OnLive to offer rentals without subscription

OnLive boss Steve Perlman has revealed that the cloud gaming service will allow users to rent PC titles on a game-by-game basis, highlighting a more flexible approach for customers.

The company said earlier in the week that the basic OnLive packages consists of a $14.99 monthly subscription with games priced on top of that, but a new Portal will not charge for access to selected rental titles and free-to-play demos.

"The OnLive Game Portal is for gamers looking for direct access to OnLive games without being required to subscribe to the features of the full OnLive Game Service," said Perlman.

"Through the OnLive Game Portal, gamers will be able to play select games directly on a rental basis as well as game demos for free; subject to available OnLive service capacity and whatever usage limits are associated with each given demo. Rentals will be priced on a per-game basis."

Perlman added that the Portal would use the same technology as the OnLive Game Service, offering instant access to high-end PC titles through a browser plug-in.

The OnLive Game Service is set to launch on June 17 in 48 US states, although the rental Portal will follow at a later date.

Yesterday, Signal Hill's Todd Greenwald said that a number of factors could hamper the launch, including the monthly subscription, high costs for new releases and an ongoing question of technical performance.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...t-subscription