Onlive Micro Console review

Written by Erik Kubik Wednesday, 26 January 2011 06:00

Onlive recently introduced the micro console as a way to further expand its influence. This means a lower cost to the end user, and less hardware someone has to worry about. The industry has moved away from physical media, so why not take the next step with a console?

The micro console is perfect for the living room, office, and bedroom. I could even see myself taking it on trips. The unit itself is 5 x 4 x 1.25 inches, no bigger than a few decks of cards. It’s got two USB ports on the front along with a power button. On the back of the console there are HDMI, Ethernet and speaker ports. The micro console looks tiny next to my PS3 and uses next to nothing in the way of power; it's also noise free, something most gamers are not used to.

The controller looks and feels like a 360 controller. With one addition, there are extra buttons on the bottom of the controller’s face for capturing clips and then using them as bragging rights to other Onlive users. These extra buttons are handy and out of the way.

The Onlive console has the same interface as the PC: log in, rent, play game trials, purchase games and watch other people play. The console handles the streamed 720p content fine. Some games, such as Alpha Protocol and Red Faction Guerrilla, look and play almost identical to their console counterparts. Other games such as NBA 2k11 didn’t look or play nearly as good as their console counterparts. I experienced much more lag and this resulted in a painful gaming experience. However, I have to say Lego Batman looked better than what I saw on my PS3. I would say for the most part in general the Onlive micro console seems to be on a similar level with a current mid-range gaming PC.

It seems for the most part the micro console can handle Onlive’s Cloud gaming. Who knows if this is the future of gaming? This micro console is the perfect device at $100 to get into and experience Onlive.

Comments

# Onlive Fans 2011-01-26 18:24

So far Onlive has been everything I have hope for and more. Imagine where this technology will be in a few years.

# Ferrari 2011-01-26 22:32

This is out already? Man, I didn't even realize it was a reality until now... must google to make sure I'm not being fooled.

The things I dislike about this new console is that you never have a physical copy of a game and you need to be connected to play. No connection, sad day.

Hope this isn't the new direction of gaming... not everyone has super speedy connections... and if you don't have a fast connection, I'm guessing there will be terrible lag...

EDIT: After looking at the site, I have to admit it is pretty cool. As long as you have a high-speed connection, you can instantly play any game you've bought. No downloads... nothin'. Just instant play. Certainly interesting if nothing else. Also interesting is that you'd (theoretically at least) never have to buy another gaming system...

# J 2011-01-29 15:21

I wouldn't spend any money on their games. If they go out of business... you lose everything. One of the other cloud-based gaming companies is trying a free-to-play advertiser driven model.

Pass.

# Kenny007 2011-01-31 11:01

This is exactly why I'm staying away from the tech. Can't justify the purchase of any titles through the service.

Besides that, it's pretty redundant as a PC gamer in full already.