OnLive 'Founding Members' program extended until Labor Day, Trine now available

by Ben Gilbert on Jul 18th 2010 3:30PM

The list of folks waiting to get into OnLive's game streaming / insanity portal may be long, but through its partnership with AT&T, the company has just extended its free first year offer through Labor Day (September 6). Additionally, getting in by Labor Day will lock in the optional second year at $4.95/month.

If that wasn't enough, the service just added puzzle-platformer Trine to its growing list of titles available for streaming (it was previously available only as a demo). If you haven't already, sign-ups are still ongoing over at OnLive's official site -- and yes, you can still wear white while doing so. For now.

Via: Big Download
Source: OnLive Twitter

Tags: free, mac, onlive, pc, trine

Reader Comments (52)

I am extremely surprised by this service. I rented Just Cause 2 expecting a lagfest (Keep in mind, I live in the middle of nowhere [wisconsin]) and there was no lag whatsoever. The only problem I had was the games original glitches, but otherwise flawless. Really hope OnLive works. Wouldn't mind seeing it as an alternative for 360 PS3 and Wii.

@AutobotIronhide You say 'rented'... Did you have to pay anything?

I'm trying to figure out how they can make the first year free.

No. The only thing I had to pay for was the transaction. The transaction is technically $0.00 but it's a transaction so I had to pay a dollar.

@AutobotIronhide

Sorry to hijack this post but I really need help. I'm trying to cancel my account in onlive, as it hasn't really been working out for me, but I can't find any options to close and remove my card and info. Any help would be appreciated, I don't wanna get slammed for any payments if the company decides to be assholes.

@(Unverified)

The company won't, but you can call their number: 1-888-ONLIVE-5

I'm not quite sure what he's talking about, but it just sounds like more services to pay for...

wait... I enjoy owning my games too much!!!

@ThGy007

So do I. Seriously, even if all gaming platforms were to be discontinued you would still own the hardware and software.

If OnLIve should fail are they going to send you retail copies of every game and additional content you've purchased before they shut down? What is the likely hood that they would even care to do something like that for their customers if they're closing their doors?

@ThGy007 I hope OnLive does fail. If Ubisoft is anything to go by, gaming could be heading into a terrible future if OnLive becomes the standard. I will stop gaming if I have to be connected to the internet to stream FOOTAGE of a game I PAYED FOR from some random machine six states away.

@(Unverified) You would stop gaming because you can't own the game? Maybe they should give a higher priced subscription and allow user back-ups of content like Sony does for the PSP-Go, sort-of a premium Spotify account. However, if you quit gaming you're one stubborn person. No matter how hard you fight you can't stop the future, even if it has some bad qualities, you have to look for the silver lining (that is gaming will be more widely accessed on multiple devices with quicker ways to download games from the store instead of having to go to a gamestop or play&trade). If you don't change with the future you'll be swallowed up by the past.

Sorry, didn't mean to get philosophical, just woke up, there are points in there I promise.

The above poster cleared things up for me a bit...

I wonder how Onlive would handle an MMO.

I've always wondered that too. Hopefully if there is one, it won't have some stupid-ass subscription gimmick/

@saturn118

Considering if it's a pay to play MMO it wouldn't matter what system/service it's on you would be paying.

@AutobotIronhide

The subscription is for the dev of the MMO, not the service distributing it. So you will ALWAYS have to pay for MMOs, unless otherwise said by the dev/publisher. (Whoever makes it that way :P)

@AutobotIronhide Considering how long the average MMO player plays, the bandwidth required for one would be huge. From what I've heard it needs 2mb downstream or connection (I can't remember which one).

I like the idea service like a Netflix model. Pay a monthly fee and play all I want. If I got this service all I would ever do is rent titles and that is about it. I wouldn't purchase a game knowing I'd lose it if I stopped paying. A good incentive might be that every 3 months you have the service you get 1 game free. Zune does this with their monthly subscription where each month you get 10 songs DRM free. I want to try this but still on the fence.

