Onlive Bankrupt

[Minox]

If you had read the topic as well as other follow-up stories you would've known that they're downsizing through a rather sly method, they're not really going out of business.

If you had read his comment, you would realize he never specified whether or not he thought that he would lose his games.

That sad smilie implied something bad had happened, which really is not the case for normal customers as we're unlikely to notice a difference.

They did go out of business.
http://kotaku.com/59...-expect-the-end
tldr: It wasn't officially declared a bankruptcy, but they were instead bought out by investors and are being reorganized. They failed, ran out of money and are now a completely new entity.

Since OnLive still exists as an entity I'd hardly call that going out of business. The sly method I mentioned was that they were able to downsize the company and getting rid of excess resources with minimal resources.

 

[TripleSMoon]

That sad smilie implied something bad had happened, which really is not the case for normal customers as we're unlikely to notice a difference.

I know I would be sad if I were an OnLive customer. If I just purchased some new games, who knows how whoever takes over will handle things compared to the original guys? Imagine if Apple suddenly went bankrupt and Microsoft took over. How would you feel about the iPhone you just bought?

 

[hatredg0d]

i hope google got them /dreams

 

[SifJar]

Glad they're not gone completely, I was just planning on starting to use the service to play a few games I'll not be able to otherwise (not going to pay for an expensive gaming PC or a PS3 or a 360 for 2 or 3 games I want to play), as I should soon have an Internet connection capable of running it well.

 

[Rasas]

snip

Only the really stupid or lazy spend that much. Plus with Steam and sales you pay like 5-50 usually and 400-800 on a decent PC to run them.

 

[LightyKD]

snip

Only the really stupid or lazy spend that much. Plus with Steam and sales you pay like 5-50 usually and 400-800 on a decent PC to run them.

I know. I was being a tad bit dramatic and sarcastic with my post. I'm just making fun of PC gamers who whine about how they think that OnLive ruined PC gaming. Not OnLive's or its user's fault that this faction need to justify their purchase with some false sense of superiority. It's like PS/360 gamers getting all mad because the little 250 dollar Wii was kicking ass and taking names, Reggie style.

 

[ZAFDeltaForce]

Also not too long ago they were offering a game for free

 

[Minox]

I know. I was being a tad bit dramatic and sarcastic with my post. I'm just making fun of PC gamers who whine about how they think that OnLive ruined PC gaming. Not OnLive's or its user's fault that this faction need to justify their purchase with some false sense of superiority. It's like PS/360 gamers getting all mad because the little 250 dollar Wii was kicking ass and taking names, Reggie style.

Last time I checked OnLive didn't kick anyone's ass, it's an option just like the PC and all the consoles out there.

Each and every person out there has their own preference when it comes to gaming platform of choice, it doesn't get much simpler than that.

 

[Foxi4]

This is the danger of streaming content - if there wasn't another company that would continue the service, all the subscribers "magically" lose their purchases. This is why I'm such an advocate of physical mediums - you never know what's going to happen. Streaming company goes under - your content, your property, goes under along with it - it's like a risky investment on Wall Street. You're going to come out with services like Steam which offer downloadable content rather than streamed, but I'll tell you what - what if someone hacks the servers? What if said service goes under and you will find yourself unable to re-download all your titles? What about the titles with DRM that require you to connect to a global server to even work?

I'll have my games on a disc, thank you very much. With a disc, I know that the game will last proportionally long to how much I care for it, plus I can back it up if needs be. Some of my disc-based games are nearly as old as I am and they're still in pristine condition - what's there to complain about?

Sure, the prices on such services are lower, but for good reasons. No box, no manual, no disc, no collectioner's value - just the barebones game. If I don't care for a title enough to put it on display - fine, but this begs the question why would I buy it if I don't care for it?

I know I'm just rambling now, but I had the Download vs. Stream vs. Physical Medium so many times and this was one of my prime arguments - the unreliability of the service. I hope this tips the scales and boosts physical medium sales, because I'd hate to wake up one day, go shopping and *not* see a game store in the mall. Progress is essential and it's good to advance to new technological heights, but... some things just shouldn't change.

