OnLive launches in UK with GAME as retail partner
BT offers multiple deals to promote uptake of cloud gaming service; multiplayer subscription to cost £6.99 per month
Cloud gaming service OnLive launches today in the UK, offering consumers a subscription to multiplayer games for £6.99 per month.
The flat rate package gives consumers access to the multiplayer portion of over 100 games for a set fee, although single player content for some titles needs to be purchased on top of the subscription.
Users will also be able to rent games for between 3-5 days - at the time of writing rental prices were said to be around "£2-£4" per game.
High Street retailer GAME has become the first bricks and mortar store to sell the OnLive Micro Console, which retails in the UK for £69.99, although initial rollout will be limited to the group's websites.
Broadband partner BT is offering a number of deals to its customers to spur uptake, giving free access to the service for three months - OnLive content will also not count towards usage allowance until January next year. There is also an offer to buy a game up to the value of £39.99 for £1.
"OnLive will utterly transform gaming in the UK," offered Steve Perlman, CEO of OnLive. "No discs, big downloads or specialised hardware are needed. OnLive gives you the latest games instantly, anytime, anywhere on HDTV, PC, Mac, as well as soon on iPad and Android tablets.
"It makes high performance gaming as accessible as streaming video, with unique social features, such as watching thousands of people play games live with voice chat and Facebook integration."