So yesterday, we finally got the big reveal from the guys putting together the OnLive service.  We now know that the service will go live this summer and will run $14.95 a month for the service.  At first glance that sounds pretty good.  I mean who wouldn’t like to have a service that has full streaming video, tons of games across all platforms all available for one low price.  Think of it like Gametap, but with newer games.  Of course that bubble burst when they said that the $14.95 a month fee was just giving you access the service, not the game.  Games, apparently, are an extra cost, available as rentals or purchase.

Yes, they have since released word that there will be a free option that gives people “access to select rentals and game demos” when bandwidth permits.  So if a game rental is in high demand, you might be shit out of luck in playing that game.  Basically the free service is a way for OnLive to save some face by saying they have a free option, but they neglect to tell people that the free option is a hunk of crap compared to the full featured, pay us now service.

Also, I did not realize they were going to be selling games on the OnLive service.  This just takes another step of ownership away from the consumer at that point.  I mean right now, I barely own the games in my collection right now, but I can at least say they are installed locally on my hard drives, be it Xbox 360, Playstation 3, Wii or PC.  Now we have a service that does not even let me install the game on my computer.  So imagine if I buy a host of games on OnLive, and the service goes belly up in a year.  What then?  Will publishers make good on getting me a copy of that game from some other service, or will they champion the phrase “Caveat emptor” and basically demand another chunk of money to get a physical or Steam download of the game.

Also, while some would not give care about HD gaming, I do.  I enjoy high end graphics.  It is why I spend a ton of cash every two years for a video card, and why I have all my consoles hooked up via component or HDMI cables.  OnLive will deliver HD 720p graphics, but only if you can connect to the OnLive servers with a consistent 5Mbps connection.  Right now, I can safely say that with a section of the country still on dial up, this will be out of reach for most consumers, which means the service will shift to 480p.  Yeah, something tells me that 640×480 graphics will not keep me interested for long.  That medium was passed in 1996-98 era of DOS and Windows gaming.  I refuse to pay for a game that will deliver 14 year old graphics at the most.

I was very skeptical when we talked about OnLive in a podcast several months ago, but I had warmed up to the service as of late, and was amazed by the video presentation we had on the site a couple of months ago.  The service seemed very robust, and the inclusion of live video feeds, brag reels and more gave the serivce a ton of style and substance not found currently on any network I have for gaming.  The pricing was what I was waiting for, and now that I have that information, I will steer far away from OnLive.  $15 a month as an access fee is not appealing.  I would rather be charged $25-30 and have access to all the games I want to play. 

But hey, maybe I am missing the point here.  Let me know if you think this is a good or bad idea from OnLive.  Also, if they offer Burnout: Paradise, will I have to buy it out of sheer need to own on all platforms?