Square Enix games could come to CoreOnline if service succeeds

Square Enix will consider bringing its extensive catalogue of Japanese developer titles to free-to-play, browser-based gaming service CoreOnline if the business model proves viable.

In an interview with GamesIndustry, Square Enix worldwide CEO Yoichi Wada repeatedly referred to CoreOnline as an experiment. As such, the publisher isn't ready to throw resources at it yet; the reason the service's announced titles are mostly Eidos properties is that they're much cheaper to put online.

"We would eventually like to see more of the Square Enix titles on there, but the thing is, those titles were made for consoles, not PCs," Wada said.

"Honestly speaking, we're going to start from the available ones - once we've established that it can work as a business, we're going to be porting them onto the PC, but that actually costs quite a lot."

European CEO Phil Rogers confirmed that at the moment, all games slated for release on the service are PC ports; very few of Square Enix's Japanese titles have been released on PC.

CoreOnline launched last week, with a Hitman: Blood Money and Mini Ninjas playable for free in your browser. Tomb Raider: Underworld and Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light have also been announced for the service, with more to come.