, rendered, and stored on servers and delivered to your screen via the internet. So worrying about computer specifications or disc-management are a thing of the past if you invest in one of these systems.
As of the time of writing, over 50 publishers have partnered with Onlive; publishers such as Take-Two, Ubisoft, Epic Games, Atari, Codemasters, THQ, Warner Bros., 2D Boy, Eidos Interactive, Disney Interactive Studios just to name a few. But the big sink or swim aspect for the system is the big AAA titles.
Are gamers willing to invest their time in to this sytem when all the big exclusives are on PS3, Xbox360 or Wii? And would gamers have any incentive to stay on consoles if all games and exclusives were available on the OnLive service?
Would companies such as Microsoft or Sony be willing to allow their exclusives to appear on OnLive? After all they’re not seen as a rival gaming distributor. Take a look at the transcript from our recent interview with Product Manager for OnLive, Andre Srinivasan at EuroGamer Expo 2011:
Brad: We assume you’re never going to get the exclusives like Gears or Uncharted, bu-
Andre: Excuse me? [Laugh]
Brad: So my next question is, will we see any exclusives jump from Sony or Microsoft because you’re not considered a “rival company”
Andre: Most definitely. We’re definitely working on exlusives. Both full games and additional content.
Brad: Any chance we just heard that first? [Jokingly]
Andre: [Chuckle] You definitely may have just heard that here first.
*Andre changes subject*
It would be foolish to think that OnLive wouldn’t try and add these titles to their ever expanding list of games available – but it’s a bold move to make none the less. One thing is “official” though – negotiations are definitely in progress.
[Check out our recent interview with Product Manager for OnLive, Andre Srinivasan at EuroGamer Expo 2011]
Do you think Sony/Microsoft would be willing to let their crown-jewels (exclusives) go, though?
