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OnLive and other comparable services

MetroidZoidMetroidZoid Registered User regular
edited August 2011 in Help / Advice Forum
This whole Gamestop / EA debacle got me looking into OnLive, that as far as I can tell, is like a Roku box for videogames. But instead of multiple channels, you get the offered package with the option to buy more. I guess it'd be more akin to Roku only supporting Hulu, and then Hulu charging extra for a few shows or something. Anyways, this sounds like something I'd be interested in getting: my PC is good, but still not good enough to run the average gamut of games out there. Mostly because it needs a not-integrated graphics card. But I like the feeling of playing in front of a tv, so the thought of having games like Borderlands and Batman: AA streaming sounds good. I'm not sure on the pricing though. Am I right in seeing that it's $99 for the box w/ one controller, then more if I want component cables and a wireless controller? And that there's a given amount of games (including Bioshock and Borderlands, the latter being the one I really want to play) for no additional cost? And then if I pay the $10 monthly fee, I can opt to buy more games at (probably) full price? Or $10 just gets me more free options? I'm not grasping what's what from the site. Also, does anyone know if I can play other people online, say someone playing on the PS3 while I'm on this? Or are the servers just not connected that way. And finally, is there a better service out there, or maybe this is good but does it ever go on sale like the Roku box did/does? I noticed that I can get the basic streaming box buy reserving certain games through them, which sounds like a great deal, but I still don't know how that figures in to the other fees.
Thank you

9UsHUfk.jpgSteam
3DS FC: 4699-5714-8940 Playing Pokemon, add me! Ho, SATAN!
MetroidZoid on

Posts

  • DaenrisDaenris Registered User regular
    edited August 2011
    Looking at their site, I don't believe there are any full games you can play for free.

    You can play demos of games for free, but in order to play other games you either need to rent them, purchase full access, or purchase the PlayPack bundle which is $10/month and allows you unlimited access to a number of games (borderlands and bioshock being among them).

    Daenris on
  • MetroidZoidMetroidZoid Registered User regular
    Okay so I think I have a better grip on this. With the $10 subscription fee, I can rent games for 3 or 5 days, or buy the whole thing for unlimited play. If the games not one of those available in the player's pack or whathaveyou, I have to pay normal price. So I'm basically just buying a digital copy of the game. And it looks like these are all PC based games so I wouldn't be able to play with my friend as she's on a PS3. Is anyone using OnLive currently? Any word on their customer service or service in general?

    9UsHUfk.jpgSteam
    3DS FC: 4699-5714-8940 Playing Pokemon, add me! Ho, SATAN!
  • DaenrisDaenris Registered User regular
    With the $10 subscription fee, you can play any of those 80ish games as much as you want for "free" (i.e. no additional cost above the $10/month).

    Whether you have the $10/month subscription or not, you can also rent or purchase other games for whatever they charge on their site -- though it also says that all other games are 30% off if you have the $10/month package.

    I haven't used it, but it's very unlikely you'd be able to play with anyone on a PS3 unless that specific game supports it, and most games don't have cross-platform play.

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