Square Enix launches a new online service: CoreOnline

Rich Bloomfield
August 31, 2012 11:18 am

Out of nowhere, publisher Square Enix have just launched a new browser-based games service via CoreOnline.com where players can play some of the publishers legacy titles free of charge. The catch? Gamers will need to earn that game time by watching user-selected adverts.

Free from the get-go are the games Hitman: Blood Money and Mini Ninjas with titles like Lara Croft: Guardian of the Light, Tombraider: Underworld, Gyromancer, and other Square Enix titles to soon follow. So how does it work? Thankfully there’s an FAQ page explaining just this. The basic gist is that players will get 20 minutes of game time for every minute of ads they view.

We’re very keen to experiment with different business models as we work with new platforms and technologies. We’ve watched with interest how games and other media are monetised elsewhere – TV, social networks, mobile devices – and understand the importance of cost to consumers today. We feel that right now some are more open to small investments of time (watching ads) rather than small investments of money (micro-transactions) and we want to offer the choice.

The service currently works for most browsers excluding Safari but will work on Chrome for Mac, essentially allowing for both PC and MAC. While most of the titles will be available on both, it seems that Hitman: Blood Money will only work on PC.

Meet Rich Bloomfield

Rich is the Editor-in-Chief of Nizulo. He enjoys long slow walks on the beach, puffy little bunnies, cuddles, snuggling, and spooning. He also has a passion for listening attentively, massaging, and cheese. Yep, he's one cheesy guy!