Onlive and Wikipad Partner Up to Deliver Hardcore Gaming on Tablets

Putting this here until i can finish it. 

At E3 2014, streaming gaming service On Live and gaming tablet developer Wikipad revealed each of their products targeting their partnership in bringing hardcore games to players without needing console or PC rigs to play games. 

Wikipad, a $200 tablet with controller attachment that clips around it, complete with left and right triggers, bumpers, directional and face buttons, start, pause, and two true analogue sticks. With the tablet (Android-based) inserted, it looks an awful lot like the Wii U Gamepad, but is actually lighter and feels slightly more natural to anyone who's held an XBox or PS4 controller. 

For mobile games, the Wikipad peripheral's buttons can be mapped using touchscreen controls to replace on-screen controls (simulated controls and buttons on the touch screen). In the case of many popular mobile or tablet games, the Wikipad has presets that will automatically be set to the "best" settings by QA testers at the company, allowing players to just pick the games up and start playing with a more natural control scheme due to the controller interface having real buttons and feedback. 

However, Wikipad is more geared towards the hardcore gamers, which is why they've partnered with On Live, who will stream the games directly to the devices. On Live's servers, the graphical equivalent of a $5,000 PC gaming rig, which stream some popular PC and titles ported from console to PC, do so with all the performance settings turned all the way up; and then sent out as a stream with a 720p 60fps resolution. The Wikipad and it's controller are perfect for prominent titles they stream, like the Batman Arkham series, Darksiders, The Witcher, Tropico, Metro, and War Thunder. 

For On Live, the Wikipad makes sense because low latency is key. While a certain amount of this depends on the speed of the internet connection (2.5 mb per second on the low end) latency can unfortunately increase with wifi routers and wireless controllers. The Wikipad is perfect for On Live, because the controller attachment connects directly to the Wikipad tablet via a USB port in the side, creating a direct connection that reduces latency and makes the tablet/controller a single unit. 

Due to it's design successes Wikipad such and so, Fraser so and so also showed off a prototype his company has been developing with Apple to turn iPad's into similar controller tablets, called the baw wit da baw. The design (which is made up of two pieces that clip on to the ends of the iPad) is a compromise between Apple's smooth and rounded, but hard edged aesthetic, and Wikipad's natural and intuitively ergonomically contoured gaming device; while baw wit da baw felt a little clunky, has plenty of time to settle into a groove that matches the styles both companies. 

Back to speaking about Wikipad, Fraser highlighted a number of key features on the device that weren't common in tablets, like upgradeable storage and an HDMI output. He also revealed that the Wikipad was capable of outputing stereoscopic visuals through its HDMI output, making it possible to use the device to play 3D games on a 3D television. 

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