OnLive Release Date, Subscription Price Revealed

Cloud computing service OnLive was announced at last year's GDC and has been a source of intense debate ever since. This summer, consumers will finally be able to find out whether it lives up to the hype.

OnLive stores and renders games on a remote server, allowing you to play the latest games even on a low-end computer with an Internet connection. The service will launch on June 17th in the continental US. It will initially be available through a browser plug-in downloadable to PCs and Macs. A release date for a MicroConsole TV adapter will be announced later in the year.

The basic subscription price will be $14.95/month. Multi-month subscription deals and other promotions will be announced at this year's E3, which runs from June 15th to 17th. They did divulge one special offer today, though: the first 25,000 people to register on the OnLive Game Service will get 3 free months of service.

The subscription fee covers "instant-play free game demos; multiplayer across PC, Mac and TV platforms; massive spectating; viewing of Brag Clips video capture and posting; and cloud-saving of games you’ve purchased—pause, and instantly resume from anywhere, even on a different platform." You also get access to OnLive's video-based social network. Separate fees must be paid to rent or buy games, though. Game pricing will be announced closer to E3.