# Gamers, what's your take on OnLive? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [March 10, 2010, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gamers-whats-your-take-on-onlive/532044 "2010-03-10T23:31:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 3\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Kinthalis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kinthalis/32/16084_2.png) [@Kinthalis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kinthalis)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2010, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gamers-whats-your-take-on-onlive/532044/21 "2010-03-17T21:23:46Z")
No, apparently it’s $15 a month for access + pay to buy/rent the game. though buying the game makes little sense, if you don’t continue to pay the $15 a month, presumably you don’t get to play the games you “purchased”. ---
**Author:** ![HorseloverFat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8e8cbc/32.png) [@HorseloverFat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HorseloverFat)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2010, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gamers-whats-your-take-on-onlive/532044/22 "2010-03-17T21:57:04Z")
> [@](#): > > Having a 150ms ping to an internet server means it takes a while to get updates about where the players, objects in the world, etc. are. But your computer integrates them smoothly into the world I still dont think its a big deal. When playing battlefield-like games you can easily deal with a network latency of 150 or so, and this affects all the action on the screen. Yes, thats not the same as affecting everything (UI, etc), but humans can handle quite a bit of latency before our brains tell us things dont look right. Im not sure what youre getting at here. Are you saying its a scam? It seems legit to me and the latency looks doable from everything I’ve read. Like I wrote above, its not for twitch games, but I imagine it will work fairly well for other types of games. Its legit and doable. lots of info here: [http://siculars.posterous.com/onlive-shows-us-the-way-to-video-game-nirvana](http://siculars.posterous.com/onlive-shows-us-the-way-to-video-game-nirvana) ---
**Author:** ![HorseloverFat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8e8cbc/32.png) [@HorseloverFat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HorseloverFat)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2010, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gamers-whats-your-take-on-onlive/532044/23 "2010-03-17T22:02:44Z")
[Also, more here:](http://www.maximumpc.com/article/features/everything_you_need_know_about_onlive_is_your_next_gaming_console?page=0%2C0) > [@](#): > > 80ms might not seem like a lot for PC gamers who are used to sub-50ms ping to server in multiplayer games, but OnLive points to recent studies that have shown that 80ms is pretty much the threshold for most people before their brain can process and notice any lag in gameplay. Sure enough, when we played a racing game – a genre that demands quick responses – with OnLive, the response time between a button press and a reaction on screen was instantaneous. > > OnLive’s game servers are actually located in one of five planned data centers (ones in Santa Clara and New York are confirmed), so while the service will depend on where you live, coverage will extend across the entire United States (and even technically parts of Canada). Just like with bandwidth, you’ll be required to test your latency to these data centers before you can register for an OnLive account. And just because you live close to a data center doesn’t mean you’ll immediately be eligible. The “last mile” of connectivity – that between you and your ISP – will most likely be the determining factor. > > Technically, OnLive works anywhere in the world, and their plan is to definitely expand beyond the shores of the US. A recent test showed that games were even playable from overseas in the UK while dialed into the New York data center. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gamers-whats-your-take-on-onlive/532044.md?page=1)