OnLive, the on-demand game streaming service, has officially launched in the UK this morning at the Eurogamer Expo gaming convention in London. Users can sign up for free and stream triple-A games via almost any broadband Internet connection to their HDTV, PC or Mac. If you have BT broadband, OnLive's launch partner in the region, you'll also get three months free and unlimited access to a PlayPack of more than 100 video games.
The pack is usually worth £6.99 per month and includes a range of new and old titles, including F.E.A.R. 3, Homefront, Borderlands, Batman: Arkham Asylum, Saints Row 2, Deus Ex: Game of the Year Edition and World of Goo, amongst others. What's more, OnLive play won't count toward your BT usage limit from now until January 2, 2012.
In addition to its deal with BT, the cloud-gaming company is also giving away a free OnLive Game System to anyone who visits its booth at the Eurogamer Expo (while supplies last) and all new UK OnLive users can get their first game for £1 if bought before 11:59pm on 9th October 2012. Normally, users pay £40 for a Full PlayPass OnLive game.
"For the first time ever, UK gamers can take advantage of OnLive's powerful cloud gaming technology to play the latest top-tier games on demand, with gameplay delivered instantly over the Internet wherever and whenever they want," wrote Steve Perlman, OnLive founder and CEO in a blog post. "For the cost of a single-platform game purchase, gamers can play on their HDTV, PC, Mac or any combination of the above, regardless of performance capabilities."
Pearlman sees this as the future of gaming and his service already counts several major publishing partners backing them. There are still a few points of contention, however, like the fact that you'll need a 1-5Mbps broadband connection for a good gameplay experience. Also, purchased games remain on OnLive's servers, so you wouldn't be able to access them in case of a temporary outage, and it's unclear what would happen if they ever go out of business.