Cloud gaming company OnLive shutting down?

[Couchpotato]

Cloud gaming company OnLive appears to be in turmoil, having possibly fired all of its employees and prepping for a bankruptcy filing, according to rumors reported by Kotaku.

The gaming blog cited a tweet from InXile Entertainment CEO Brian Fargo, who reported getting an email from a just-fired employee who relayed the company was dead.

"Just received an email that OnLive is closed as of today!" Fargo tweeted.

The email, reportedly sent to developers, was a farewell message that said all of OnLive's employees are losing their jobs and that a new company would be formed in OnLive's place. The new company's management would be in contact with game developers about which titles would continue to be available on OnLive.

An OnLive spokesperson declined to comment on the matter, telling CNET, "We don't respond to rumors."

Despite OnLive's silence, the news has been spreading.

Martyn Williams, senior correspondent at IDG News Service, started tweeting from outside the OnLive offices about seeing employees leave with moving boxes:

"In the last 20mins have seen three people walk out of #OnLive with leaving boxes. Still unclear what's happening insid," he tweeted.

OnLive launched in 2010, promising console-like speeds over broadband and was marketed as a potential console killer.

Then there is a new report on pcgamer claiming the service will still be around but they can't comment on it yet.

OnLive Director of Corporate Communications Brian Jaquet told PC Gamer, “I have no comment on the news other than to say the OnLive service is not shutting down.” “I’m sorry I cannot be more specific,” concluded Jaquet, neither confirming nor denying that layoffs have occurred.

There is also the rumor of maybe a buyout by Sony or another company. So who really knows what is happening. Time will tell.

Link-http://www.pcgamer.com/2012/08/17/onlive-layoffs-rumored-but-the-service-is-not-shutting-down/

Link-http://news.cnet.com/8301-10797_3-57495702-235/cloud-gaming-company-onlive-to-shut-down-report-says/

update- The current OnLive will reportedly no longer exist as an entity,CEO Perlman went on to say some employees would be brought back to work at a new, restructured company that would come out of these ashes.

 

[rossrjensen]

I didn't like the trend they were going for so much, so I can't say I would miss them personally. Of course it's unfortunate for the employees and it's a shame that there will be less platform options out there too.

 

[wolfing]

weren't they like purchased by Sony? Or I think it was their competitors and then there were rumors that Microsoft were thinking of acquiring Onlive I think. Guess not.

 

[Zloth]

Yeah, that was a competitor.

Unfortunate if true - the Internet is starting to catch up to where they are now. That new ultra-cheap console is planning to use OnLive, too.

 

[sakichop]

I'm not a fan of cloud gaming so if it went away it wouldn't bother me at all.

 

[zzajin]

Sold to another unnamed - for now? - company.


Http://venturebeat.com/2012/08/17/confirmed-onlives-assets-sold-to-another-company/http://venturebeat.com/2012/08/17/confirmed-onlives-assets-sold-to-another-company/


"the punch line was '…and under this variation of bankruptcy which is valid in California the company as of this moment does not exist and portions of it are being acquired by a brand new entity but what that means is all of your options are gone.'"

Former OnLive Employee Describes 'Bizarre All-Hands Meeting'

 

[Couchpotato]

Basically the man in the top keeps his money and walks free while the regular employees get nothing but the shaft.

A typical day in the business world.

 

[Alrik Fassbauer]

And he has the greatest amount of the stock /shares, usually.

 

[wolfing]

And he has the greatest amount of the stock /shares, usually.

yes but the stocks/shares are valued at almost nothing, it's not like he sold them before the announcement (that would be illegal and put him in jail)

 

[coaster]

Sorry for the employees, but glad the business idea has failed (at least for now).

 

[Thrasher]

I'm not shedding tears for the business model either.

 

[blatantninja]

I'm a bit torn on the business model. On the one hand, I like to have copies of the games I own stored locally that I can do with as I please. On the other, the idea of not having to worry if my machine has enough ram or good enough video card to run a game is enticing.

 

[Thrasher]

I don't like the idea of renting a game, especially from a service that may disappear someday, as this one appears to be doing. Always online activation has the same risk I am adverse to.

 

[Zloth]

Well, I just logged in to OnLive and it seems to be running fine.

It's a heck of a deal if you're running low on cash. You can pay something like $10 per month and get access to tons of games. 80% of them are junk but there are still more than enough high quality games to keep you busy. It's also THE best place to demo games.

If OnLive vanishes, what happens to that new super-cheap android based console?

 

[Couchpotato]

Well, I just logged in to OnLive and it seems to be running fine.

If OnLive vanishes, what happens to that new super-cheap android based console?

The service is still being maintained by a small staff. As for the super-cheap android based console the deal will be with the new buyer maybe who knows.

 

[wolfing]

If OnLive vanishes, what happens to that new super-cheap android based console?

Nothing. The Onlive thing was a deal they announced later as part of deals they're making with companies. It isn't what it's base on, just a nice perk (you'd still have to sign up to Onlive and pay their fee, the mini-console would just act as a client)

 

[JDR13]

That's if that console actually gets released, and I have serious doubts that it ever will.

 

[Zloth]

OnLive is still on - now under new management! (Which just so happens to be the same as the old management.) http://www.gamespot.com/news/onlive-to-continue-as-newly-formed-company-6392243

Sounds like a move I might have pulled back in Railroad Tycoon 2 but it seems it's legal in California.

 

[coaster]

Meet the new boss…same as the old boss

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rp6-wG5LLqE

If the new company has all the same assets as the article says, won't they just have the same problems - ie. way to many servers relative the number of customers? Or were the servers rented rather than owned?

 

[blatantninja]

Meet the new boss…same as the old boss

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rp6-wG5LLqE

If the new company has all the same assets as the article says, won't they just have the same problems - ie. way to many servers relative the number of customers? Or were the servers rented rather than owned?

I read something on that yesterday though I can't find the link. They were able to shed a lot of assets in this reorg, both labor and capital related, plus get a fresh infusion of cash. Sucks for the early investors, but that is the risk you take.