OnLive cloud gaming service launching 'winter'

OnLive is set for a winter launch, with the company valued in the region of $500-$750 million
OnLive is set for a winter launch, with the company valued in the region of $500-$750 million

The boss of cloud gaming company OnLive has said that the service is set to launch sometime this coming winter and that the service is already valued in the region of $500-$750 million.

OnLive CEO Steve Perlman has not specified an exact date for the final release to consumers, as the cloud gaming service is still in its beta testing phase.

Perlman has, however, hinted to VentureBeat, that the service – originally slated for a 2009 launch – may well slip into early 2010.

Goodbye gaming discs...

"Over the last decade, we've seen an enormous upheaval in the media business as the written word, photos, music, and video have been steadily moving away from physical media to online delivery," said the OnLive man on his blog.

"One major category that still remains largely based on physical discs is fast-response interactive media — in particular, video games. And, of course, OnLive's goal is to enable that last remaining transition."

US telecom giant, AT&T doesn't think so and Silicon Valley venture capital firm, Lauder Partners LLC have both handed over oodles more venture capital cash to OnLive.

This prompted games analyst Michael Pachter to comment: "It establishes Onlive as a real player. This is not just some goofy video game delivery company.''

Adam Hartley