OnLive launch title pricing detailed, includes rentals

by Randy Nelson on Jun 22nd 2010 10:30PM

The OnLive game streaming service went, well, live during E3 (June 17, to be exact) opening its virtual doors to 25,000 pre-registered users, gifted with a free year of service and a voucher for one game. But most folks will probably want to pick up some more titles once they've experienced OnLive's voodoo firsthand. For them, the service offers the ability to demo any game for 30 minutes, then, should they want more, purchase multi-day or full "PlayPasses."

Some of the launch titles can only be purchased outright -- technically, you're buying a "pass" to play the game through at least June 17, 2013 -- while others offer tiered "rental" options as well (or, in a couple of cases, only the limited passes). Check out the full list of available titles and their pricing options after the break.

OnLive Launch Titles

AaaaaAAaaaAAAaaAAAAaAAAAA!!! -- A Reckless Disregard for Gravity -- demo / $9.99 (full)
Assassin's Creed 2 -- demo / $39.99 (full)
Batman: Arkham Asylum -- demo / $4.99 (3 days) / $6.99 (5 days)
Borderlands -- demo / $29.99 (full) / $5.99 (3 days) / $8.99 (5 days)
Brain Challenge -- demo / $4.99 (full)
Dirt 2 -- demo only
Defense Grid Gold -- demo / $13.99 (full) / $6.99 (5 days)
F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin -- demo / $19.99 (full)
Just Cause 2 -- demo / $49.99 (full)
LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4 -- demo only
Madballs in Babo: Invasion -- demo / $9.99 (full)
Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands -- $49.99 (full)
Puzzle Chronicles -- demo / $9.99 (full) / $3.99 (3 days)
Red Faction: Guerrilla -- demo / $19.99 (full)
Shatter -- demo / $8.99 (full)
Splinter Cell: Conviction -- demo / $59.99 (full)
Trine -- demo only
Unreal Tournament III: Titan Pack -- demo / $19.99 (full) / $4.99 (3 days) / $6.99 (5 days)
World of Goo -- demo / $19.99 (full) / $4.99 (3 days) / $6.99 (5 days)

Tags: game-streaming, OnLive, pc, pricing, rentals

Reader Comments (77)

@gamesbou
You're a pedo.
Your company is FAIL and your business model is based on scoring free (stolen) advertising from awesome sites like joystiq...

Die in a fire spammer!

Outrageous!

@AnteSim Wait, you have to pay for demos?

@AnteSim I think I'm almost morally opposed to this service... It just seems like a way for the content providers to gouge us repeatedly for a game we already purchased...

@AnteSim this is the same as Steam. i think theyll do fine. i may get one.

@AnteSim Completly outrageous! Especially since these games are from the PC and not console so I don't see why they need to be cashing in on top of the subscription fee. The thing I can't get my head around is whether AS2 and Splinter Cell will contain the shitty DRM on top of this 'Internet' service. Personally I won't be using this ever because um well I, like some people like to play their games..offline you see?

lame.

@Cheetoblue

Exactly, they will fail to see this take off. Having to pay for monthly subscription+paying for your own internet+paying for the game???.

And not to mention that if your internet goes down, there is no way to play the game since you don't own a physical copy of the game. At least steam has a offline mode.

Teteroto, you got all that out of "lame"??... That's impressive.

@Cheetoblue

Yeah, that's exactly why XBLive failed to take off.

@Cheetoblue

I'll be honest, Ive been using this service since Friday and I hate to say it, but its terrible. The input lag makes the games unplayable.

The worst part is, a game like Splinter Cell which costs less than $60 at retail, costs $60 on Onlive. Shouldnt there be some sort of discount for online distribution?

Additionally, the resolution seems terrible. Red Faction actually looked better on my 360 than through OnLive's service.

It's a shame too, I thought this would be the perfect solution to my long, boring nights at work.

who has a computer that can't run World of Goo I might ask.

problem is most people already have invested in a videogame system, and these games are already available. so why do I need OnLive now?

Seems a bit steep... this all is going to be ON TOP of a subscription fee? I mean, yeah I understand you don't need the high end computer that's required for some of these games, but still..... to me the cost of this per year would equal upgrading a pc every time you need to + steam sales. Just the money you'd save on software alone through Steam could be put towards a better rig.

@MystileArmor

I doubt upgrading hardware would be much more expensive, but unfortunately, there are other technical problems to think about, mostly involving networking, and you may have to shell out more to your ISP to make this worth it. Although, I've been using it on a 10Mbps service and it works fine.

I mean, how often do you figure you would upgrade your hardware?

@VibrationON

Having lag... oh wait no.
Not owning physical copies of your ga... no that's not it either.
Having to pay a subscript... no.. sigh... I can do this I know I can.
Needing a high speed internet conn........ F**k it I give up.

