Onlive Games vs PC Games Graphics Comparison

While OnLive may be targeted at people without PCs powerful enough to run modern games, it seems that their service's offering isn't much better than what you can find on most medium-low end PC's anyway... at least, that's what you can judge from this screenshot comparison of Red Faction: Guerrilla, Borderlands and Just Cause 2.

[StarScream4Ever]

Wow its like comparing SD vs HD.

I honestly thought it would end up at least better.

[mercenarie]

i discussed exactly how it looked like during the beta that i participated in.. it's unbelievably bad

[HolyOrangeCows]

Everyone who doubted me when I said the compression would make it look ugly should be ashamed of themselves.

[evrfighter]

wtf...

That guy in the onlive screen of red faction is baring his teeth =\

also love the comment
"Were those PC graphics cranked way up or set to 720p? Not really a fair comparison if you crank up the graphics.:

[Chris_TC]

This is low bitrate 720p vs. uncompressed 1080p. Not surprising really.

[ThanatosDMC]

The Red Faction one looks terrible... i remember that scene too, it's the beginning of the game. I actually whacked him with the hammer, which was a bad idea since it goes back to the very long intro.

We dont need onlive if we have great PCs or laptops. Do people that buy Ipads consider it for hardcore gaming? Even an nvidia 9600 laptop card would look better.

[ProjectVulcan]

The other two are passable for console but indeed red faction is caught there in a horrendous quality shot that makes it look like a PS2 game. PC gamers dont just play games because of graphics but its a big reason to buy a game over console. Onlive completely obliterates all the fine resolution detail which i expect from a game running on PC. if you were a console gamer you might be able to live with that, as a Pc gamer, i wouldnt stand for it...

[Christopher]

Even the UI is affected by the transfer. No way in heck could I play a game for long with such low-res and blurry UI elements. My one good eye would go crazy and I'd probably get a headache.

[mushroomwig]

It's amazing how blurry onLive looks compared, I think that this technology is a few years too soon.

[Pandamobile]

Looks like a console vs PC comparison.

[8800gtx]

Nothing may challenge my throne outside the PC industry muahahaha.

8800gtx

[mushroomwig]

Execpt games that will be released within the next 2 years, by that time you'll be forced to upgrade once again.

[XactGamer]

8800gtx could keep his/her setup the same for the next 10yrs and still be 5 generations ahead of current consoles.

[SOAD]

mushroomwig, a graphics card from 4 years ago will continue to play current games on higher graphical settings than console games, and in 3 years it will play games on the same graphical settings as console games.

It's a myth that you have to upgrade every two years.

[Chris_TC]

<<Execpt games that will be released within the next 2 years, by that time you'll be forced to upgrade once again.>>

His 8800 will run any currrent gen console port, whether they're released now or in two years. Hardware requirements on console ports don't go up (why would they?)

[XactGamer]

Agree, looks exactly like console vs PC

[mushroomwig]

5 generation ahead?

If you seriously think the already outdated 8800 will be 5 generations ahead in tech of the consoles then you're pretty delusional.

[TABSF]

He is refering to Graphics generation for example

Nvidia 8 series 2007
Nvidia 9 series 2008
Nvidia 200 series 2009
Nvidia 300 series 2009
Nvidia 400 series 2010

Of course it would be rediculous to claim a 8 series release in 2008 would beat a 12 generation console

[XactGamer]

Bubbles TABSF for getting it

[Solidus187-SCMilk]

getting a console or a decent PC is pretty cheap now, and the speed and reliability of internet isnt good to rely on when you want to play games IMO. Not to mention a medium PC or 360/PS3 can run the game perfectly, without an internet connection, and looks ALOT better.

Anyone with fast internet will probably just use a console/PC if they want to play games. High speed internet is not cheap, so I think almost anyone who has a fast connection and a desire to play games will pay the minimum of 200 to play the games that dont depend on the internet and dont look like crap.

[mittwaffen]

People who travel and game that only bring a laptop. Who knows, theres tons of uses...Ipod/Ipad gaming is a decent idea too.

There is a market, you think they just tossed millions into this without seeing if people would buy it?

Do you have a business degree?

[evrfighter]

new coke.

nuff said

[Solidus187-SCMilk]

It doesnt take any kind of degree to know HOW HARD THIS WILL FAIL.

It doesnt even use wi-fi, so you can count out ifads and Iphones.

most laptops can run games better than onlive already, and you dont have a wired connection(required at this time for on-live) or even a fast enough connection when traveling.

You got any more ideas?

[TheIneffableBob]

Native resolution of OnLive is 1280x720. I don't think it's really fair to blow the pictures up from 720p to 1080p and compare them with native 1080p PC screens.

The OnLive service may be a good solution for those who want to game on netbooks. First year is free at the moment.

[Letros]

How do you think your 1080p HDTV displays a 720p picture?

Lowering resolution for a PC game is a last resort for a performance increase as it just looks terrible.

[TheIneffableBob]

What I'm saying is that many people will use this service on lower resolution displays such as those in netbooks or smaller HDTVs. If you have a 1080p HDTV or monitor, then OnLive probably wouldn't be of much use as you likely have a decent gaming setup.

[Chris_TC]

If I want to play 720p with blurry textures I can do that on any old system. Onlive is supposed to let you play high-end stuff without buying the expensive hardware.

[labwarrior]

More like the distant past !!!

I will pass, in fact since you never own any games with it, i would pass even if they PAID ME to play this thing

BTW, can i download games and play offline ?

Console graphics look 10x better, and they have some exclusives i would never miss too, unlike OnLive that has nothing i am even remotly interested in

[Ironfungus]

What the hell is OnLive?

[TABSF]

Is OnLive the future of Console gaming!!!

I would say yes

Console gamers with OnLive will experience PC quality but without the so called hassle of PC, also the convenience of not having disc and a micro console in my opinion will appeal to console users

The real down fall with this is that you need 5Mbps minimum to stream HD content

This is really for people that want a PC but wont shed the bucks for it

PC gamer don't need this at all

I will keep my PC, PS3, 360, Wii, DSi and PSP thanks

[jalen247]

Huge difference...similar to the difference between the superior PS3 version of FF XIII versus the inferior Xbox 360 version.

[zen0]

I signed up for Onlive (free for a year) to see if it was worth it. The free for a year wasn't enough to get me going.

+ Free demos for every games (Unlimited 30 min intro gameplay)

- Huge lag between responding to controller (xbox 360 wireless and even with mouse + keyboard)
- No Crysis (where's the game that shows off the intense graphics?!?! I was expecting this game the most)
- Poor video feedback (just like the pictures in this article, horrible visual)
- Very limited games (Only couple games are AAA title but that's 4 or 5 only)

I guess I expected something more from this so called "new innovation" but it really was just a waste of time. Brag clips only shows 10 sec max for any player who wants to show off. Laggy response in controlling really hurts the experience. Very limited games. Poor SD quality. What else am I missing...

I have a crappy computer (P4 2.8Ghz, 2Gb RAM, 7800GS,...) but Onlive service states that internet connection was the main concern. I live in LA area with Time Warner cable that goes up to 10mbps. If that speed is not enough for a smooth service, I don't know what you'll need (maybe fiber optic, but if you could afford that might as well a buy a better gaming rig to play HD games).

But anyway, I would not suggest this service to many (only for those with REALLY low spec comp).

[BannedForNineYears]

Missing shadows on live are missing. =D

[Saryk]

It is a new tech, give it sometime.