[quote name='GaveUpTomorrow']I actually like the concept, but only to use for renting games. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like Onlive rents out many of their new releases, which makes the service less useful to me. If it could turn into a service where I could rent a game for 3 days the day the game came out, I would definitely jump in. Using the service to buy new games (Full Passes) is pointless though, as you only "own" them as long as they have them on their service.
If I could rent new games as soon as they came out, I could tolerate the muddy graphics and constant connection drops every 5-10minutes. Playing through Splinter Cell Conviction and a good chunk of Metro 2033 showed me that their service just isn't up to par in my area. Splinter Cell ran quite nice, with no noticeable lag and decent graphics, but plenty of moments where the onlive servers lost my connection. Metro 2033 on the other hand had a terrible lag and the graphics were unbearably bad. I am running a 15Mb/s connection and usually see 30Mb/s. I also don't have these kinds of drops while streaming other media/online gaming so I know it is on Onlive's side.
They are supposed to be adding a new server closer to Ohio though, so maybe the service will improve then...[/QUOTE]
Yah, I live in Michigan and have noticed the same thing with kb/m lag (noticeable, but not terrible) and the graphics. For me, it's 720p with a coating of vaseline.
But I did forget that OnLive does have the $9.99/month service. If it was a bit better with the graphics and lag, I would probably sign up for it. I was a member of Gametap for a few years, so that kind of service works for me. And you are right about the lateness of releases and the lack of available rentals.