Ok, all joking aside....oh wait, you guys aren't joking around. You're being totally serious.

So you don't -technically- own any of the games?

Lame.

@JMoney:

"technically, you're buying a "pass" to play the game through at least June 17, 2013"

Huh. I feel bad for avid, nonrenewing fans of any MMOs that play them on this (if possible), because that would definitely be a crappy day for them.

Please read the full article before commenting:
"For them, the service offers the ability to demo any game for 30 minutes, then, should they want more, purchase multi-day or full "PlayPasses."

All of the games have a 30 minute free demo, the prices are for rentals and purchases.

Yeahhhh.. seems to me like it's pretty much Gaikai ftw

I would rather just buy myself a nice gaming rig and use Steam than subject myself to OnLive's crappy pricing and limited catalog of games..

I had high hopes for this service but.. I'm gonna call this dead on arrival..

Near-market price for full purchases simply isn't worth it, as you then aren't unable to use the games for resell value. Granted, you do save some money by not having to purchase a gaming system, but overall it just doesn't seem like it's worth the cost...

Its basically a far more convenient version of gamefly. You rent games, not buy them. But because of this, they really need to lower the prices (unfortunately set by the publishers). Games should be maxed at $40 for 3 year rentals.

Or there should be some type of all you can eat monthly subscription.

Note, all EA games are currently missing while they sort out licensing issues with them. They are supposed to come back soon.

I built my first computer about 3 years ago for $900 (newegg.com sales are the best.) and I can still play most games that come out at full or high settings... I have no plans to upgrade until my computer regularly can't handle new releases on lowest. Which I'm betting won't be for another 4 or 5 (if I'm lucky) years.

Only five days for Borderlands? And even if you do buy it you only get to access it until June 2013?

Unless that iPhone thingybopper they were talking of a few days ago delivers good home gaming on the go, I say to you, as Stimpy would say, FOR SHAME, ONLIVE. FOR SHAME.

On the plus side

- Ability to pause your game at one location, and pick up right where you left off, months later, or even at another location.

- No need to buy a high end gaming rig (let alone one you can lug around with you) to play high end games

- Play high end pc games on a MAC (or linux running wine)

- No having to download anything to get started playing or to demo a game.

btw, demoing games and renting games does NOT require subscribing to the 15/month (yes its high) fee.

@justifun

-Any game that uses local saves can do something dang close to that

-Steam can do that

-Steam can do that

-Steam can't do that, but Gaikai will

Yeah, no OnLive for me, nary the iPhone app (in which case I'll only use the demos)

I don't see how steam does 1 & 2, but Gaikai can.

Edit: I mean 2 and 3

@justifun

Have you actually used PlayOn, you can only "pause" a game at a preset saved spot. There was a lot of talk about using the game images to let you pause anywhere and resume, but as of now, it doesn't exist.

Also you do need a kicking internet connection, my home internet is 10 mb and it constantly tells me "network problem" after a couple of hours worth of playing, I had downloaded about 5gb of data according to my bandwidth monitor.

@Tre. You can always re rent the game if you havent finished it and pick up right where you left off. Even if its a month later

@justifun I see your point, but how is that any different from keeping a save file on your PS3 or 360's HDD for a month before continuing?

(Not like that'd happen. I kind of had an addiction to Borderlands when I had it.)

@justifun Or you could just buy the game once off steam...

This was in response to Evin, not sure why it was posted here.

only one problem, that computer won't run onlive either.

OnLiveGo?

holy crap, are they serious? o_O it's like paying to rent an arcade machine in your own home.

Onlive is great for publishers, but ridiculous to even consider for gamers.

$6 to rent Borderlands for 3 days on top of a monthly subscription.

NO F'IN THANKS DUDES

@Levi You dont have to pay the montly subscription if you are just renting or demoing games.

Justifun, you sound like you're having some stock in OnLive or something. Seriously, how can you defend this garbage?

@justifun

YOU CAN BUY THE GAME FOR $27 AND HAVE IT FOREVER

It's like crack, get it once, you won't be able to stop.

Not to mention, some people are fans of playing games twice (or three times, or four if you want to play as all four of the characters), and playing online can be hard to kick, et al.

It's not hard to defend this garbage. The only reason people knock it is the price, which isn't that bad. The technical issues aren't a big issue if you have a good ISP around. If you don't, or can't afford Internet better than 1Mbps (you only need about 1.5 to use it), then you would be better off never using it at all.

Thing is, the technology is trying to moved around all aspects of computing, not just PC's. Mobile technology and even people without computer knowledge or a computer good for even encoding high quality video.

And justifun is ignoring the fact that the Game Portal, where you can rent and demo without the fee, is not even out yet, plus it takes out some of the interesting social features, such as the Arena and Friend's List.

