Big Fish Unlimited lets gamers resume play on mobile, PC and TV, stay distracted at all times (video)

Big Fish Unlimited lets gamers pick up where they left off on mobile, PC and TV, stay distracted at all times video

The perpetual crisis of casual gaming is that need for just one… more… turn. After all, those 29 levels of progress aren’t coming with you to the office, are they? Big Fish Games wants to ease our consciences (or at least our egos) with Big Fish Unlimited. By using HTML5 to constantly save progress, the cloud service remembers exactly where a player was and ports it to the next device: it’s possible to hop from a Android tablet, to a Roku box, to a Windows PC’s browser without having to replay anything. The nature of the streaming games themselves won’t give OnLive players second thoughts, but their lighter footprint won’t demand as much from an internet connection, either. Most of the intended audience will appreciate the price — the now active service costs $8 a month for access to more than 100 games from the full catalog, and free play is on tap for 20 of the games as long as you can endure periodic ads. Whether or not coworkers can endure another round of your hidden object games is another matter.

Continue reading Big Fish Unlimited lets gamers resume play on mobile, PC and TV, stay distracted at all times (video)

Filed under: ,

Big Fish Unlimited lets gamers resume play on mobile, PC and TV, stay distracted at all times (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 25 Jul 2012 03:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink GeekWire  |  sourceBig Fish Games  | Email this | Comments

OnLive says support for Universal Controller on Nexus 7 is coming ‘shortly’

OnLive says support for Universal Controller on Nexus 7 is coming 'shortly'

Those of you who are proud owners of one of Big G’s Nexus 7and are frequent users of OnLive’s Android offering — may have noticed the lack of support for the gaming outfit’s Universal Controller on the Jelly Bean slate at launch. Fret not, though, as that might be changing soon. Speaking to GottaBeMobile, the cloud company said that while there’s no Nexus 7 compatibility at the moment, it does “hope to have it shortly.” OnLive wasn’t quite clear about what “shortly” really means, but according to the aforementioned site, the Universal Controller’s had a tendency to work with some titles before “the official support was announced” — so a few of you could get lucky ahead of time. Either way, we’ll let you know as soon as OnLive intros a more formal solution.

Filed under: ,

OnLive says support for Universal Controller on Nexus 7 is coming ‘shortly’ originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 17 Jul 2012 12:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Android Community  |  sourceGottaBeMobile  | Email this | Comments

Marvell and OnLive team up to bring game streaming to Google TV

OnLive already lets you enjoy the benefits (and sometimes share in the frustrations) of cloud gaming on PC, Mac, and tablets, but today the company announced a deal that will soon see the service coming to Google TVs and Google TV devices. OnLive has partnered with Marvell and plans to use Marvell’s technology to increase the range of its cloud gaming service. The best part? By using Marvell’s tech, OnLive subscribers will be able to access the service on their Google TVs without a console.


Marvell’s ARMADA 1500 HD Media SoC is the star of this announcement. It’s a dual-core CPU with integrated Qdeo video processing technology, capable of more than 6000 Dhrystone MIPS. It also comes with support for 3DTV and full HD streaming to complete the package. Sadly, Marvell has yet to announce which upcoming Google TV devices will utilize the ARMADA 1500, so we’ll have to a while longer for those details to surface.

For the past few years, OnLive has been working hard to make cloud gaming the big new thing. The idea seems to be catching on, with some PC platforms like GamersGate offering streaming demos through Gaikai. Earlier this month, we learned that Sony had purchased Gaikai, so it may not be long before OnLive has some serious competition on consoles. Still, this partnership will make OnLive’s presence in the gaming world that much stronger, so it’s doubtful that the the company is worrying about its competitors (or potential competitors, for that matter) much today.

[via Talk Android]


Marvell and OnLive team up to bring game streaming to Google TV is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.


Gaikai’s cloud gaming beta arrives on cue to high-end Samsung Smart TVs

gaikais-cloud-gaming-beta-samsung-smart-tv

Gaikai announced with a flourish that it was partnering with LG and Samsung for Smart TV cloud gaming, so its acquisition by Sony made us wonder if those arrangements would still hold. Well, it looks like all’s well with the arch-foes, at least on that front. The service has landed in a closed beta, provided you’re the lucky owner of a 2012 Samsung LED 7000 series or higher Smart TV with the latest firmware update. Should you decide to download the software, you’ll be offered the chance to check out the company’s early access program, which will not only let you sample the cloud gaming wares, but also get you a Logitech Gamepad to boot — provided you’re a “selected participant.” That’ll let you kick back and test out some Gaikai games for yourself, so if you’re among the select few with the right TV, check the source to see how the install works.

Gaikai’s cloud gaming beta arrives on cue to high-end Samsung Smart TVs originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 05 Jul 2012 05:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink The Verge  |  sourcePC Perspective  | Email this | Comments

EA aims to be a “100% digital” company

Say what you will about EA, but the company definitely seems to be thinking ahead. Head of EA Labels, Frank Gibeau, has told GamesIndustry in an interview that EA will “be a 100% digital company, period.” Talking about the gaming industry and the rise of digital media, Gibeau believes that selling digital products directly to the consumer via the internet is the way of the future.

Retail partners probably won’t be too thrilled to hear that, but it’s the way the industry is moving in general. Gibeau says that while retail is a “great channel” and that the company has “great relationships” with its partners, EA will respond to customers who want to get games directly from the source.

