History of video games/Platforms/Shinra Technologies
History
[edit | edit source]Development
[edit | edit source]In November of 2013 Square Enix announced Project Flare, an initiative to develop cloud centric gaming infrastructure.[1] Project Flare would later spin off into Shinra Technologies as a subsidiary of Square Enix in September of 2014.[2][3] The company was based in New York City with satellite offices in Tokyo and Montreal.[3][4] In 2014 the company had ambitious technology development goals, with 2016 being seen as a key year for cloud gaming growth.[3]
The namesake of Shinra Technologies was the fictional Shinra Corporation in the game Final Fantasy VII, which was opposed by a fictional group called Avalanche.[5][3] In real life Shinra Technologies and Avalanche studios worked closely together on the Shinra Technologies platform.[3][6]
Public beta tests
[edit | edit source]Japan
[edit | edit source]Japanese beta testing of the service began recruitment of subscribers of NTT East fiber internet service from January 26th, 2015 to February 10th, 2015.[7] The beta test began just two days later on February 17th, 2015 with a projected end date of May 16th, 2015.[7][8]
United States of America
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At SXSW at Austin Texas in March of 2015 The Living World was shown at the Google Fiber Space as a demo.[9][10] American Beta testing of the service began in Kansas City on August 11th, 2015, with only gigabit speed Google Fiber subscribers being eligible to test the service.[11]
Legacy
[edit | edit source]In January 2016 it was announced that Square Enix would close Shinra Technologies, costing them 2.2 billion Japanese yen.[4] Some saw Shinra's strife as a sign that cloud game streaming would never work.[12]
A number of former Shinra Technologies employees would form the livestreaming technology company Genvid shortly after Shinra folded, also based in New York.[13][14] Work on Genvid started as early as February 2016,[15] with the establishment of a Twitter account, and was formally established by March 2016.[16] In December of 2020 Genvid debuted Rival Peak, among the first Massive Interactive Live Events accessible to the public,[17] finally realizing a product category somewhat similar to one Shinra Technologies was unable to fully launch before closure.
Technology
[edit | edit source]Hardware
[edit | edit source]A demo instance of the technology shown at E3 2015 was powered by two computers.[18] The compute computer uses an Intel Xeon CPU and Nvidia GTX Titan Black GPU.[18] The render computer uses an Intel Xeon CPU and four Nvidia GTX 980 graphics cards.[18]
During the Japanese beta test the company Techorus handled server hosting.[8]
Software
[edit | edit source]Much of Shinra Technologies product was focused on making easier and better netcode for developers.[19]
Software for Shinra instances could use the DirectX graphics API.[19]
Games
[edit | edit source]- Space Sweeper - Cooperative MMO 2D twin stick shooter with crafting mechanics and massive numbers of enemies, designed to render the entire game world for all players simultaneously.[20][21] Indie title by Kengo Nakajima.[8][22] Exclusive game for Shinra Technologies streaming.[11]
- The Living World - Tech Demo rendering 16,000 dragons at once.[20] Exclusive for Shinra Technologies streaming.[11]
- Agni's Philosophy - Tech Demo and port.[8]
- Tomb Raider - Port of the 2013 game.[20]
- Hitman: Absolution- Port[20]
- Deus Ex: Human Revolution - Port[20]
- Final Fantasy VII - Port[20]
Gallery
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A GTX 980 Ti, a similar, though slightly different, graphics card than one of the four GTX 980 used in the render computer. -
Square Enix headquarters in Shinjuku, Japan in 2014.
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Read more
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References
[edit | edit source]- ↑ Hollister, Sean (2013-11-06). "Project Flare: 'Final Fantasy' publisher wants to put you inside a 'Lord of the Rings'-caliber movie" (in en). The Verge. https://www.theverge.com/2013/11/6/5071238/square-enix-project-flare-cloud-gaming-technology-partners-requested.
