Digital Distribution : And all that could have been. Onlive.

Starting today with the first article on my series on Digital Distribution, Onlive. Onlive is a streaming service. The way it works is that it streams the input from your device to their server and stream back the video to you. It is accessible from almost any devices : Low end PC/MAC, their console (and soon the Ouya), and mobile phones (iOS and Android). 

So far, it's one unique way of digitally distributing games. Just before the pros and cons, here is a diagram of how it works. Really simplified, but it'll help you understand a bit better how it is done.

Onlive technology, now also on iOS and Android

Pros:

Your games follow you : 
While its streaming technology makes the best part, your games follow you everywhere. No need to redownload it to a new device, you can play your games straight from your friend's PC, or even his phone.

Free trials : Try before you buy has never been so easy. Game trials are available for almost every games offered. It gives you 30 minutes of gameplay from the full game. You can replay the trial as much as you want, but each time you start from the beginning as it won't save your progress.

Game rentals : 
You are the kind of player who plays a game for a few days before moving on? There are two options for you. Rental of games cost less but you can play all you want for 3 to 5 days.

Netflix for games : 
Onlive offers a service called PlayPack. For 10$/month, you get unlimited access to around 150 games. From indies such as Doc Clock, old classics like Fallout 1 and 2, to blockbusters hit like Homefront Multiplayer and Just Cause 2. The only titles not there are new games who will eventually be added.

Price and promotions :
I got Deus Ex : HR for free (my brother gave me the code he got from buying the retail game), got Warhammer 40k : Space Marine for 1$, got Saint's Row: The 3rd for 20$ and usually new games are below the 40$ mark.  They used to give 5$ Fridays where great titles were 5$ (Red Faction Guerrilla and Armageddon, Dawn of War 2 and many more). Unfortunately, this golden time seems to be over today.

Cons :

Always on Internet : 
It's not some kind of security DRM, it's just the way they distribute the games.  No Internet? How could you stream the controls and the video?

Streaming is a lot of data : 
About 100MB/10 minutes, even for small indie games that usually are less than 100MB. This is the data rate monitored on a laptop but it does vary. It takes less on mobile due to the smaller screen, and more on the console since it streams on HD TVs. In many countries, this is not an issue as there is no bandwidth cap on home High Speed Internet, but in other regions, there is. And if you play a lot on your phone data plan, that could become expensive.

Games are account based : 
Sorry if you have a family, either everyone plays on the same account, sharing the achievements and other social features, or everyone buy their own games. Could get really expensive to have 4 PlayPack accounts.

Is it dying : 
Onlive might be a good example of the ugliness of digital distribution. For many, the recent bankrupt is the sign Onlive will die, even if a new owner is determined on keeping the service alive. If the distributor dies, so are your game database and every games you don't have installed. In the case of Onlive it could be worst since no games are installed at all.

Conclusion :

Onlive's business model of distribution was aimed at making its games accessible everywhere for a single user on many devices.  This, in theory is a great opportunity for gamers to always have their games with them, but in fact its weakness is that you are Internet-dependent.  The fact that every user needs to buy their own game is also a great drawback  compared to physical media.  The cheap prices, game rental, monthly service or free game trial having all that in an Instant Access is its strong point.