OnLive Works With Game Devs On Newly-Launched Tablet, Smartphone Initiative

Cloud gaming service OnLive today officially launched its platform for smartphones and tablets, allowing users to play high-performance PC and console titles on the go. The service, which was previously announced but under testing, is currently only available on Android devices, as it is still undergoing certification by Apple to be released for iOS devices. This is OnLive's latest effort to make its streaming games service as ubiquitous as possible, working across a variety of platforms including mobile phones, tablets, desktop computers and television sets. Cloud gaming is unique in that the brunt of the computing needed to run hardware-intensive games is handled by remote datacenters, meaning users don't need high-end local hardware to run the latest games. A total of 25 games have been adapted for touch-screen control, including L.A. Noire, Defense Grid Gold and Lego Batman, the latter of which is being given away for free as part of the smartphone and tablet launch. OnLive has been working with game developers, who have been creating touch-enabled versions of their games so that they are compatible with OnLive on tablets. "All of the creative effort, how the buttons are, how the touch works, that's all their doing, they're the creative force here," OnLive CEO Steve Perlman told Gamasutra. "What we did do is go back to them and tell them about the different gestures that Android and iOS produce, and here's what you get back. We also make sure that the SDK is giving them what they need." "[Rockstar] did a really great job [on L.A. Noire], they wanted to do this game on tablet. In a lot of ways, it's a real proof point -- it's a very high-end game," he said. "...They're opening up their game to a much bigger audience than they would've been able to reach." OnLive also announced the release of the Universal OnLive Wireless Controller, a gamepad which can be connected to a PC, Mac, OnLive console or compatible smartphone or tablet, allowing users to play any game from the OnLive library with a controller. OnLive launched in the U.S. in June 2010, and then in the UK earlier this year, after finding a retail partner in British video game retail chain Game.