OnLive connects to retail this year

OnLive hopes to be selling its game system in UK stores when the service is launched this autumn – and insists the High Street shouldn’t see cloud gaming as evil incarnate”.

The OnLive game system consists of a micro console TV adaptor and a wireless controller. It enables users to access OnLive games via their TV, without the need for a PC, tablet or smartphone.

Currently it is only available via the firm’s website, but CEO Steve Perlman told MCV that negotiations are underway with High Street retailers on both sides of the Atlantic.

We expect the console to be available in retail at launch over here, but until we can say where it will be sold and how much it will cost, we’re not going to make any official announcement,” he said. We’re also talking to retailers in the US and expect it to be available in stores there soon.”

He added that retail’s willingness to work with OnLive was an encouraging sign: If I was a retailer, I would see cloud gaming the same way that entertainment retailers are looking at online movies and online music. They’re realising they need to adapt their business.

So now, because a lot of retail has learned to work with music and movie firms rather than kick against them, when we go and talk to them, we’re not evil incarnate.

They see change as inevitable. They’re trying to get ahead of the curve, to do something interesting with us.

There are lots of ways we can partner with traditional bricks and mortar retailers – such as demo units or tying us into websites. And you know what, these are the smart guys, these are the guys that are going to survive.”