The service offered by OnLive is quite intriguing, as it allows you to play games on any number of platforms. A high-end game plays just as well on the OnLive MicroConsole which hooks up to your TV as it does on your PC or laptop, regardless of the specifications of either computer. At E3, the company even demonstrated the ability to stream games on an iPad; figuring out a way to handle the controls on a touchscreen aside, it’s impressive. Two places OnLive wouldn’t mind also being available on are Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. It might seem like a stretch, but it’s in the process of speaking to both companies about possible support.
Asked by CVG if either platform might support OnLive in the future, engineering VP Joe Bentley said, “Absolutely, they would make great consoles. Our controller is a hybrid between a PS3 controller and an Xbox controller. It’s all compatible, it would just work. There are OnLive guys chatting [Sony and MS], but we’ll see where it goes. But it would absolutely work, we’re ready to work with everybody.”
It’s hardly a guarantee that it will happen. The notion of streaming games is an attractive prospect to publishers in that it ensures gamers aren’t using pirates copies — if the game is never in the hands of the player, or even downloaded on their hard drive, it makes pirating it much more difficult. And for gamers, there’s no need to worry about having outdated hardware; the game is run on OnLive’s end and then streamed to you. The only thing needed is a capable Internet connection.
