With the Games Developer Conference of 2009 well on its way, the biggest story to hit so far is that of OnLive. A new way to game, OnLive will allow gamers to play titles that are streamed. Now I’m not very computer-programming savvy, so when I read that its similar to “cloud computing” I have no idea whats being discussed. The concept, however, is very intriguing.

Considered a serious competitor to the console market, OnLive will let even low-end computer users, whether you are an Intel Mac running Mac OSX or a Windows PC running XP or Vista, stream any top end games. Though these games are limited to publisher releases, many big players have already signed on, including EA, Take Two, and Ubisoft. The idea is simple: OnLive will have dedicated servers to running these 7th generation games, requiring just a video output in order to play. Depending on your internet connection, “seamless” play can be achieved in standard or high definition, with a 1.5Mbps or 5.0Mbps connection, respectively. The creator, Steven Perlman (of QuickTime and WebTV fame), claims the system to be “future-proof,” meaning that games developed for future consoles and higher end computers will play fine through their hardware, as all the upgrading will be done on the back-end, within the servers hosting the games. Games will be available for a one time rental or a permanent purchase. Pricing, though has been a little iffy. No definite prices have been set, although we know that there will be a monthly subscription fee, and other fees may apply.

Because of the competition that OnLive will provide for Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo, its only natural that their self-published titles won’t appear streaming on servers. So say goodbye to Mario, Link, Master Chief, Marcus Fenix, Kratos, Sackboy and any other game published by Sony, Nintendo or Microsoft. Now thats a big hit in the quality of games that will be available for streaming. Not only are these standard, high profile games not going to be available, but also all the other games that “the big 3″ have published. I understand that third party publishers such as EA and Take Two do offer many enjoyable games that don’t hold specific loyalties to gaming systems. However, if OnLive wants to compete with the console market, they’re going to find that it to be relatively impossible, even if they can stream any game on low end computers. I didn’t buy my Xbox 360 and PS3 to play Madden ‘09 or any cross-platform game. I wanted my Halo 3, Gears of War 2, LittleBigPlanet and Metal Gear Solid 4. And thats what most, if not all, other console gamers want. The only way this will stay afloat is if they can secure high-profile PC games - this would open up the PC market once again to the casual gamer, and in turn, would hopefully revive the PC as a gaming module. Not to mention all the new video game “converts” thanks to the Wii - good luck getting them interested in “cloud computing.”

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