After what is being called a successful testing and closed beta period, the OnLive HD video game streaming platform finally has a launch date for the contiguous 48 states in the U.S. The OnLive service was shown as a development platform almost a year ago and it is now finally ready for its initial launch on June 17th. The service does require a PC or Mac, as well an HD-capable TV and, of course, the OnLive micro-console.

From where we sit there are at least a couple of gotchas in OnLive, including the fact that the service itself costs $14.95 per month and you have to rent or buy the games from the publishers directly at a lower price than retail. According to what we have been able to find out, the first 25,000 people that sign up for Online will get the $14.95 per month waived for three months and in addition OnLive plans some other promotional pricing models that will take the price of the actual per-month cost down (such as pre-paying for the entire year, for example).

The OnLive service uses your local Windows PC or Mac to help with the processing, but the actual graphics and game run on servers in data centers on the Internet, and the actual game is streamed back to your HDTV. This eliminates the need for the actual console, except for the interface micro console that is more of a video output and controller receiver than anything else. While the initial roll out will feature titles at less than HD, the company claims that by early 2011 they will be able to stream at 1080p and 60fps.

OnLive knows that software is what will drive this service and the company has forged alliances with number of tier one software publishers, including the majority of the PC publishers. Much mystery remains as to how consumers will react to the OnLive option when compared to traditional video gaming consoles. Some see the monthly fee as a barrier, while others that we talked with suggest that the lack of many titles that will be console exclusives will be an issue; others suggest that the rent and buy model on top of the monthly fee will cause a lot of people to pass on OnLive.

OnLive has made bold claims, including that the servers will receive graphical upgrades every six months in order to provide the latest in graphics. In addition, the company plans to launch outside North America, but no specifics were given as to when this might be. Lag or latency will be the real issue, according to many analysts we have spoken with. While the company expects OnLive to provide an experience with minimal lag, in the end this could have more to do with the user’s Internet connection than anything else; and this, too, could turn customers away who don’t have the speed necessary for a good experience.