There's a lot of potential here, it's just at the very moment, it's not very widespread as to who can really benefit from it. And not everyone is comfortable building their own computer. Not going to lie either, I probably wouldn't be using it if I didn't get the free year.

I would, however, like to find the pricing per month. OnLive is telling me $5/month for the 2nd year, but the reports were for $15/month. They don't have it easily available, sadly.

Yep. You said it all.

wait...steam can play high end games on low end rigs? On the source engine, yes but everything else may have trouble.

Steam can let you run high-end games on a low-end PC?

The whole idea of this service is to give people who have crap computers the ability to play demanding games. I don't see the point if you still have to pay for games AND the service. you never truly own the game so you would be better off getting a half decent computer (not as expensive as people think) and get games permanently.

... they still have Rent-A-Centers?

Hahaha why would anyone pay $60 for Splinter Cell Conviction on PC when you can get a copy you own IRL or even on Steam for $10-$25 less?! Is the convenience of using a garbage computer worth paying double PLUS a subscription fee?

Hell, if you just took out the subscription fee and the price inflation, you'd already have almost enough to buy a good video card and some extra RAM. Then your computer is good to game, and you can play without lag or convoluted rental mechanisms!

@WiNGSPANTT from TopTierTacticsco and you'd own the actual product, not just a "play pass."

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OnLive launch title pricing detailed, includes rentals

Reader Comments (77)

Posted: Jun 23rd 2010 7:38AM (Unverified) said

Posted: Jun 22nd 2010 10:34PM AnteSim said

Posted: Jun 22nd 2010 10:48PM Evin said

Posted: Jun 22nd 2010 11:19PM AnderFREAK said

Posted: Jun 22nd 2010 11:46PM tonyprince said

Posted: Jun 23rd 2010 3:39AM Uknown said

Posted: Jun 22nd 2010 10:38PM Cheetoblue said

Posted: Jun 22nd 2010 11:11PM teteroto said

Posted: Jun 22nd 2010 11:16PM MystileArmor said

Posted: Jun 22nd 2010 11:37PM sonicspike41 said

Posted: Jun 23rd 2010 12:16AM BiCuriousGeorge said

Posted: Jun 22nd 2010 10:38PM redking315 said

Posted: Jun 22nd 2010 10:39PM ummhello said

Posted: Jun 22nd 2010 10:40PM MystileArmor said

Posted: Jun 22nd 2010 10:50PM RageOverdose said

Posted: Jun 22nd 2010 10:45PM MystileArmor said

Posted: Jun 23rd 2010 9:50AM JasonA said

Posted: Jun 22nd 2010 10:46PM ArchiGamer said

Posted: Jun 22nd 2010 11:11PM Tre said

Posted: Jun 22nd 2010 11:02PM JMoney156 said

Posted: Jun 22nd 2010 10:48PM rahmenxnoodles69 said

Posted: Jun 22nd 2010 10:49PM Lance001 said

Posted: Jun 22nd 2010 10:49PM justifun said

Posted: Jun 22nd 2010 11:24PM AnderFREAK said

Posted: Jun 22nd 2010 10:54PM Tre said

Posted: Jun 22nd 2010 10:54PM justifun said

Posted: Jun 22nd 2010 11:15PM Tre said

Posted: Jun 23rd 2010 5:11AM MrAlex said

Posted: Jun 23rd 2010 5:12AM MrAlex said

Posted: Jun 23rd 2010 10:09AM Daverator said

Posted: Jun 22nd 2010 10:55PM justifun said

Posted: Jun 22nd 2010 11:08PM Tre said

Posted: Jun 22nd 2010 11:11PM AnderFREAK said

Posted: Jun 22nd 2010 11:04PM JMoney156 said

Posted: Jun 22nd 2010 11:06PM redking315 said

Posted: Jun 22nd 2010 11:06PM logicplay said

Posted: Jun 22nd 2010 11:07PM banditdee said

Posted: Jun 22nd 2010 11:10PM AnderFREAK said

Posted: Jun 22nd 2010 11:10PM Levi said

Posted: Jun 22nd 2010 11:11PM justifun said

Posted: Jun 22nd 2010 11:21PM MystileArmor said

Posted: Jun 22nd 2010 11:22PM Tre said

Posted: Jun 22nd 2010 11:33PM RageOverdose said

Posted: Jun 23rd 2010 8:45AM Cheetoblue said

Posted: Jun 23rd 2010 12:35AM One Stomy Night go watch it said

Posted: Jun 23rd 2010 1:02AM Hiro said

Posted: Jun 22nd 2010 11:17PM Deschain said

Posted: Jun 22nd 2010 11:32PM Tre said

Posted: Jun 22nd 2010 11:22PM WiNGSPANTT from TopTierTacticsco said

Posted: Jun 22nd 2010 11:26PM AnderFREAK said

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