- ↑ "Final Fantasy creator Square Enix unveils Shinra Technologies to make ‘revolutionary’ cloud game tech". VentureBeat. 2014-09-19. https://venturebeat.com/2014/09/18/final-fantasy-creator-square-enix-creates-shinra-technologies-to-develop-revolutionary-cloud-gaming-technology/.
- ↑ a b c d e McWhertor, Michael (2014-09-18). "Square Enix announces Shinra Technologies, a new cloud gaming service for 2015" (in en). Polygon. https://www.polygon.com/2014/9/18/6456117/square-enix-shinra-technologies-cloud-gaming-yoichi-wada.
- ↑ a b "Square Enix closes its 'Shinra' cloud gaming business". Retrieved 25 November 2020.
- ↑ "How the Shinra-Avalanche Conflict Changes in Final Fantasy 7 Remake". Retrieved 25 November 2020.
- ↑ "Square Enix Announces "Shinra" Cloud-Based Game Service". Retrieved 25 November 2020.
- ↑ a b "シンラ・テクノロジー". web.archive.org. 2015-01-30. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
- ↑ a b c d "Square Enix Streaming Agni's Philosophy Tech Demo And Tomb Raider Through Shinra Technologies". Siliconera. 2015-01-26. https://www.siliconera.com/square-enix-streaming-agnis-philosophy-tech-demo-tomb-raider-shinra-technologies/.
- ↑ "The DeanBeat: Shinra inches forward on its plan to revolutionize online games [update"]. VentureBeat. 2015-03-13. https://venturebeat.com/2015/03/13/the-deanbeat-shinra-inches-forward-on-its-plan-to-revolutionize-online-games/.
- ↑ "Shinra Technologies Tech Demo at Google Fiber Space #SXSW". Retrieved 10 June 2021.
- ↑ a b c Wawro, Alex. "Shinra's cloud gaming tech makes its U.S. debut -- in Kansas City" (in en). www.gamasutra.com. https://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/251006/Shinras_cloud_gaming_tech_makes_its_US_debut__in_Kansas_City.php.
- ↑ "A final nail in the coffin of cloud streaming". Retrieved 25 November 2020.
- ↑ "Genvid Technologies raises $1.5 million to make esports broadcasts more interactive". VentureBeat. 2016-08-29. https://venturebeat.com/2016/08/29/genvid-technologies-raises-1-5-million-for-more-compelling-esports-livestream-broadcasts/.
- ↑ Wawro, Alex. "Born from Shinra's ashes, interactive streaming startup Genvid raises $1.5M" (in en). www.gamasutra.com. https://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/280265/Born_from_Shinras_ashes_interactive_streaming_startup_Genvid_raises_15M.php.
- ↑ "https://twitter.com/genvidtech" (in en). Twitter. https://twitter.com/genvidtech?lang=en.
- ↑ "Genvid Technologies - Crunchbase Company Profile & Funding". Crunchbase. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
- ↑ Cataldi, Chris. "The real-time evolution of Rival Peak" (in en). www.gamasutra.com. https://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/378186/The_realtime_evolution_of_Rival_Peak.php.
- ↑ a b c "Square Enix's Shinra 'supercomputers' could power the games of the future". Retrieved 25 November 2020.
- ↑ a b "How Shinra's streaming tech works, and what it means for game devs". Retrieved 25 November 2020.
- ↑ a b c d e f "Final Fantasy VII And 1000s Of Dragons Streaming On Shinra Technologies Beta Test". Siliconera. 2015-08-15. https://www.siliconera.com/final-fantasy-vii-and-1000s-of-dragons-streaming-on-shinra-technologies-beta-test/.
- ↑ "Space Sweeper Introduces Supercomputer Cloud Gaming to Developers". Observer. 2015-06-19. https://observer.com/2015/06/space-sweeper-shinra-technologies-kengo-nakajima/.
- ↑ Wawro, Alex. "How Shinra's streaming tech works, and what it means for game devs" (in en). www.gamasutra.com. https://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/235772/How_Shinras_streaming_tech_works_and_what_it_means_for_game_devs.php.