Sony Buys Game Streaming Service OnLive, Will Shut It Down By Month's End
OnLive, the promising cloud gaming service that launched in June 2010, is going dark. In a somber message posted on its website, the streaming games pioneer explained that Sony is in the process of acquiring key parts of Onlive -- patents, in other words -- and that the service as you know it will shutter on April 30, 2015.
"After April 30, 2015, our data centers will shut down and the service will be offline. All accounts will be closed, and all data deleted including game save data, achievements, and credit card data will be deleted," OnLive said. "If you purchased a Steam game from OnLive, that game will still be available on Steam. No refunds will be available for any game purchases, hardware purchases, or subscriptions."
This is tough news, especially for anyone who purchased an OnLive Game System or OnLive Universal Wireless Controller prior to February 1, 2015, as OnLive's hardware doesn't work with any other platforms. If the purchase was made on or after February 1, you can request a refund by dropping a note to OnLive's support team.
It's reported around the web that Sony is buying 140 patents from OnLive, which it will use to support is PlayStation Now streaming service. PSNow offers access to over 100 PlayStation 3 games for a monthly subscription fee, and/or you can rent titles for about $1 per day (4-hour, 30 day, and 90 day rental periods are also available for most games).
This isn't Sony's first cloud gaming purchase. The company also acquired Gaikai in 2012 and implemented its technology into its PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita.