I got into it, but as far as I see there is no way to unsubscribe. I sent an email to them asking them to cancel my account (I don't want a year to go by, me to forget about it, and have it charge me) but I never heard back. Could be better in the CS area.

I got in, I'm going to bust out my MacBook Pro (that sucks for gaming, sorry Steve) and try to play some Just Cause 2 or something...

Does OnLive offer console exclusive games?

I would love to play Uncharted 2 on my PC.

@ZayCube

Sony would never allow that so thats a big N-O

@ZayCube That would be awesome...

The fun thing is: They've accepted me but as I live outisde the U.S. I couldn't create an account and test the service, so there goes my chance :(

Even at the distance I live from the U.S. I wanted to see if the service was good enough...

@Ashkental

If you know anyone in the States, get them to sign up for you. The service I'm sure is location agnostic, but the registration form for legal reasons is going to keep you from registering an international address from an international IP.

You can also always try a US-based proxy server.

This is basically for people who either don't have consoles or a decent PC, which really doesn't seem like a majority of people to me, at least not those who would actually be interested in gaming at least. It has absolutely no advantages price-wise, and I've seen physical copies sell cheaper, and all you're doing is basically renting the game, as you don't have a physical copy to begin with. This whole thing is hyperbole.

Why is joystiq riding the onlive bandwagon so hard. As far as I can tell everything about this service sucks...

@Hackjob
Because they've tried the service and don't jump in the hate wagon without experiencing it first... you sheep.

@Hackjob

I never heard it sucks, people say it works

@Shiv Thrice
Not sure I need to try it to realize it isn't viable, you just need some basic math to breakdown the cost over time. it works out to $900/5yrs@14.99 and the ps3 was ~$600 at launch. So $10/mo and less if you have kept your ps3 over 5 years. Tho now its only ~$300.

Hardware is cheaper in the long run and more reliable.

Then again every time I turn around its "free year" this and "discounted fees" that. By the time half the people get to the point where they are going to have to pay full price they should have substantial gaming libraries that they would otherwise lose if they cancel.

I'm not saying the service is "bad" its just more like communism, it really only works on paper.

@Shiv Thrice

Sorry but I don't need to experience bad ideas to know they are bad. I know sticking my hand in boiling water will suck so I don't do it. Sheep is doing something without thought. Thanks for the well thought out reply.

@Faenix I just got done trying it and it works great! I don't see myself sticking with it, seeing as I have a gaming pc and every console, do it's kinda pointless for me...

I only wanted to try it because I think this is the direction consoles will be headed in the future. They could use a service like this to let people rent games on PSN or Xbox Live.

I tested it on my 09 MBP and it felt like I was playing on my gaming laptop. I didn't notice any lag or anything. Although, that could just be my connection.

@Scuffles
I suppose you're right I guess with those numbers I should cancel my xbox live account and sale my 360.

@Scuffles

Flaw with your assessment.

You said PS3, this is for PC.. if you haven't noticed - there different.

@Hackjob you also need a good strong connection, something like 5 mbps or more

@Scuffles I'm guessing I'm the only person who plays non-multiplayer games only once and drops them unless they have added content for another side [Example: K.O.T.O.R series I played evil and turned around and played good because curiosity got the best of me].

So if I played the game and they canceled on me I really couldn't care less. I'm not really a nostalgic person. I figured there would be at least a few more people like me on Joystiq always wanting to get the newest game, so once I beat a game I erase it from my library. I do pretty much the same with hard copies. I beat a game and give it to my little brother or a friend. Past is the Past, I'm always thinking about the future.

I will say that you have a point though, being people aren't like me and a lot of the world is nostalgic, onlive is playing a little game of cat and mouse. A little game theory involved in the marketing of their product, pretty much the same business tactic drug dealers use. Get the people hooked on their product and threaten to take it away if they don't pay outrages prices. It's fine by me though, business is business and everyone is hooked on something.

@Hackjob Because Joystiq is just like Onlive - an online entity so they have an inherent interest in seeing it succeed. Moreover this site tends to lean towards a favorable attitude towards DD unlike some of the other sites.