It's an okay alternative for people that are not collectors or are not passionate about gaming... but for me and people like me... not so much.

 

[thegame07]

This is the danger of streaming content - if there wasn't another company that would continue the service, all the subscribers "magically" lose their purchases. This is why I'm such an advocate of physical mediums - you never know what's going to happen. Streaming company goes under - your content, your property, goes under along with it - it's like a risky investment on Wall Street. You're going to come out with services like Steam which offer downloadable content rather than streamed, but I'll tell you what - what if someone hacks the servers? What if said service goes under and you will find yourself unable to re-download all your titles? What about the titles with DRM that require you to connect to a global server to even work?

I'll have my games on a disc, thank you very much. With a disc, I know that the game will last proportionally long to how much I care for it, plus I can back it up if needs be. Some of my disc-based games are nearly as old as I am and they're still in pristine condition - what's there to complain about?

Sure, the prices on such services are lower, but for good reasons. No box, no manual, no disc, no collectioner's value - just the barebones game. If I don't care for a title enough to put it on display - fine, but this begs the question why would I buy it if I don't care for it?

I know I'm just rambling now, but I had the Download vs. Stream vs. Physical Medium so many times and this was one of my prime arguments - the unreliability of the service. I hope this tips the scales and boosts physical medium sales, because I'd hate to wake up one day, go shopping and *not* see a game store in the mall. Progress is essential and it's good to advance to new technological heights, but... some things just shouldn't change.

It's an okay alternative for people that are not collectors or are not passionate about gaming... but for me and people like me... not so much.

Until your disc comes with steamworks or Activation limit securom... Which most disc based games have these days. The days of drm free disc based content is long gone or The drm where the disc needs to be in the tray. You could say you can just use a crack but then you might aswel download the game in the first place.

 

[TripleSMoon]

Until your disc comes with steamworks or Activation limit securom... Which most disc based games have these days. The days of drm free disc based content is long gone or The drm where the disc needs to be in the tray. You could say you can just use a no cd crack but then you might aswel download the game in the first place.

Personally, I'd MUCH rather deal with "disc needs to be in the tray" DRM than any other kind of DRM.

 

[thegame07]

Until your disc comes with steamworks or Activation limit securom... Which most disc based games have these days. The days of drm free disc based content is long gone or The drm where the disc needs to be in the tray. You could say you can just use a no cd crack but then you might aswel download the game in the first place.

Personally, I'd MUCH rather deal with "disc needs to be in the tray" DRM than any other kind of DRM.

My point is 95% (pulling stats out my arse but I can't be to far off) of new games don't use that drm anymore. Disc content = Securom or steamworks or something similar.

The only big release recently I can think of that was drm free is The witcher 2 and even then it had securom at first with activation limits until they removed it.

Thinking you're safe to play your games in 10 years because you bought a disc these days isn't true. It's even more dodgy than buying games off steam imo.

 

[TripleSMoon]

My point is 95% (pulling stats out my arse but I can't be to far off) of new games don't use that drm anymore. Disc content = Securom or steamworks or something similar.

The only big release recently I can think of that was drm free is The witcher 2 and even then it had securom at first with activation limits until they removed it.

Thinking your safe to play your games in 10 years because you bought a disc these days isn't true. It's even more dodgy than buying games off steam imo.

Oh, I agree. I'm just saying, that's my preference (if I was a serious PC gamer, which I'm not). Shame it's rarely the case, especially when it can be just as effective.

 

[Foxi4]

Downloading a Crack for a game you legally purchased does not equal downloading it. I'm prefectly fine with giving credit to the developers and putting money in their basket for a job well done (when I have the money - I'm not saying that I don't pirate - I do), what I'm not fine with is saying that if I am a legitimate user of given software, I shouldn't crack it. I have full rights to modify it in any way I deem necessary and produce as many backup copies of it as I deem fit, and if that means that I'll have to download the works of some hacker and use them just to avoid some pitiful excuses at anti-piracy or some game-breaking "innovations" that are supposed to "enhance" my gaming experience via making means of making it uncomfortable then so be it. I paid for the game, I can crack it - don't equate that with downloading a game for free from an illegitimate source.

