Square Enix has announced its plans to enter the world of cloud-based gaming with Shinra Technologies, Inc. Based in New York and headed by president Yoichi Wada, Shinra Technologies aims to bring new technologies and innovations to cloud-gaming. Shinra utilizes “unique, patented technologies” that allows games to be streamed from a supercomputer, and doesn’t require specific hardware to use. Square Enix doesn’t seem to be banking on just its own software library either, as it is also seeking out game studios to create software specifically made for this service. Square Enix also promises that it has “partnered with world-class infrastructure and network providers to ensure high quality video and minimal latency.”
Despite sharing part of its name with a fictional planet-destroying electric company, Shinra Technologies looks to be a very interesting initiative. Square-Enix has utilized the power of the cloud before with the mobile and 3DS versions of Dragon Quest X in Japan, but this seems much grander in scope. With Sony currently beta testing its PlayStation Now service, it will be interesting to see how Shinra Technologies competes in the this particular market. Shinra Technologies, Inc. is planning a beta for North America and Japan in early 2015.