Onlive might work technically, but the business model does not. So far people have not been willing to pay for cloud computing. Yeah if its free - like google apps, but when it costs money most people shy away.

The other thing is if Onlive does work, I wonder how long the ISPs will want a bigger piece of the pie since without their infrastructure Onlive could not exist. Think charging for bandwidth based on usage.

I got accepted as well. Unfortunately, it won't let me connect because I don't have enough bandwidth and the lag is too great.

I'm not terribly sad about this since there aren't any great games for the service (at least for a family friendly hardcore gamer), but the nerd in me is curious if it really works.

I tried a few demos, and to be honest the lag isn't really that bad, but the graphics are just too damn fuzzy. I have a 24mb/3mb AT&T Uverse internet connection with flawless connectivity and a beefed up Mac Pro, so I don' t know what the problem is.

@dogmaticatheist - The problem is compression. A highly compressed 720p stream can look far worse than an uncompressed 480p video feed for instance.

I am pleasantly surprised with the service. It's a great option for people that don't own substantial hardware. The GUI is really nice and the responsiveness of the games/videos is excellent. Just being able to demo the games immediately without download is a really nice experience. Once they roll out wifi enabled service, this could really be a great option for people that travel a lot and gaming on the go in general. I am disappointed that some of the hardware requirements are a little odd. For instance I have a Logitech wireless mouse for my mac attached to the TV. They don't support the Logitech Control Center software, so I end up not being able to use my wireless mouse. Where I think this service could really shine is if it adopted a Gamefly/Netflix Instant Watch type of business model. The price of the games I feel like don't match what you are getting. I have to wonder if this company fails, what would you do with all the games you purchased that don't provide you with a physical/digital copy. On a side note, not having to worry about videogame companies such as EA installing malware onto your computer in the form of copy protection is an added plus. It's the very reason I haven't played Crysis Warhead. All in all this service has great potential and once it rolls out completely I think it could be really great and a serious competitor to current video game distribution models.

Got my acceptance email a few days ago, but, unfortunately, do not own a credit card, so I can't join. Anyone know of any other ways to enter?

@gmrtom7

Get a prepaid debit card and stuck as little as you can on it, handy for services which require a card but dont charge. Or for offers which give you discounted rates and then auto-renew at full price.

I just used onlive last night for the first time. I played Borderlands. The game is totally fun and it was easy to play with the service. Just click and go.

I got accepted but haven't been able to play on account of the launcher crashing my pc. Granted, my pc is pretty crappy (Pentium 4, 1GB ram, win xp) but I kinda thought that was the whole point of On Live.

no thanks, if I cant own I wont buy

I think a few of you are missing the point of this service, but point me out if I'm wrong...is OnLive not for people who don't have the hardware capabilities to handle a certain game but allow one to play it still?

@Razorlution you mean an alternative, like what consoles already offer? i ain't talking exclusives. but we can go there if you want.

@Razorlution

Pretty much.

@golobulus

There are a lot of good PC exclusives you cant play on consoles, some people also prefer to play PC (Tho majority will have the PC to play em)

But SOME people go to PC gaming cafes (Elan Games, is one in my town) and people pay like $10 for x hours. My friend use to go all the time, if this service was available then - he'd save a ton of money.

@Razorlution

it's seems like it's built for people who don't play games. Because it's best if you don't have a console or PC.

@Faenix 2 words. niche market.

| 1 | 2 | Most Recent | Next 50 Comments

Sorry, you must be logged in to leave a comment.

