OnLive Shutting Down

APRIL 3, 2015 • OnLive Inc., the ailing cloud-based subscription game streaming service that turned heads back in 2009, is going out with a whimper. The service is ceasing operations on April 30, with Sony Computer Ent. acquiring the company’s portfolio of 140 U.S. and international patents. How much Sony paid for the patents was not disclosed. In 2011, many estimates put the valuation.....

PlayStation Now Subscription Pricing Fixed

JAN. 5, 2015 • Sony Computer Ent. of America (SCEA) has set pricing for its PlayStation Now subscription game streaming service starting January 13. Consumers will have a choice of two unlimited access subscription tiers: $19.99 per month or $44.99 for three months. PlayStation Now has more than 100 PS3 titles available to play with more expected to be added later. The service will be available only to PS4 owners at launch, with other systems to gain access in s.....

GameFly Unloads Direct2Drive

AUG. 25, 2014 • Three years after digital distributor Direct2Drive was acquired from News Corp by GameFly, Inc., the service has been sold to Taipei-based AtGames Digital Media Inc. Terms of the acquisition were not publicly disclosed. GameFly announced the agreement on its website via a note to its customers stating the game retailer will continue to operate the digital download business for AtGames until later this year, or until AtGames is ready to manage the.....

Good Old Games Goes Linux

JULY 24, 2014 • Although Good Old Games had targeted the fall for the launch of its service on Linux, the digital distribution arm of CD Projekt introduced its wares early after successful trials. The only penalty in launching early was the availability of 50 titles instead of the 100 games promised for fall. GOG.com is directly supporting two of the most popular versions of Linux, Ubuntu and Mint, and is providing distro-independent tar.gz archives for other ve.....

GameStop Shifts Impulse Digital Game Distribution Course

MAY 21, 2014 • Three years after GameStop Corp. acquired the Impulse digital game distribution service and streaming firm Spawn Labs, the retailer is taking a different approach to its digital sales. Starting this week, GameStop will no longer service nor deliver digital purchases of PC games via its own Impulse server infrastructure. Consumers who visit impulsedriven.com are now directed instead to gamestop.com/pcgames where they will receive a voucher to use w.....

Warner Bros Games Vault Launched

MARCH 18, 2014 • Looking to leverage its large catalog of game franchises, Warner Bros. Interactive Ent. (WBIE) has launched a Warner Bros Games Vault program that will match its library of properties with up-and-coming development talent. Each title will be a direct-to-digital release. The first game to emerge from the effort is a modern update by Arrowhead Game Studios to the 1985 Atari Games arcade dungeon crawler, Gauntlet. The new RPG version will release t.....