Coreonline, a new cloud gaming service announced by Square Enix this morning, puts HD games in your browser, letting you play console games in your PC. A combination of Google and Square Enix tech, developed by Hapti.co, makes it possible to get your game in in Chrome, Firefox and IE. I tried it in Safari and it told me to go home (or use Chrome).
With Coreonline you’ll be able to click on a level and start playing instantly, from any part of the game you’d like. Saves and achievements are stored in the cloud, and are accessible from any browser.
It launches with Hitman: Blood Money and Mini Ninjas. Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light will come in October. Titles Tomb Raider: Underworld and Gyromancer are currently in development, and more titles will be made available next year.
What’s odd about this service is that playtime can be earned by watching advertisements. For example, watching the first ad for the Hitman title gives you 10 minutes of gameplay. The FAQ says that you’ll normally earn 20 minutes of play time for each minute spent watching ads. Weird, right? The business model has it to where if you want to skip ads, you’ll need to purchase levels or even entire games.
If you don’t mind watching some ads, check out the beta site now.
