Want to play newer games on an old PC? Try Cloud Computing

[scott91575]

OnLive believes cloud computing will allow you to do it. Of course it requires a fast internet connect. I also assume it will require a good ping.

OnLive Gaming Service Launches; 1st Year is Free

Free to sign up for a year. Then you can either rent games (which is another huge plus for PC gaming) or buy the game to play whenever you want.

The library is certainly not very large right now, but most think cloud computing is the way of the future.

 

[CentralMOBuck]

I don't doubt that cloud computing is the way of the future. But running graphically intensive games through a cloud is a long way out.

 

[OSUScoonie12]

I've heard alot about this recently, but i just don't see this taking off as much as what people are imagining. It is a cool idea, but I think people are still going to want to own the game and everything. Why pay a service to play games, when you could buy the game once and not deal with anything else.

Be interesting to see where this goes in the next year or two.

 

[scott91575]

I don't doubt that cloud computing is the way of the future. But running graphically intensive games through a cloud is a long way out.

Well, I heard they are going to offer Crysis. Doesn't get any more graphically intensive than that. The article mentions Mass Effect 2 is offered, which is a pretty graphic intensive game. I might actually try this on my laptop to see what it is like.

edit: I didn't see Crysis on their site. Yet Assassin's Creed 2, Just Cause 2, Mass Effect 2, Borderlands, and Dragon Age: Origins are offered. Those are pretty high up in the graphics category. Even if it's not at the highest graphical limits of the game, it's a plus just to be able to rent a PC game.

 

[scott91575]

Why pay a service to play games, when you could buy the game once and not deal with anything else.

Because you won't have to update your computer in order to play games. A bottom basement computer from years ago will have the same ability to play the game as a brand new top of the line gaming machine. There is also no installation process and the game does not take up hard drive space.

 

[jwinslow]

Because you won't have to update your computer in order to play games. A bottom basement computer from years ago will have the same ability to play the game as a brand new top of the line gaming machine. There is also no installation process and the game does not take up hard drive space.

Which would destroy the retail hardware market. I do not see america and asia fully supporting this until absolutely forced to do so.

 

[scott91575]

Which would destroy the retail hardware market. I do not see america and asia fully supporting this until absolutely forced to do so.

Why is that a bad thing? Less things a consumer has to buy. The hardware makers do not determine the market, the consumer does. Why would someone spend hundreds if not thousands on hardware when they can get the same thing for much less?

 

[jwinslow]

Why is that a bad thing? Less things a consumer has to buy. The hardware makers do not determine the market, the consumer does. Why would someone spend hundreds if not thousands on hardware when they can get the same thing for much less?

good for my wallet, bad for the value of the dollars in it.

Why would you ever need a new computer? That is a huge market they would be destroying, and not just for gamers.

 

[scott91575]

good for my wallet, bad for the value of the dollars in it.

Why would you ever need a new computer? That is a huge market they would be destroying, and not just for gamers.

Railroads were big at one time too.

 

[jwinslow]

Railroads were big at one time too.

So was having real conversations among humans, now we have a million ways to communicate and connect but are a lot more isolated and fragmented individually because of those.

We used to learn that people dont want to hear the excrutiating minutia of every moment of our lives. Now we celebrate constant updates about what stupid randomness runs thru their brain - what they put on their sandwich - or which ones they like from others.

Apple uses to specialize in selling great laptops. Now they sell weak, limited super iphones that arent phones and not practical for non casual needs.

We used to get networks battling to produce the most compelling dramas and comedies. Now they race to see who can air the most successful, low budget reality shows, cheap ripoffs or blatant copies of existing shows.

Newer technology and more popular changes are hardly indicative of quality.


I love cloud computing overall, and maybe cloud gaming would mean a better supported gaming market which is admittedly fragmented by diverse hardware...

Im just leery of losing the competitive race to enhance hardware, which has fueled the technology advances of the entire industry

 

[scott91575]

So was having real conversations among humans, now we have a million ways to communicate and connect but are a lot more isolated and fragmented individually because of those.

We used to learn that people dont want to hear the excrutiating minutia of every moment of our lives. Now we celebrate constant updates about what stupid randomness runs thru their brain - what they put on their sandwich - or which ones they like from others.

Apple uses to specialize in selling great laptops. Now they sell weak, limited super iphones that arent phones and not practical for non casual needs.

We used to get networks battling to produce the most compelling dramas and comedies. Now they race to see who can air the most successful, low budget reality shows, cheap ripoffs or blatant copies of existing shows.

Newer technology and more popular changes are hardly indicative of quality.


I love cloud computing overall, and maybe cloud gaming would mean a better supported gaming market which is admittedly fragmented by diverse hardware...

Im just leery of losing the competitive race to enhance hardware, which has fueled the technology advances of the entire industry

 

[jwinslow]

Lol, well played. Being old is not a prerequisite to hating facebook and twitter, nor a very good description.

I do not trust the gaming industry to keep enhancing the gaming experience without a compulsion to upgrade the technology being used.

When was the last time they made a meaningful upgrade to counterstrike, a game built to run on even entry level pcs?

 

[scott91575]

Lol, well played. Being old is not a prerequisite to hating facebook and twitter, nor a very good description.

I do not trust the gaming industry to keep enhancing the gaming experience without a compulsion to upgrade the technology being used.

When was the last time they made a meaningful upgrade to counterstrike, a game built to run on even entry level pcs?

I had to do it. It fit too well.

As for gaming and hardware I just don't see it. There is a market, and a strong one. New games will be made, and maybe at an even higher rate. One reason is you won't see any pirating of cloud games, so there goes one issue (although it's not as bad as the developers make it seem). It will also open up the market to more people once high speed internet becomes more common.

As for Counter Strike, that is a very unique situation. Counter Strike came about as a mod to Half Life and later Half Life 2. You can thank Valve's acceptance of mod communities for it's existence. Yet the Source engine which spawned Counter Strike: Source began with HL2, and is the code for HL2 episodes 1 and 2, Left 4 Dead, LFD2, Team Fortress 2, and Portal. That does not even include the multitude of mods like the very popular Gary's Mod. So yes, even with essentially the same technology, it spawned a multitude of games. You can't really just look at Counter Strike, you need to look at the engine behind it. Besides, Counter Strike has never been a major stand alone game developed from scratch by a game studio. Valve just updated the original using the Source engine. Look for another one once they come out with a new engine (which may be coming in a couple of years....who knows with Valve). It's always been a side thing that came about thanks to the mod community. It's popular, but it has never been a major development project for Valve. Hence you won't see it updated often.

 

[Buckeneye]

Maybe its just me, but control of the applications I want running being in the hands of a 3rd party makes me uneasy.

I could type out a couple paragraphs on how I feel, and believe me I did before going with a simple response - I'll pass.

 

[OSUScoonie12]

I still don't see how having cloud computing can allow old machines to play the new games. Say you have a machine from the mid 90s...even with cloud computing, it's gonna look like crap. It may run totally fine since the game would be running on a back end system, but your graphics card still determines what is on your screen. Maybe i'm wrong, but that's how i'm seeing.

I agree with Buckeneye too...i'd rather not have someone else basically be in charge on my games.