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History of video games/Platforms/Shinra Technologies

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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[edit | edit source]

A Google Fiber office in Kansas City in 2012. Prior rollout of high end network connectivity in Kansas City made it an ideal beta testing location.

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[edit | edit source]

  • A GTX 980 Ti, a similar, though slightly different, graphics card than one of the four GTX 980 used in the render computer.
    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.
    Square Enix headquarters in Shinjuku, Japan in 2014.

Read more[edit | edit source]

Wikipedia has related information at Square Enix, Google Fiber  and South by Southwest

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Square Enix

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: South by Southwest 2015

References[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ 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. 
  2. ↑ "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/. 
  3. ↑ 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. 
  4. ↑ a b "Square Enix closes its 'Shinra' cloud gaming business". Retrieved 25 November 2020.
  5. ↑ "How the Shinra-Avalanche Conflict Changes in Final Fantasy 7 Remake". Retrieved 25 November 2020.
  6. ↑ "Square Enix Announces "Shinra" Cloud-Based Game Service". Retrieved 25 November 2020.
  7. ↑ a b "シンラ・テクノロジー". web.archive.org. 2015-01-30. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
  8. ↑ 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/. 
  9. ↑ "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/. 
  10. ↑ "Shinra Technologies Tech Demo at Google Fiber Space #SXSW". Retrieved 10 June 2021.
  11. ↑ 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. 
  12. ↑ "A final nail in the coffin of cloud streaming". Retrieved 25 November 2020.
  13. ↑ "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/. 
  14. ↑ 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. 
  15. ↑ "https://twitter.com/genvidtech" (in en). Twitter. https://twitter.com/genvidtech?lang=en. 
  16. ↑ "Genvid Technologies - Crunchbase Company Profile & Funding". Crunchbase. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
  17. ↑ 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. 
  18. ↑ a b c "Square Enix's Shinra 'supercomputers' could power the games of the future". Retrieved 25 November 2020.
  19. ↑ a b "How Shinra's streaming tech works, and what it means for game devs". Retrieved 25 November 2020.
  20. ↑ 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/. 
  21. ↑ "Space Sweeper Introduces Supercomputer Cloud Gaming to Developers". Observer. 2015-06-19. https://observer.com/2015/06/space-sweeper-shinra-technologies-kengo-nakajima/. 
  22. ↑ 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. 
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