Now through Tuesday you can enjoy some good discounts on some of the biggest games OnLive has to offer, some of which you can see in the image above. Titles receiving instant savings include Saints Row: The Third, Batman: Arkham City, Borderlands, PES 2012, Aliens vs. Predator, Deus Ex: Human Revolution, and loads of indie games well worth taking advantage of over the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee weekend.

Unless you cannot dream of gaming on such an important weekend – if this is the case, then you might be glued to the TV coverage of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. While we’re taking advantage of the OnLive offer today, Sunday is a different day and we’ll be in London for a date to remember. The Diamond Jubilee 2012 events include a parade, concert, over 1,000 boats on the Themes, and lots more to see in London all weekend. It will be a time for people to connect on a personal level, unless your way of connecting will be via OnLive that is, which can be done via onlive.co.uk, or one of the apps on iPhone, Android, PC, and numerous other platforms.

Are you taking part in any of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee events, and how do you feel about being inundated with offers from brands around this event?

Facebook didn’t invent social networking but they took that principle and did it their way, which created something better and more useful for the end user. This process happens continually in the tech world and Facebook has been used as a platform for many other innovative products and services, which is seen with games like Farmville that made Zynga a lot of money in the process.

Software can take a product and bring new life to it by expanding what is possible on computers and tablet PCs, and this is just what OnLive is aiming for with their new OnLive Desktop software. We loved what OnLive did with Cloud Gaming although some Internet connections produce lag that hurts the experience, and until hardcore gamers see lag free gaming it will not attract them wholeheartedly. You only need to play racing games and fighters like Street Fighter to see when quick reactions are needed; OnLive fails to compete with the home games console.

Doing things on an iPad that can only be done on the office desktop – The OnLive Desktop app is available for iPad and Android tablets, which sees the brand head in a new direction by providing instant access to Microsoft Office applications, an amazing desktop experience, and finally Flash web browsing on the iPad.

How much of a difference could OnLive Desktop make to your life? We’ve included a video below that details the main features of OnLive’s new app, but we’d love to find out your thoughts on their new service and if you think it’s something that could improve your tablet experience? OnLive state that the Desktop app comes with “PC Microsoft Office” and “2GB cloud storage” for free, and that the software will make its way to Mac, PC and TV’s soon.

Initial reactions to OnLive Desktop have been varied and features included in the package are in the spotlight, with not everyone feeling the love. Some people don’t like the idea of being “restricted to use Office” and want to see alternatives for something they’d buy into.

Would you pay for the benefits offered in OnLive Desktop Plus? These start from $4.99 a month and give you a “Gigabit-accelerated full Flash browser“, improved access to “OnLive Desktop Standard“, and cloud storage with “Gigabit-speed“. That service plan is available right now via this page on OnLive, although there will be other plans coming called “OnLive Desktop Pro“, “OnLive Enterprise“, and “OnLive collaborative services“. The expected features for these plans are found in the above link and we’d love to hear your thoughts on these?

Have you made the jump to be tablet only, and what apps made this possible for you? It’s true that OnLive are making it easier to drop your laptop in favor of a tablet, but this service has a long way to go before it proves the iPad can replace laptops. Our iPad and Android tablet’s used in the PR office are certainly easier for many tasks done on a MacBook before, but there are plenty of jobs still done on traditional computers rather than a tablet and it will be some time before an iPad or Android tablet could fill the boots of our computers.

In Summary: Mobile workers are always looking for better solutions to help them travel a little lighter, and a browser supporting Flash paired with Office support takes them one step closer to leaving the notebook in the office although we have a way to go yet. Checkout the video below and share a comment. There are a few reasons why OnLive Desktop is more of a deal-breaker for potential iPad 3 buyers, and fast Flash web browsing is one of them if this is something you still want on an iPad, although it’s worth mentioning that not everyone wants this and there are other solutions.

OnLive has been around for a while now and launched in the UK earlier this year, and now Google has announced that the service will come bundled on the Google TV platform. Gamers that use the platform get the chance to play full game titles via a cloud after signing up to a subscription, which then does away with downloading or buying physical media.

There are some big titles available on the platform such as Batman: Arkham City among others. According to TechRadar Google TV owners will just have to purchase the OnLive Wireless Controller that costs $49.99/£39.99 from the OnLive website.

For now the full service won’t be available but users will be able to navigate the ‘viewer’ that allows access to the OnLive social features. Vizio will be the first company to offer sets with the OnLive service built in. Gamers get the chance to try out the service by playing any of the 200 games available for thirty minutes before signing up to the service.

