viviON GAMES Cloud Service Launches August 26
viviON, the parent company of DLsite operator Acis, announced on August 20 that its new cloud gaming service, viviON GAMES, will launch on August 26. The service lets users play PC games on smartphones through a browser, without downloads or complex setup. It uses viviON's OOParts Engine to run PC games on dedicated servers, meaning developers do not need to port their titles to mobile. The service uses a per-game purchase model rather than a subscription. The announcement image shows the aquarium horror adventure "Aquarium wa Odoranai," suggesting it will be a compatible title. The service was first announced in May, and trial exhibits were held at the indie game event BitSummit PUNCH, where seven titles were playable, including "Yomawari 3," "Seifuku Kanojo," and "Shironagasujima e no Kikan." viviON also released survey results estimating that 11.7 million people in Japan, or one in five adults in their 20s to 50s, are "former PC gamers" who stopped playing on PC. The company calculated that their departure represents a lost market of roughly 100 billion yen annually.