The Japanese gaming giants are positioning themselves for the adoption of mainstream blockchain games and will not be swayed by the section of gamers who are against crypto and non-fungible tokens (NFTs), he told Cointelegraph an Oasys blockchain project executive.
Speaking to Cointelegraph at Tokyo Games Show 2022 last week, Oasys representative director Ryo Matsubara stressed that the project’s big partners, including Bandai Namco, Sega and Square Enix, aren’t just jumping on the bandwagon of cryptography, but there is a long-term view. Blockchain-based Play-to-Earn (P2E) games:
“We have a shared vision on blockchain at the executive level. They don’t [want to] change this policy. They really understand the future adoption of blockchain. They don’t think, you know, just about revenue, they want to create the next future [of gaming].”
Bandai Namco has developed beloved titles such as Tekken and Pac-Man, Sega’s most famous title is generally considered to be Sonic the Hedgehog, while Square Enix is the developer of the popular Final Fantasy franchise.
Asked if these companies want to integrate blockchain technology with their current game franchises, Matsubara suggested that they are initially looking to develop new blockchain games.
He noted that since this is a “completely new game model,” it needs more time to mature before these big companies look into broader blockchain integrations with traditional games.
“When the model is fixed, it becomes sustainable and successful, then strong [popular] The IP will be added,” he said.
Looking at what needs to be improved in blockchain games, Matsubara noted that a “big problem” so far is that many projects rely too much on the price of the game’s tokens. As a result, there is more demand for “speculation” rather than the gameplay itself.
He went on to note that there will be an “adjustment” over time as the projects work to develop a real hype for the games themselves, most likely improving the overall gaming experience.
Related: The Japanese government issues NFTs to reward the work of local authorities
This echoed similar sentiments from Australian-based game developer and Animoca Brands subsidiary Blowfish Studios’ lead community manager, Luke Sillay, who also attended the event.
During an interview with Cointelegraph, Sillay stressed that more people want games that are actually “fun to play” rather than just a rush to win tokens.
Oasys’ proof-of-stake blockchain is aimed squarely at gaming and is tentatively slated for an official mainnet launch in the remaining months of this year. Matsubara also hinted that games from its big-name partners will likely be announced next year.
Looking outside of Japan, major Western gaming companies such as Fortnite developer Epic Games have increased exposure to blockchain games recently. Last week, the Epic Games Store released a new free NFT game called Blankos Block Party by Mythical Games.
The move follows comments from Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney in July, in which he stated that his company would “definitely” not follow Microsoft’s Minecraft in banning NFT integrations in games.