Cloud gaming is likely to come even more popular as more devices connect to the internet straight out of the box. Have you used the OnLive service?

Currently when a demo hits the PlayStation Network or Xbox Live you have to wait for it to download, which can often take a while, however demos on OnLive are instantly streamed, meaning that you don’t have to sit there waiting whilst your download progresses from 1% to 100% – would a similar feature be a success when the PS4 and Xbox 720 arrive?

Firstly we don’t have a clue how much such a service would cost to implement, but in the long run we think a demo streaming service could prove popular with the fans, here’s why:

People hate waiting for downloads to complete, so that is one major perk of streaming, however that’s not all, OnLive allows you to play a full game for up to 30 minutes and then when you buy the full game you can continue from where you left off, this is great for games which have annoyingly long introductions where you are introduced to characters and taught the game basics etc.

There are two disadvantages when it comes to streaming demos, firstly it is reliant on an internet connection, but let’s face it if you are used to downloading demos you already have an internet connection, secondly no-matter what anyone says streaming is no as pleasing in terms of visuals, don’t get me wrong OnLive looks great on my HDTV, but my 360 looks better.

We think that a simple warning message stating that demo visuals are not necessarily on par with the full game would be acceptable, in my experience I have played a demo to get an idea of gameplay and see how a game compares to its rivals and/or predecessors, streaming a demo should allow for this without the inconvenience of eating up local storage space and waiting for large downloads (which are only going to get larger when next-gen consoles arrive).

One thing to remember is that internet connections are ever-increasing in terms of speeds, yes this will allow for quicker downloads, but it will also allow for smoother, more reliable streaming. We really think that the advantages to streaming demos outweigh the advantages of downloading them, do you agree?

According to OnLive, Batman: Arkham City has set records in both the US and UK for most demos played in a single day. This shows us that OnLive’s instant streaming service is really beginning to become popular, we just wonder how many demos played led to sales. Here’s what OnLive Founder and CEO, Steve Perlman, had to say about the impressive demo launch:

“The record-shattering performance of the Batman: Arkham City demo shows that gamers recognize the immense advantages of playing free trials on the OnLive platform, OnLive makes the ‘try-before-you-buy’ experience effortless, and it’s quickly becoming gamers’ go-to destination for instant-play demos and early exclusives”

We have to agree with Steve in regards to OnLive’s instant streaming of demos being effortless in comparison to rival solutions, let’s face it we have all at one point or another had to wait ages for a demo download to complete only to play it and be totally unimpressed. Perhaps Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo could learn a little from OnLive – what do you think? What we like the most is that you can progress in a game whilst playing the 30 minute free demo and then carry on from where you left off when you purchase the game.

The full game costs $49.99 / £34.99 in the U.S. and UK respectively, however if you just want to play it for a few days you can also just rent the game for 3 days ($5.99) or 5 days ($8.99). Currently U.S. consumers can get the full game, however UK gamers are restricted to the demo until November 25.

UK gamers can check out Arkham City on OnLive here, whilst US gamers should check out this link.

Is OnLive beginning to grow on you?

These games should be popular additions, firstly we can confirm that Limbo is on its way, this puzzle-platformer has been a very popular offering on Xbox Live, PSN and Steam, therefore OnLive gamers will be happy to hear that it is in bound. Another great game which is on its way is Bastion, this is an action RPG which has received great from reviews from the harshest of critics.

The other four games are Avadon: The Black Fortress, Magicka, Orcs Must Die and Space Chem. Perhaps the most popular out of these is Magicka, up until now this game has only been available for PC, but initial sales were promising and we think that a launch on OnLive will bring even more success to the game’s developer, Arrowhead Game Studios.

Here is a quote from John Spinale, OnLive’s VP of games, when speaking about indies:

“Simply put, they’re making some really great, innovative games these days. We love bringing amazing new experiences to our OnLive members, and also helping innovative developers get their ideas out to a larger, more diverse audience of gamers. Win-win.”

We currently have no details regarding prices and release dates, therefore we will have to keep you posted as we hear more. We will definitely be checking out these games when they arrive, if your not sure which game to buy don’t forget there will be free 30 minute trials available.

You can find out a little bit more about OnLive’s love for indies over at JoyStiq, which other indie games would you like to hit OnLive? Minecraft anyone?

Reports are now suggesting that next year Microsoft will be hoping to get in on the act too with an online console of their own. Their universal gaming portal will be designed to allow gamers to purchase a game once and be able to play it across three platforms including mobile, PC and Xbox 360. In order to achieve this, all of the company’s software and devices will incorporate Xbox Live.

