Google TV is starting to look more and more compelling. With the tech being integrated into new TVs and more set-top boxes planned, it seems the almost dead in the water service has new life. Wednesday Google announced that all Google TV devices would gain access to games via the OnLive streaming service.
Google TV had a rough start but the most recent update for the service brought the Android Honeycomb update and made it much more functional. Manufacturers like LG, Samsung and Vizio are starting to support the service (along with Sony) by either building Google TV into their sets or developing new set-top boxes.
Now it seems Google wants to push the envelope even further so they partnered up with OnLive to bring streaming games to all Google TV devices. OnLive has been around for a while now, providing the ability to run games on the company's central servers and simply stream the content to a computer or the special OnLive console that you can connect to your TV. With the inclusion of OnLive services in Google TV devices, you no longer need to shell out the $99 for the microconsole, you can just boot up your Google TV device and get games.
In order to gain access to OnLive services on your Google TV device all you need to do is download the OnLive Viewer app. Currently that app allows you to spectate games only, but full gameplay control is promised soon. In addition, the Google TV devices will be able to support the wireless controllers that OnLive recently released.
The details on exactly which OnLive services will be available and how soon are still a little sparse. I'm personally hoping the OnLive Desktop functionality will be available on Google TV. That tool essentially lets you run Windows 7 applications on OnLive's servers and stream them to almost any device, including an iPad. The ability to run Windows apps and have the output pop up on my TV is really compelling and almost completely eliminates my need to leave my couch.
Does the inclusion of OnLive make you more interested in Google TV? I've personally toyed with the idea of getting an OnLive microconsole for quite a while but this could sway me to just get a Google TV set-top box instead, especially if the price is right. Let us know what you think in the comments.
