Before weekend, it seems that the bombshell has finally dropped on cloud gaming provider OnLive. At first, the situation shows that the service provider will come to a halt as most of the company’s workforce was laid off except for few engineers. But moving forward, it seemed that the service provider is not shutting down, but will just move in the other direction. A bankruptcy was filed and an investor is swinging in supposedly and most of the employees were promised that their jobs will be returned to them after the reshuffling.
The main question here is, who made the investment? Some people thought that a newcomer is the one who bought OnLive, while some signs show that someone bigger has made the purchase – Microsoft. This move from the company would surely make sense. It is a fact that Sony have recently invested in cloud gaming through Gaikai, so Microsoft have moved in to secure OnLive in order to prepare the company in the future. No one knows yet whether this partnership will flourish or not, but lots of people believe that it will succeed. And here are some reasons that this move will be beneficial for the two parties.
Microconsole is Dead
OnLive Microconsole’s design is good and convenient though it is small, however, some technical problems are waiting to occur such as it gets hot quickly even though you shut it off and its controller sucks as it is very uncomfortable to use. The controller of the Xbox 360 would be a good change for the Microconsole and accessing the services using the Xbox unit.
The Arena will be Open Wide
One feature that stands out from OnLive service is the Arena where you can see and peer in the games being played by your friends. With this feature, you can watch your friend play, drop a comment about their game or give them thumbs up when it comes to their performance. If this feature of OnLive will be integrated by Microsoft to the next generation Xbox Live, it will surely be amazing and will introduce new creative resources and even provide better options for gamers.
Better Offering Unsing the PlayPack
There will never be a particular reason that Microsoft would not benefit from the unlimited service of PlayPack every month. Microsoft is already asking about the subscriptions for the Xbox Live in the Kinect, and it would be advantageous if they offer the same using the PlayPack. Maybe Microsoft can use it as discount for the gold members of Xbox Live, in a form of incentive for getting more subscribers. It offers lots of great and instantly available video games, both independent and retail.
They will Give Sony and Gaikai Great Competition
There is no doubt that Gaikai offers great service, however if Microsoft considers the appropriate integration style with OnLive, they will become an unbeatable cloud gaming provider option especially now that Sony is having troubles on their PlayStation Network. OnLive cloud service provider has the game options and user base, while Microsoft also have the network, the knowhow as well as the set-up for the menu.