BT Joins With OnLive For UK Broadband Packages

Cloud-based streaming service OnLive will receive a UK launch thanks to a partnership between the company and telecom firm BT, which will exclusively bundle OnLive with its broadband packages in the region. BT, which says OnLive's offering dovetails with the rest of its on-demand content strategy, also picks up a 2.6 percent stake in OnLive through the deal. "It’s great for our customers," says BT Retail CEO Gavin Patterson. The service processes games remotely on a server, and then streams them back to a user's PC or TV without the need for a local console, potentially creating a new market for high-end gaming. "And it’s great for BT," adds Patterson. "It will enhance our premium broadband position, and we’ll be entering into a market that’s worth more than £2 billion ($3 million)." BT says it'll reveal launch plans later this year. The service launches on home computers in the U.S. on June 17, where users will pay $14.95 for a subscription that doesn't include the price of the games themselves. Thus far, publishers Electronic Arts, Ubisoft, 2K Games, THQ and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment have revealed they will make their titles available on the service. "The UK market is extremely important to OnLive and our video game publishing partners as we expand into Europe," says OnLive CEO Scott Perlman, who calls BT the "ideal UK partner" in a service offering he believes will be "nothing short of transformative to video games and in time, all interactive media."