Naturally, the company won’t completely abandon retail: “[I]f customers want to buy a game at retail, they can do that too. We’ll continue to deliver games in whatever media formats make sense and as one ebbs and one starts to flow, we’ll go in that direction.” Gibeau goes on to say that digital is the fastest growing segment of EA’s business, and that the company is preparing for the advent of streaming games via the cloud from the likes of Gaikai and OnLive.


EA aims to be a “100% digital” company is written by Ben Kersey & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.


So who’ll buy OnLive now?

Sony’s acquisition of Gaikai today closes off one long-standing rumor of a cloud gaming investment, but opens up another: which rival can’t afford to leave OnLive on the shelf? Whispers that Sony was eyeing a cloud specialist culminated back in May with OnLive and Gaikai presumed the most likely candidates for powering the company’s long-standing “Four Screen” strategy, something Sony described as its retort to Apple’s iOS, iTunes and iCloud ecosystem. That leaves OnLive potentially up for grabs, and a number of potential suitors.

Sony has been talking about its “Four Screen” strategy since late 2011, with then-CEO Howard Stringer using the phrase to describe an holistic ecosystem of PC, tablet, smartphone and TV. Sony “spent the last five years building a platform so I can compete against Steve Jobs” Stringer said at the time, a platform that was just ready to launch the chief exec insisted.

The strategy was one picked up by Stringer’s replacement, Kaz Hirai, arguing that user experience and not hardware would turn Sony around. ”The foundations are now firmly in place for the new management team and me to fully leverage Sony’s diverse electronics product portfolio,” Hirai said when he took the new position, “in conjunction with our rich entertainment assets and growing array of networked services, to engage with our customers around the world in new and exciting ways.”

Sony isn’t the only firm chasing “new and exciting ways” to encourage people to stick loyally to its products and services. Possible candidates for an OnLive grab include HTC, which has already invested $40m into the company back in early 2011, though has so far failed to capitalize on that bar an abortive preload on the HTC Flyer. It’s also questionable whether it would go up against Sony on mobile gaming: last month, HTC became the first third-party company to sign up as a PlayStation Certified partner.

So, who else has a gap in its mobile gaming strategy? Microsoft’s Windows Phone has the promise of Xbox LIVE running between it, Xbox 360, Windows and the new Surface tablets, along with Xbox SmartGlass to sew up the multi-screen gap. That’s not to say a cloud gaming system like OnLive wouldn’t fit in there too, and the two companies have already been working together to some extent on OnLive Desktop. A hosted desktop in the cloud might be an interesting addition to Windows RT tablets, and bypass future need to develop ARM-specific Office releases.

Then again, perhaps Samsung is a better candidate. The South Korean company has already admitted that it is relatively lacking in software “competitiveness”; more recently, its new mobile CEO reiterated that “a particular focus must be given to serving new customer experience and value by strengthening soft capabilities in software, user experience, design, and solutions.” It has a cloud-based photo and video sync system, but no serious gaming option despite, like Sony, having a footprint in TV, phones, tablets and PCs.

“OnLive would turn the Nexus Q into an instant console”

Google and Apple are the two cash-rich heavyweights, and each might be a good fit for OnLive. There’d be no shortage of server-farm space with either, certainly, and both iOS and Android could certainly benefit from an injection of cloud gaming. For Google, it would also turn new devices like the Nexus Q and existing, struggling platforms like Google TV into instant consoles; the same could be said for the Apple TV, and Apple already has AirPlay Video for using an iPad, iPhone or iPod touch as a wireless controller.

Then there’s NVIDIA, though so far it’s shown more interesting in supplying CUDA processing to cloud gaming companies than actually owning one itself. Back in May, in fact, it announced a deal with Gaikai to use GRID processing to power streaming game content. Where that deal stands in the aftermath of the Sony acquisition is unclear right now.

What we do know is that gaming is going to be an increasingly vital element for any company hoping to take the reins of its future in the mobile space, and the cost of acquiring OnLive would likely be quickly outweighed by its value in that ecosystem. We can already hear the rustle of checkbooks.

Who do you think would make the best fit for OnLive? Or should the company continue to go it alone? Let us know in the comments!


So who’ll buy OnLive now? is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.


Sony buys Gaikai cloud gaming service for $380 million

Sony buys Gaikai cloud gaming service for $380 million

Cloud-based gaming service Gaikai has had plenty of spring in its step recently, and now we know why: it’s been tying up a deal to sell itself for a rather substantial sum of cash. The $380 million agreement is slightly below the $500 million bandied about it in some rumors last week, so perhaps SCE execs feel like they’ve got themselves a bargain.

SCE boss Andrew House promised that the union of Gaikai’s “engineering talent” with his company’s “game platform knowledge” would lead to “unparalleled cloud entertainment experiences.” For his part, Gaikai CEO David Perry said he was “honored” to help Sony “grow their ecosystem.” None of this sheds much light on precisely what the Japanese giant will do with its new acquisition, or how it’ll deal with the potential (imaginary?) awkwardness of supplying a service direct to TV rivals like Samsung and LG. In any case, the two companies need to secure regulatory approval before getting down to the tricky stuff.

Continue reading Sony buys Gaikai cloud gaming service for $380 million

Sony buys Gaikai cloud gaming service for $380 million originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 02 Jul 2012 02:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments