OnLive's Changes

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As many of you may know, I am a fan of the OnLive service. I have a number of games with them and have had an account since they launched two years ago. So you can bet that I was not too happy to hear about their difficulties as of late. On Friday their entire staff was laid off. As of that moment the future of OnLive was a mystery to all. Then Lauder Partners purchased the company and rehired half the staff. The others are going to be given options to work as consultants for the new OnLive company.  The former CEO and founder, Steve Perlman, is getting nothing from the sale of his company. He is taking full responsibility for being unable to keep his company afloat. In fact all the executives have not received any compensation for the sale and, in fact, all are taking pay cuts to rehire as much of the former staff as possible.  This is something that I can, and do, respect. They are taking the blame for bad decisions and trying to allow their employees to survive. They are not blaming bad economies or anything like that.

So that is the internal stuff, but what about us? Well, there is good news for those that have purchased games through OnLive. The new OnLive has confirmed that user purchases will still be available. As of now we don't have to worry about losing our games. OnLive will continue to be on the Ouya system. So here is hoping that things work out for them under the new company.

This Weeks Geek - Streaming the Future

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Netflix started it, they got people used to streaming their entertainment to their homes. Then OnLive and Gaikai started streaming video games to our homes. They require a decent-ish network connection (5 MBps for OnLive), but they allow you to play full games on lower ends devices (like a netbook). OnLive has it's own client that is used on Windows, OS X, Android, and iOS in order to run any game that they provide while Genkai currently runs within a browser. Right now the content that they provide comes from other developers. Now what sort of future does streaming have in video games?
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DeusEx And Gamestop - Not the Happiest Couples

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If you purchased a PC copy of DeusEx: Human Revolution you would be lucky to find a code inside for a free copy of the game on OnLive, unless you purchased it from Gamestop.  Gamestop was not aware of the included coupon when they received the games, and since they do not have a partnership with OnLive was rather appauled that the coupon was included.  So much in fact they opened all of the copies of the game and removed the voucher.  Well people, including Square Enix, were not happy about new product being opened and the coupons removed.  Now Gamestop, instead of having to deal with angry customers that are mad about them opening the game before being purchased, Gamestop has decided to just outright not sell the PC version.  The promotion that SquareEnix has setup is in direct competition with a cloud gaming service that Gamestop has in the works.  So they are just going to return all the copies of DeusEx: Human Revolution.  If you purchased a copy through pre-order they will still honor it, but don't expect your OnLive game coupon.

Hail to the King Baby

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In 1997 3D Realms started making a game. This game would win many a vaporware award and when the company tanked in 2009 the game was called dead. Little did anyone know a few months later the warlock Randy Picthford at Gearbox Software would perform dark magics learned in Hollywood (where else would you learn dark magics) and resurrected the fallen title.  This game is known as Duke Nukem Forever.  Now 14 years after it was concieved the title has made its way to the public.  Now I don't really have high hopes for this game; that will not stop me from playing it though.  The game is 14 years old (technically) so I will treat it as if it has the maturity of a boy the same age.  Also any company that is willing to stick with one title this long and not just scrap it deserves my time.  This will also be the first full title that I play on OnLive, so here is hoping this all works for the best.

The Gameslave Podcast - Episode 72

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I have successfully completed another episode of The Gameslave Podcast. I talk of OnLive giving stuff away, Blizzard donations and Angry Birds. And apparently I started making up words during part of the podcast and had some very poor grammar skills, please forgive (or not). Also there is no PSN talk in this podcast, I am tired of it by now.


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Hit this link for the show notes.

The Gameslave Podcast - Episode 71

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The Gameslave Podcast 71 has arrived from a not so far far away galaxy. We have talk about the new Star Wars related announcement, some video games and anime. Wow we almost have the full gauntlet on this.

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Hit this link for the show notes.

The Gameslave Podcast - Episode 65

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Happy St Patricks Day everyone. Ok, I am a day early, but most of you will see his on 03/17 or later anyway so cut me some slack. And while I may not bring the gift of beer, I do have episode 65 of the Gameslave Podcast.

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Hit the Podcast page for the show notes