Yoichi Wada, the former president of Square Enix, has formed a new cloud based gaming service called Shinra Technologies. This global company will have offices in New York, Tokyo and Motreal. Some of you may recognise the service’s name as it is based on the antagonistic company from Final Fantasy VII.
Speaking at TGS 2014, Wada revealed that he is already working with Just Cause developer Avalanche Studios to create the technology behind this service. He believes that traditional AAA games can no longer rely on the dedicated console ecosystem and that cloud gaming is needed to revitalise the industry. “The industry will only continue its expansion, but in due time a correction to this path is necessary,” he said. Wada believes that that Shinra Technologies can provide a future for the AAA market.
Yet the servive won’t only be for traditional AAA titles. Square Enix wants to use cloud gaming to create new and interesting experiences as well. ”If we simply bring traditional games to the cloud, you will never get a game experience that surpasses current games” said Wada. ”We want developers to create entirely new games with revolutionary game experiences.”
Shinra Technologies will begin beta in Japan and USA in 2015. The beta will include several Square Enix titles including Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Tomb Raider, Final Fantasy VII and Hitman: Absolution. A full launch is expected in 2016.
Via Polygon