The balls still out for me for Onlive...

Mainly as when I buy a game, I want to own it. Preferably as a disc, but even as a download to my HDD. If they own property I've bought on their servers and they finally close their doors, they're going to own every game I've ever bought from them and I'm never going to see them again. So that's my main concern.

Onlive would work better released as a console with a removable PC Compatible HDD attached.

EA's Ramsdale states "you don't need to create new IP to make money from digital distribution". If most or all of future sales are via digital downloads, how is that going to work? The future according to Ramsdale would be dull, dull, dull and the death of the video game industry.

Guru Larry, the problem with your games dying if the publisher / developer closes shop, you have that already today with some boxed games. Try to play WOW if Blizzard would pull out the plug from their servers... That risk does not seem to put people off.

@ Brämpa
There is a distinct difference between a game such as WoW and other boxed games. You know that WoW is an online only game and therefore run the risk of not being able to play if the company goes out of business or just shuts down the servers. But also, you pay for that service so whilst the company makes money shutdowns should not happen.

The point here is that if you buy a game such as Far Cry, Half Life, Civilization (or something like that), yes there is an online aspect but at its core its a standalone game you can play without need for an internet connection. Buying the games but not actually physcially owning them does lead to the risk that if that games owners shut down you lose a game and I agree with Larry - it's just not worth it!

Spawn Labs is taking a more evolutionary approach to streaming games. It lets you keep your consoles and games, and then streams them around the home or across the Internet either to you or your friends. It's like a P2P distributed version of OnLive. It'll be interesting to see how the different approaches to cloud gaming play out.

I saw a similar idea with a failed product called moviebeam. The customer rents a movie and has it downloaded to the unit, then can play it when they want. Apparently that company never heard of OnDemand. It all comes down to what they have to offer and how the public perceives it and what cost the company is willing to pay to get the idea off the ground. Doesn't gametap run on a similar concept? Its a great idea, but I highly doubt anyone is ready for streaming video games. Should they make the valliant attempt, good luck getting enough money to topple nintendo, sony AND microsoft.