When we were able to get our hands on an OnLive console, we were impressed but left wanting more games. The console is relatively new on the market and the titles it currently has are unexciting, but if online and digital gaming continues to grow as it has been, we could see big things happening with these types of consoles next year.

According to Electronic Theatre, Microsoft has already reaped some benefits and had success with applications like this in the past, with their Xbox Live Arcade game, Full House Poker, that also works on Windows Phone 7 devices. At the moment these mobile devices allow users to keep track of scores with their gamer profile and avatars and also whilst on the go they can ‘connect and play with friends’ thanks to the built in Xbox Live function. Much more advanced achievements are being planned for the next year with this being seen as ‘a fertile testing ground.’

What do you think of Microsoft’s plans? Would you prefer Xbox Live gaming portal to the OnLive console?

The cloud gaming service currently has the game listed at £27 for the members of the OnLive PlayPack package, or £39.99 for those that aren’t members. Each customer that pre-orders the game with the service will receive a console, which normally retails at £69.99, free of charge. The console is good for using the service on HDTVs.

An alternative that the service is offering is instead of a console customers receive a free game. Those that opt for the game will be sent a coupon code by e-mail once they have pre-ordered Arkham City. Vic President of OnLive gaming, John Spinale told gaming website CVG that although cloud gaming hasn’t quite picked up yet, it will take significant market share from successful consoles by Xbox and PlayStation after once the consoles have cycled at least once.

We recently brought you a review of the OnLive games and console and were overall impressed with it. The games themselves were limited when it came to big titles but that is set to improve as the popularity of the console rises. On the other hand Batman: Arkham City’s popularity already speaks for itself and judging from the details that have been revealed about it so far and the long list of characters set to feature in it, it’s looking like being one of the biggest games of the year.

Will you be pre-ordering Arkham City for your free OnLive console?

We have been messing about with port forwarding, checking OnLive’s Twitter feed for reports of issues and running speed tests on our connections and our diagnosis is that certain ISPs are blocking UDP packets – which results in an error showing up (see below).

Now we don’t like to name and shame companies, but the only correlation we have spotted so far is that both me and my friend who are experiencing issues are on TalkTalk broadband, also this thread on the TalkTalkMember’s forums shows more reports of the same issue.

The first time we tested out OnLive it was great, however when we went back on to test it out more thoroughly we were hounded by connection issues. The exact same thing happened today and we have now worked out the between 6pm and 12am the service will not work, however any other time of the day is fine – so we guess OnLive and TalkTalk are going to have a little chat (to say the least).

This is a massive blow for OnLive as people may think that it is their service which is not up to scratch, one thing is for sure – if Xbox Live or the PSN was affected in a similar way it would soon be resolved – hopefully there will be an update on the situation soon, when we hear news we will keep you posted.

For now we would love some feedback from our readers on this matter, therefore if you in the UK and experiencing frequent connection issues please leave us a comment below. In your comment please state what ISP you are with and what times of the day these issues are most frequent – it will be interesting to see the results.

You can see the entire list of games currently available over at OnLive’s website, don’t get us wrong there is lots of choice, but a lot of today’s biggest titles are not available, so some gamers will find the list a little unexciting.

The most recent games to show up are Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine, Deus Ex: Human Revolution, DiRT 3, Red Faction: Armageddon, F.E.A.R. 3, Tropico 4, Homefront and Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light. These games are great for people who want to game but don’t want to splash out on a gaming PC, PS3 or Xbox 360 – but what about people who game already?

Currently there are lots of big franchises missing from OnLive marketplace, such as Call of Duty, Battlefield, Grand Theft Auto, Final Fantasy and Need for Speed, in fact a deal with EA alone would really push things forward. Well according to OnLiveInformer.com EA and OnLive have reached an agreement and loads of games are coming soon.

You can see a full list of confirmed games which are coming to here, these are the ones we are most excited about: Assassin’s Creed Revelations, Bulletstorm, Civilization V, Driver: San Francisco, F1 2011, Football Manager 2012, LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7, Limbo, MLB 2K11, NBA 2K12, Roller Coaster Tycoon 3, Saints Row the Third (you can pre-order this game already) and Super Street Fighter 4: Arcade Edition. As you can see there are lots of big titles coming!

If things continue to grow for OnLive we can’t wait to see the list of titles in six months time, with its user base growing each day we really think this could be a cheap alternative to expensive games consoles and gaming PC hardware.

Feel free to share your own OnLive game wish list below!