 

[thegame07]

Downloading a Crack for a game you legally purchased does not equal downloading it. I'm prefectly fine with giving credit to the developers and putting money in their basket for a job well done (when I have the money - I'm not saying that I don't pirate - I do), what I'm not fine with is saying that if I am a legitimate user of given software, I shouldn't crack it. I have full rights to modify it in any way I deem necessary and produce as many backup copies of it as I deem fit, and if that means that I'll have to download the works of some hacker and use them just to avoid some pitiful excuses at anti-piracy or some game-breaking "innovations" that are supposed to "enhance" my gaming experience via making means of making it uncomfortable then so be it. I paid for the game, I can crack it - don't equate that with downloading a game for free from an illegitimate source.

So you support a developer that blocks you out of your game and forces you to download a crack for the game you purchased? I'm sorry but When companys think it's ok to treat their customers like that , I say "Pirate away". This is coming from someone with over 900 items on steam and I don't pirate pc games. I've been wanting to play Batman Arkam City for so long but I refuse to the drm, They don't get my money and they never will. I don't care how good their game is they won't get my money.

My point was if you're downloading a crack for your legit game you're being treated like crap from the people you paid to support. It won't be long before they drop the fucked up drm if people stopped buying it. Drm only restricts the paying customers not the pirates.

You misread my post/got me wrong from what I was saying and I can see why.

 

[Foxi4]

So you support a developer that blocks you out of your game and forces you to download a crack for the game you purchased? I'm sorry but When companys think it's ok to treat their customers like that , I say "Pirate away". This is coming from someone with over 900 items on steam and I don't pirate pc games. I've been wanting to play Batman Arkam City for so long but I refuse to the drm, They don't get my money and they never will. I don't care how good their game is they won't get my money.

My point was if your downloading a crack for your legit game you're being treated like crap from the people you paid to support. It won't be long before they drop the fucked up drm if people stopped buying it. Drm only restricts the paying customers not the pirates.

The DRM and AP were put there BECAUSE piracy is rampant. If you think that any self-respecting programmer would deliberately put code that hinders the inner workings of their program into it then you are wrong - those are orders from the top of the ladder my friend.

I'm not a supporter of AP or DRM - I believe that the customer is entitled to do whatever he or she wants with the software he or she purchased legitimately, but at the same time I'm the last person to support a piss-poor excuse just to download games. I understand why the AP's and DRM's are out there and I know that I have to deal with them because people don't feel like buying games, I know that people don't buy games because they're expensive, I know that they're expensive because people don't buy enough of them to cover the production costs and I'm well-aware that I am a part of the problem since I download as well. This is what they call a vicious cycle - nobody will make the first move because in this scenario everybody loses anyways.

Companies don't make games - artists do. Programmers, sound editors, CG artists, designers, actors and so-on and so-forth, and I'm more than willing to put food on their table because I know that making a great game is no small feat, especially with the competition they have nowadays from other studios and the ever-expanding capabilities of the hardware. I can see where you're coming from and I agree that even if the pirates are the great majority, companies shouldn't put hurdles in the way of legitimate users, but from their perspective, it's their money put into the product and their hard work and sweat put into its development. They're not excused, by no means - AP should be designed in a way that does not impede normal use of the applications, but hackers are crafty - we all know that.

EDIT: I read your edit now and I figured that we're talking about the same thing, just in two different ways. I see what you mean now, sorry if I sound patronizing or if I'm ranting, I'm just trying to voice my opinion in a clear way.

 

[thegame07]

So you support a developer that blocks you out of your game and forces you to download a crack for the game you purchased? I'm sorry but When companys think it's ok to treat their customers like that , I say "Pirate away". This is coming from someone with over 900 items on steam and I don't pirate pc games. I've been wanting to play Batman Arkam City for so long but I refuse to the drm, They don't get my money and they never will. I don't care how good their game is they won't get my money.

