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OnLive to ignore "retail-orientated" E3

Download service skips biggest videogame event of the year claiming the show is too focused on the retail business

Videogame download service OnLive will not be appearing at this year's E3, according to new comments made by chief operating officer Mike McGarvey.

Writing on the official OnLive blog, McGarvey stated that: "More than anything, E3 is a retail-oriented conference, both for retail platforms and retail publishers, and OnLive is neither. You’ll hear and see plenty from us this year in the run up to our external Beta and launch, delivered directly to your home through your broadband connection."

Unveiled at GDC in March, OnLive uses a potentially revolutionary form of cloud computing which allows consumers to download high-end AAA titles on demand and run them remotely, regardless of system specification.

As McGarvey states in his blog, the intent is to remove both physical media and console hardware from the videogames market and create a direct channel from publisher to consumer.

"Because we’ve eliminated physical media and full downloads, there’s nothing to steal and nothing to resell, giving publishers complete control over their product", he said.

"By providing a powerful end-to-end development-to-distribution model, OnLive can dramatically alter videogame economics, increase profit margins and provide new and enhanced monetisation channels."

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David Jenkins

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