OnLive $99 Game System: The future of console gaming?

About six months after it first began streaming high-end PC games to tiny desktop clients via broadband, OnLive is poised to unleash its Game System package: a game controller bundled with a compact, Wi-Fi- and HDMI-equipped console that'll stream games like Batman: Arkham Asylum and Assassin's Creed II to your HDTV, all for less than $100
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Set to start shipping Dec. 2, the $99 OnLive Game System comes with a controller that looks pretty much like the controller you get with an Xbox 360. But the so-called MicroConsole is something else: Instead of a big box juiced with a high-powered GPU and loads of RAM, the MicroConsole is a little more than a paperback-book-sized conduit for the OnLine streaming game service, which is powered by a series of data centers across the country.

Plug the MicroConsole into your HDTV's HDMI input, connect the console to your home network via Ethernet or Wi-Fi, power on the wireless game controller, and (OnLive promises) you'll be ready to start gaming—in 1080p and surround sound—in seconds. (The miniature console also comes with a pair of USB ports for gaming on mouse and keyboard.) The OnLive Game System represents a fascinating if controversial alternative to owning a $300-ish PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360.