My point was if your downloading a crack for your legit game you're being treated like crap from the people you paid to support. It won't be long before they drop the fucked up drm if people stopped buying it. Drm only restricts the paying customers not the pirates.

The DRM and AP were put there BECAUSE piracy is rampant. If you think that any self-respecting programmer would put code that hinders the inner workings of their program deliberately then you are wrong - those are orders from the top of the ladder my friend.

I'm not a supporter of AP or DRM - I believe that the customer is entitled to do whatever he or she wants with the software he or she purchased legitimately, but at the same time I'm the last person to support a piss-poor excuse just to download games. I understand why the AP's and DRM's are out there and I know that I have to deal with them because people don't feel like buying games, I know that people don't buy games because they're expensive, I know that they're expensive because people don't buy enough of them to cover the production costs and I'm well-aware that I am a part of the problem since I download as well. This is what they call a viscious cycle - nobody will make the first move because in this scenario everybody loses anyways.

Companies don't make games - artists do. Programmers, sound editors, CG artists, designers, actors and so-on and so-forth, and I'm more than willing to put food on their table because I know that making a great game is no small feat, especially with the competition they have nowadays from other studios and the ever-expanding capabilities of the hardware. I can see where you're coming from and I agree that even if the pirates are the great majority, companies shouldn't put hurdles on the way of legitimate users, but from their perspective, it's their money put into the product and their hard work and sweat put into its development. They're not excused, by no means - AP should be designed in a way that does not impede normal use of the applications, but hackers are crafty - we all know that.

Well I will have to say we are going to have to agree to disagree. I'm not into conspiracy theory's but in my mind it's clear Drm has been put in place to control the users of the software. It has nothing to do with piracy. Developers aren't stupid and they know their Drm doens't work at all. Their game is cracked within the hour of release sometimes even before.

I understand your point about paying the people who actually made the game but that's not my problem if they went with a publisher that screws me over.

 

[TripleSMoon]

I'm not into conspiracy theory's but in my mind it's clear Drm has been put in place to control the users of the software. It has nothing to do with piracy. Developers aren't stupid and they know their Drm doens't work at all.

I disagree with most of the other points you presented here, but this one is really thought provoking. It's kind of hard to buy the idea that devs use DRM to protect their games, when it's obvious to anyone they really don't work.

I understand your point about paying the people who actually made the game but that's not my problem if they went with a publisher that screws me over.

Two wrongs really don't make a right at all, especially if it harms the innocent. Just saying. But like you said, agree to disagree.

 

[Foxi4]

I understand your point about paying the people who actually made the game but that's not my problem if they went with a publisher that screws me over.

Thing is that in these economy and times, no independent studio is capable of producing a high-end product and then distributing it on a global scale out of their own pocket - that's just not going to happen. Sure, there are exceptions to that rule - games like Minecraft make a whole lot of money, but only because they're innovative products that show a new approach towards a given subject - or even a new subject entirely - not because they're high quality, but you get my drift.

Studios require publishers to fund and distribute their content and publishers require the studios to put DRM and AP into their products to protect their interests - another vicious cycle. These aren't the DOS times anymore where a bunch of kids could code a brilliant game in their basement - this is full-on HD gaming we're talking about, and it takes hell of a lot more resources than the average gamer thinks it does.

 

[thegame07]

EDIT: I read your edit now and I figured that we're talking about the same thing, just in two different ways. I see what you mean now, sorry if I sound patronizing or if I'm ranting, I'm just trying to voice my opinion in a clear way.

I just seen your edit.

I didn't take your posts that way, I like having discussions like this and it's nice to have a discussion like this without someone trolling or taking things to far. It's ok to debate things here and there in a civilised matter. Which I respect, I can take people disagreeing with me and you've backed up everything you've said with your opinion which is great.

Yeah, I get what you're saying about the makers of the game.