PlatinumGames executives Atsushi Inaba and Hideki Kamiya have said that they aren’t considering NFTs for their games, but Konami is moving forward with its NFT plans. Inaba and Kamiya called out what they see as the greedy behavior by other gaming companies, and Kamiya targeted Konami in particular.
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During an interview with Video Games Chronicle, Inaba said “the people who are trying to promote NFTs and partner with gaming companies, their conversations seem extremely one-sided.” This was the major problem for both executives, as they struggled to justify how the NFTs would benefit the user or the consumer. The executives acknowledge that NFTs have been widely discussed in the gaming industry, but emphasized that PlatinumGames wants no part in it.
NFTs, or non-fungible tokens, are one-of-a-kind digital goods. Traditional money is considered fungible, meaning that one $5 bill can be substituted for another. The whole idea for NFTs is that they’re unique digital items. Konami’s eagerness to become involved may not come as a surprise. A survey revealed that nearly 30% of game developers are interested in NFTs. However, Kamiya noted in the interview that his anti-NFT stance was likely because he views himself as more of a gamer than a businessman.
Ubisoft is another game developer that has been very vocal about its determination to become involved in NFTs, however, some best-case scenarios foresee Ubisoft’s NFT initiative crashing and burning. Only time will tell how receptive gamers will be to the entry of NFTs to the marketplace, but it seems, for the time being, fans are not that excited. Kamiya noted there was potential that in the future, NFTs may be “expanded in a way that has a positive side for users.” Then maybe PlatinumGames will start to be interested, but that will still depend on the value to the consumer.
Clearly, not everyone is as excited about the potential for NFT developments in gaming as Ubisoft or Konami. Alongside PlatinumGames, the game funding platform itchi.io has also expressed its feelings about the new technology. Itchi.io tweeted that NFTs are a scam, proving it was willing to be very forward about its opinion on the topic.
Inaba says that as content becomes increasingly digitalized, the concept of NFTs could become more important. However, as he sees it, early adopters are using them just to profit. As a result, Inaba has no interest in making NFTs a part of Platinum’s business.
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Source: Video Games Chronicle
