OnLive

OnLive acquired for just under $5 million

OnLive, a cloud-gaming company that had at one time been poised for preeminence in that market, was recently sold for a surprisingly cheap sum.

Venture capitalist Gary Lauder acquired OnLive for just $4.8 million, the company has confirmed in an e-mailed statement to CNET. The Mercury News was first to report on the acquisition, citing a letter it had obtained. The letter, which was reportedly sent to OnLive's creditors, claims that the company owed $18.7 million. The company's creditors will only receive one quarter of that back, according to Mercury News.

Over the summer, reports surfaced, … Read more

CEO Steve Perlman leaves OnLive amid insolvency proceedings

OnLive CEO Steve Perlman is stepping down from the troubled online gaming company he founded after agreeing to stay on during insolvency proceedings, the company announced today.

Instead, Perlman, known for his work developing QuickTime and WebTV, is "departing to work on his myriad of other projects," the company said in a statement.

Gary Lauder, the lead investor in OnLine and managing director of Lauder Partners LLC, will be the new chairman and Charlie Jablonski, formerly head of online operations, will become the company's chief operating officer and acting CEO.

More from the company's release:

The … Read more

OnLive was deep in debt, running out of cash, and 'had days to live'

Before a major shakeup that resulted in OnLive firing its entire staff last week, the online gaming company was in greater financial trouble than was previously known.

The Palo Alto, Calif.-based company owed creditors between $30 million and $40 million, with little cash on the books to pay them, and was facing imminent shutdown, according to the San Jose Mercury News.

"It was a company that was in dire straits. It only had days to live in terms of cash flow and the like," Joel Weinberg, CEO of Insolvency Services Group, told the the Merc's Troy … Read more

Game not over yet for OnLive

Any objection to Monday's top tech headlines is overruled:

The Apple vs. Samsung trial is almost at a close. The jury is expected to begin deliberations Tuesday. The two tech giants spent three weeks battling over patents and accusations of copying.

OnLive is facing some rough days ahead. The cloud-based gaming service sold its assets to an investor Friday and laid off employees, but said it will rehire many back as the newly restructured company (which will still be called OnLive). The company says subscribers shouldn't see any problems or interruptions in service during this restructuring.

College students … Read more

HTC to take $40 million loss from OnLive investment

The embattled HTC is facing some bad news, following OnLive's recent acquisition and restructuring.

The handset maker announced today that it'll be forced to recognized a $40 million investment loss in OnLive. HTC didn't provide details on the loss.

Reports surfaced back in February 2011 that HTC had invested $40 million into the cloud-gaming service OnLive. In that investment, HTC acquired 5.3 million OnLive shares for $7.50 per share.

Since then, however, OnLive has faced some trouble staying afloat in the cloud-gaming space, and last week, announced that its assets had been sold to an … Read more

OnLive explains layoffs, promises uninterrupted service

Financially troubled OnLive said today it plans to continue operating under the OnLive name and promised users that its services will "continue without interruption."

The announcement comes two days after reports of a major corporate shakeup in which the cloud gaming company suddenly fired all of its employees and was allegedly prepping for a bankruptcy filing. The company later confirmed that the company assets had been sold to an unnamed suitor.

The company said in a statement today that all customer purchases would remain intact:

All OnLive Devices and Apps, as well as all OnLive partnerships, are expected … Read more

Cloud gaming company OnLive shutting down -- report

Update: Late Friday, OnLive confirmed the sale of its assets to an unnamed suitor, who will continue to offer its cloud gaming service. Read the story, "So OnLive isn't dead -- it just sold all its assets to a new owner," here.

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. … Read more

Apple Glasses and the OUYA/OnLive deal

Does Apple have some glasses of its own? We're about to find out:

Is Apple finally readying a game controller? The company released the patent information for one it filed back in March that shows what looks exactly like a PlayStation 3 DualShock controller communicating with an iPhone. The controller will work with iPads and Apple TV as well using NFC communication. Now don't go throwing out your PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360 just yet. There's no way to know if this will actually ever see the light of day because there have been plenty of Apple … Read more

Ouya game console adds OnLive, outs controller

If you've questioned the Ouya's core gaming chops, developer Boxer8's might have addressed some of your concerns about its Android-based, Kickstarter-funded game console this morning. The company says it has secured Ouya support from game streaming company OnLive, which will add its large cloud gaming library alongside the Ouya's own game store.

By bringing in OnLive, Ouya can boast AAA-quality titles like Warner Bros' Batman: Arkham City, THQ's upcoming DarkSiders II, and UbiSoft's Assassin's Creed games. Not every major game publisher offers its wares on OnLive -- Activision Blizzard and Electronic Arts are notable absentees, but by adding even some console-quality titles alongside the likes of Angry Birds, the Ouya console will likely gain some respectability among core gamers.… Read more