Breaking News

The most popular posts
in the last 7 days

Vita 'UMD Passport' won't be offered in US 221 comments
Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning review: A tempting fate 155 comments
Blizzard taking Valve to court over 'DOTA' trademark 110 comments
David Jaffe leaves Eat Sleep Play, layoffs hit developer [Update] 107 comments
Don't call it a remake: Final Fantasy X is a 'remaster,' to be clear 95 comments

Trine

OnLive 'Founding Members' program extended until Labor Day, Trine now available

Reader Comments (52)

Posted: Jul 18th 2010 3:37PM AutobotIronhide said

Posted: Jul 18th 2010 3:59PM WC said

Posted: Jul 18th 2010 4:00PM AutobotIronhide said

Posted: Jul 18th 2010 6:36PM (Unverified) said

Posted: Jul 18th 2010 9:31PM AutobotIronhide said

Posted: Jul 18th 2010 3:44PM ThGy007 said

Posted: Jul 18th 2010 3:44PM ThGy007 said

Posted: Jul 18th 2010 5:11PM HaL 10000 said

Posted: Jul 19th 2010 2:12AM (Unverified) said

Posted: Jul 19th 2010 5:04AM WilliamNighthawk said

Posted: Jul 18th 2010 3:45PM ThGy007 said

Posted: Jul 18th 2010 4:02PM saturn118 said

Posted: Jul 18th 2010 4:12PM AutobotIronhide said

Posted: Jul 18th 2010 4:32PM Follisimo said

Posted: Jul 18th 2010 5:47PM Faenix said

Posted: Jul 18th 2010 6:14PM saturn118 said

Posted: Jul 18th 2010 4:06PM MarkHawk said

Posted: Jul 18th 2010 4:13PM Fuska said

Posted: Jul 18th 2010 4:19PM DeeZeee said

Posted: Jul 18th 2010 5:07PM ZayCube said

Posted: Jul 18th 2010 5:49PM Faenix said

Posted: Jul 18th 2010 6:59PM DeeZeee said

Posted: Jul 18th 2010 5:31PM Ashkental said

Posted: Jul 19th 2010 8:44AM onan said

Posted: Jul 18th 2010 5:52PM metamorphic said

Posted: Jul 18th 2010 6:10PM Hackjob said

Posted: Jul 18th 2010 6:21PM Shiv Thrice said

Posted: Jul 18th 2010 6:36PM Faenix said

Posted: Jul 18th 2010 6:38PM Scuffles said

Posted: Jul 18th 2010 7:01PM Hackjob said

Posted: Jul 18th 2010 7:14PM DeeZeee said

Posted: Jul 18th 2010 8:37PM Shiv Thrice said

Posted: Jul 18th 2010 10:07PM Faenix said

Posted: Jul 18th 2010 10:45PM logicplay said

Posted: Jul 19th 2010 4:58AM WilliamNighthawk said

Posted: Jul 19th 2010 10:39AM tumes said

Posted: Jul 18th 2010 6:36PM GameboyHippo said

Posted: Jul 18th 2010 7:13PM dogmaticatheist said

Posted: Jul 18th 2010 10:19PM BananaBoat said

Posted: Jul 18th 2010 7:28PM crankygonzo said

Posted: Jul 18th 2010 7:28PM gmrtom7 said

Posted: Jul 19th 2010 10:05AM Cal said

Posted: Jul 18th 2010 7:38PM cmb4747 said

Posted: Jul 18th 2010 8:01PM crazeeseal said

Posted: Jul 18th 2010 9:35PM logicplay said

Posted: Jul 18th 2010 10:16PM Razorlution said

Posted: Jul 18th 2010 10:32PM golobulus said

Posted: Jul 18th 2010 11:30PM Faenix said

Posted: Jul 19th 2010 10:29AM Sidebuster said

Posted: Jul 19th 2010 10:07PM golobulus said

Trine Info

Description

MSRP

Release Date

Genre

Developer

Publisher

Rating

Breaking News

Double Fine Kickstarter passes $1 million in under 24 hours, breaking yet another record

Featured Stories

Dark Side 'Cause It Looks Cool: The Failings of Moral Choice in Games

Frictional teases a new Amnesia project, possibly set in China

GameStop sees majority of digital sales from cash; won't pursue used PC game sales

The most popular postsin the last 7 days

Engadget

TUAW

Massively

WoW

The most popular posts
in the last 7 days