OnLive user numbers ‘beyond expectations’

OnLive is enjoying user numbers far bigger than expected”, according to CEO Steve Perlman, though the firm isn’t yet wiling to reveal exactly how many people have been logging onto the US service.

We’re running at our autumn projected subscriber numbers, so adjusting was a bit of a challenge,” he told Cnet. We were hoping to have a gradual ramp because it takes time to get servers deployed, but we managed to catch up.

We haven’t announced, and we won’t be announcing our subscriber base, but we’re far beyond what we had projected. What can I say is we’re surprised. A lot of people were sceptical whether this could work, and we figured scepticism equals cautiousness in signing up. It didn’t turn out to be the case, perhaps scepticism may be equal to curiosity.”

Perlman added that the service will in the future support motion controlled titles and 3D games, though such support depends very much on the willingness of publishers to both develop titles that support said tech.

It also looks as if the price of subscribing the service may well come in less than the somewhat heavy $19.95 estimate given prior to the service’s arrival.

It’s not going to be that expensive,” Perlman adds. As a start-up we have to be completely cautious about what we promise in terms of monthly costs. In March, everyone wanted to know the worst-case number, so we said $14.95. We knew it was going to be less than that. And now it turns out that usage patterns are through the roof.”

Cnet estimates that the final cost will be around $4.95 per month.