Shamrock
New member
Ignore the initial formality.
Most gamers have probably heard of OnLive by now, but for those who haven't, OnLive is the latest development for gaming, the basic premise being that any games you play get streamed over the internet at 60FPS in HD, meaning highest quality with no lag. This also eliminates the need for computer upgrades.
In some ways the idea seems great, but to me I can't help but see the obvious flaws in preference. As a gamer, freedoms are being restricted more and more. Starcraft II will not feature LAN capabilities, meaning everyone needs to register on Battle.net only to play it online, and for those who want fun nights spent huddled around a cozy HUB, well, Starcraft II won't be satisfying your needs.
It's not only LANs, however. Some games feature such tight anti-piracy control which, realistically, only makes the hackers go wild to find a way around them, which they will find, that people who genuinely buy the game and support the industry suffer big time.
What also seems to be of the fashion is limiting the amount of installs available for a game. This means gamers are at the mercy of piracy, and very stupid measures taken by gaming companies to prevent their games from being “over-installed†(as it would seem) or stolen, yet all it results in is limited freedom, as I stated previously.
I'll compare this to something else; iTunes has made bank by incorporating song downloads at a fraction of the cost of a full CD. Many people download their songs from iTunes due to the ease of access and low price. However, consider this: games and music are not physical, they are just stored on a computer and somehow through however many volts of electricity and binary and large numbers and mathematics either play songs or shine in 3D splendor.
It seems a lot more meaningful to own a CD or game than it is to have it sitting in your hard drive. Not only that, you can whip it out long after your computer's been reduced to rubble and install it on a new system. I've got a copy of Final Fantasy VIII which my brother bought almost 12 years ago which I can pop in and play on an emulator. I've always feared the idea of classic games becoming completely lost and unavailable, either due to lack of them or lack of archaic technology to play them on.
Take a look around; Donkey Kong, Super Mario Bros, it won't be long before operating systems no longer need to worry about compatibility and emulator makers won't really care enough to keep up.
Perhaps worse is that it is almost a given that OnLive will be a huge success, and while it's full meaning cannot yet be told, a strong guess goes towards the elimination of game CDs altogether. Anyone making use of it will also be severely crippled in what they can do with their games. If I want to pull out my Dragon Age: Origins CD and plonk a fudge dragon right in the center, wash it off, smear it in toothpaste, use it is a floatation device and then try play it again then it's my business.
At this point everything I'm saying is almost purely suspicion and my sixth sense talking, but I personally don't look forward to OnLive. But who knows, it could turn out really well, or nothing could change at all. I was just really bored and decided to write something so I could show my mom, after all.
Most gamers have probably heard of OnLive by now, but for those who haven't, OnLive is the latest development for gaming, the basic premise being that any games you play get streamed over the internet at 60FPS in HD, meaning highest quality with no lag. This also eliminates the need for computer upgrades.
In some ways the idea seems great, but to me I can't help but see the obvious flaws in preference. As a gamer, freedoms are being restricted more and more. Starcraft II will not feature LAN capabilities, meaning everyone needs to register on Battle.net only to play it online, and for those who want fun nights spent huddled around a cozy HUB, well, Starcraft II won't be satisfying your needs.
It's not only LANs, however. Some games feature such tight anti-piracy control which, realistically, only makes the hackers go wild to find a way around them, which they will find, that people who genuinely buy the game and support the industry suffer big time.
What also seems to be of the fashion is limiting the amount of installs available for a game. This means gamers are at the mercy of piracy, and very stupid measures taken by gaming companies to prevent their games from being “over-installed†(as it would seem) or stolen, yet all it results in is limited freedom, as I stated previously.
I'll compare this to something else; iTunes has made bank by incorporating song downloads at a fraction of the cost of a full CD. Many people download their songs from iTunes due to the ease of access and low price. However, consider this: games and music are not physical, they are just stored on a computer and somehow through however many volts of electricity and binary and large numbers and mathematics either play songs or shine in 3D splendor.
It seems a lot more meaningful to own a CD or game than it is to have it sitting in your hard drive. Not only that, you can whip it out long after your computer's been reduced to rubble and install it on a new system. I've got a copy of Final Fantasy VIII which my brother bought almost 12 years ago which I can pop in and play on an emulator. I've always feared the idea of classic games becoming completely lost and unavailable, either due to lack of them or lack of archaic technology to play them on.
Take a look around; Donkey Kong, Super Mario Bros, it won't be long before operating systems no longer need to worry about compatibility and emulator makers won't really care enough to keep up.
Perhaps worse is that it is almost a given that OnLive will be a huge success, and while it's full meaning cannot yet be told, a strong guess goes towards the elimination of game CDs altogether. Anyone making use of it will also be severely crippled in what they can do with their games. If I want to pull out my Dragon Age: Origins CD and plonk a fudge dragon right in the center, wash it off, smear it in toothpaste, use it is a floatation device and then try play it again then it's my business.
At this point everything I'm saying is almost purely suspicion and my sixth sense talking, but I personally don't look forward to OnLive. But who knows, it could turn out really well, or nothing could change at all. I was just really bored and decided to write something so I could show my mom, after all.
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. There are 2 ways to look at it... Firstly how will it benefit the public community of gamers here in SA and what problems do we see arising when such a system does come into play?? 
