What is arguably the most exciting or intriguing story to come out of the 2009 Game Developers Conference in late March this year, was the new prospective gaming “system” called OnLive, and we'll be looking at that in today's post. So, let's begin!

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OnLive is what on-demand television is to PC and console gaming: it's essentially a “stream-gaming” system that is capable of playing titles from a number of different systems right off of your television or personal computer. The impressive story about OnLive is how it's able to address one of the most commonplace gripes about console gaming in the industry, and that's how many popular titles were available only exclusively to a single system, and that to enjoy the best that gaming has to offer a consumer would have to invest their money into two, three, or more systems at a time, per console generation. Anyone can see that the cost of this endeavor reaches thousands of dollars out of the gamer's pockets easily, something that nobody would want to go through. So, how does OnLive solve this problem? Easy: let's get rid of the hardware.

OnLive is a multi-platform, on-demand delivery system that's capable of playing games straight to your television through a “MicroConsole”, which looks like it could fit right in your hand. The system is so simple because it doesn't have to handle the complex work of 3D rendering and in-game physics as you play the game, instead it just uploads all of your inputs and downloads all of the completed renderings and work from a separate server located elsewhere. It uses a technique called cloud computing, where the console becomes a remote access point to the games and entertainment available from the connected server. This system makes OnLive multi-generational, since the hardware is not the dependent factor for gaming on the consumer's end of the system, instead the only noticeable barrier to the OnLive experience right now is the broadband speed of the end-user's household internet connection. Most people should recognize that for a true 3D, richly detailed gaming experience, there will be a whole lot of data to be calculated and visuals to be rendered. And in something like an OnLive system, all of these massive packets of data and renderings need to be downloaded through your internet connection to your console or computer at a constant, uninterrupted rate for a gaming experience free from video stutter or lag. In addition to the download, the system will need to upload your individual controller inputs and actions with incredible speed to prevent any delayed response in the gaming environment for your in-game character, avatar, or vehicle. Most internet service provider's outfit their consumer-level plans with a low upload speed since the bulk of internet activity (like web-browsing or audio/video-streaming) relies on a fast download speed.

The MicroConsole supports four wireless controllers and bluetooth capability that allows you to communicate with other online gamers via connected headsets, it also has two USB ports which I assume are for wired controllers, or maybe for future hardware additions. The controllers look to be like your generic setups with similar architecture and design to popular gaming systems like the Microsoft XBox 360 or Sony Playstation 3, there is no current Wii controller adaptation as of yet. But the MicroConsole isn't the only way to enjoy the OnLive experience, for the developers have already been considering delivering their games to your personal computer, either through a Microsoft XP or Vista capable PC or Intel-based Apple computer running OS X. This gets me even more excited, because that means you can take all of your titles and your saved games virtually anywhere that you can find a strong internet connection. That is truly exciting to hear about after spending more and more money on computer upgrades to video-cards, hard drives, processors, and so on. Finally, a system that looks like a promising break in that barrier.

OnLive is being headed by CEO Steve Perlman whose been responsible for ventures like Quicktime and WebTV, and other executive members include Tom Paquin (founder of Mozilla and it's web-browser Firefox), John Spinale (former executive of Eidos and Activision), Mike McGarvey (also former executive of Eidos), as well as other impressive members of the gaming industry. The system is currently in closed beta, with sixteen titles available from game developers such as Electronic Arts, THQ, Eidos Interactive, Ubisoft, Take-Two, in addition to others. There is a hopeful winter 2009 release date scheduled, after a open-beta program this summer.

I can't help but imagine that my personal computer, which has some impressive, beefed up hardware, will be looked upon like one of those classic hot-rods of yesteryear when a system like this will be widely available and replaces console and PC gaming altogether. It would be amazing for a system like this to succeed, for it will break the cycle of heavy investment from generation to generation of video game consoles and computer hardware, relieving many budget-restricted gamers like myself.