What better way to celebrate the 35th anniversary of a beloved franchise than with an... NFT auction? Yep, Konami's at it again, and this time, it's managed to piss off people who don't even play video games. The Japanese publisher has announced that it will be holding an auction for a collection of Castlevania NFTs — "unique" digital works from throughout series history.
Said collection features digital goods featuring "game scenes, BGM, and newly drawn art from the series".
This isn't the first time that a gaming company has involved itself with NFTs and it certainly won't be the last. Ubisoft is currently exploring NFTs with in-game items, and Square Enix recently stated its interest in NFTs going forward. Meanwhile, heated debates over the environmental cost of NFTs continue to rumble on, as most people simply wonder what the hell this all means.
It's just the perfect modern Konami move, isn't it? It's been said a million times before, but for a company that holds the rights to so many of gaming's greatest properties, it's a real shame that Konami seems way more interested in doing literally anything other than make new games.
[source konami.com, via twitter.com]
Comments 129
Oh Konami. They really are the worst.
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I really hope this NFT thing is a phase and disappears soon, but I have a feeling that, like loot boxes, they’ll probably be around for a while.
@kingbreww Right click. Save image as.
I've yet to see a developer/publisher handle NFTs in a manner that doesn't seem shady AF
@kingbreww Oh dear.
@kingbreww Maybe because they create false scarcity for things that are inherently infinite?
I’ve said this before, Konami just ain’t what they use to be.
@nessisonett copy music file
@nessisonett How long till that feature is disabled in all current OS implementations going forward 😬🤔
People said the exact same thing about bitcoin when it first started, and still do. People are making a lot of money trading both though, and this is just the ground floor stage for NFT’s 🤷🏻♂️
Was to be expected.
"most people simply wonder what the hell this all means."
I'm definitely in this camp.
@kingbreww Ok. Tell us what nft you bought. Be specific. Give us the URL 🤔😂
@kingbreww
No, the “unintelligent” are those who pay through the nose for something that they could simply get for free if they didn’t support this business practice…but then of course they don’t actually care about the items they buy in most cases, they are actually just looking to speculate.
@KayOL77 send me access to your BTC account and I will
@kingbreww Of course - the whole world is stupid and only you have the intelligence to see it. SMH.
In your infinite intelligence you call everyone else unintelligent and have failed to make any case as for why NFT's have any value to people who simply want to buy and play great games.
Your comments clearly show who has an 'unitelligent view...
@thefourfoldroot it’s just a way to make easy money. Nothing smarter than that 😉
I just had to Google what NFTs are, so I'm by no means an expert on this, but surely it's only a bad idea if no one bids on these items, making them worthless, and teaching Konomi a lesson? If people go into a bidding war and Konomi makes a ton of money, then surely it's a good move by them? I guess there's a whole moral side to this, but at the end of the day, they're trying to make money. In my simplistic view, if everyone is really pissed off, then no one will be bidding on anything, teaching Konomi a lesson. Or am I missing something?
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@kingbreww That's unfair. Even if I did have a BTC account, it would actually be worth something.
@kingbreww Yup.
If you wanted to advise people what you see as great about NFT's, you could have done so, but instead you just came into a comment section and called the majority viewpoint 'unintelligent'.
No question you have no view and are here simply to provoke a reaction - pathetic.
@KayOL77 you’ll be saying the same thing about NFT’s in 10 years
I still don't see what's so wrong about them. I've zero interest in them, but good for those who do.
@Titntin the facts speak for themselves. This is the ground floor for NFT’s much like it was for bitcoin 10+ years ago
NFTs are probably going to usher in a new wave of censorship as big tech fight to make digital scarcity a thing. Can't wait for people to fight over somebodies retina illegally processing light emanating from a clump of pixels in a specific order.
@lolwhatno so people are creating a false market, kind of thing? Pretending that it's worth something, when really it's not?
(Sorry, I'm not trying to create an argument, before today I'd never heard of NFTs, I'm genuinely interested)
Best to never get our hopes up for Konami anymore. They just seem to, not only dash our hopes, but bury them in the dirt and spit on them.
@lolwhatno call it what you want to call it. I also play a digital property “game” using real money. Buying and selling digital properties. I just sold a digital property I bought for just under $100 for $2000. Cash. Untaxed and now in my bank account
Most of these comments are just people hating on NFTs without knowing anything about it.
Why do people care what konami is gonna sell if you have 0 intent in buying it anyway?
@kingbreww The great thing about bitcoin is it was seen to circumvent power from banks and give power to people to decentralise. This nft looks to bring back centralisation and class division like nothing before it. Will it be good too when the decision is made to implant babies with chips that distort the signal from eyeball to brain to make sure observation of the outside world is "correctly implemented" for the few?
@Bingbongboyo Let’s say I made you a sandwich. You can’t eat it but here’s a photo of it with a little certificate saying ‘you own this sandwich’. You can then sell that photo of the sandwich on to other people. The certificate also requires power and resources to maintain.
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@kingbreww I really feel sorry for you. The fact that you're actively buying into a scam is absolutely sad. NFTs and Bitcoins are a giant Ponzi scheme, and nobody can convince me otherwise.
@dBackLash lol, not me! I actually Googled it and now trying to find out more! Haha!
Looking at the comments it seems like it's a bit like the housing market here in Toronto. A shed can literally go on sale for a million dollars, I get angry because it's not worth that, and no one should be selling that. But, someone pays a million dollars, turns it into a nice house and lives happily ever after. Leaving me to realise that no one cares what I think! Hahaha!
This thread is pretty interesting, I have to admit...
@nessisonett nice analogy! A great way to explain it, and explains why people are angry. Cheers.
A great explanation of NFTs I found was by ACG on youtube
https://youtu.be/hQPOgElHKx0
@Divergent95 cool. I’ve been buying quite a lot of BTC since this recent drop in price to go along with what I already have. I’ll probably cash out in 6-12 months. I’m just wondering what type of SUV you recommend for me to buy with the profits?
@Bingbongboyo The idea is you can own digital pixels in a particular order. And stop anyone else from seeing it. As @Nessisonett points out, you can right click and save as anything you view online thereby creating a perfect copy and thus making it valueless. Until big tech starts attacking your right to save what's on your screen. And indeed using ai to scan what your looking at in the first place and determining whether you have the right to be even looking in that direction. If the answers no then you get a white noise image with the message "You do not have the right to view this particular light emanation."
@KayOL77 your right to save what’s on your screen 😂😂😂😂
@KayOL77 yikes! Scary...
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@kingbreww How else are big tech going to protect your 'investment'?
@KayOL77 probably the same way digital music is protected 😉
Can’t sell it if you don’t have proof of ownership
@KayOL77 If I can make a copy of your nft and make it valueless why should we NOT adopt mass censorship to make sure that image remains your goddammit? Especially if you spent half a million pounds on the *****. You'd be PISSED! And somebody's gonna PAY!!!!
@kingbreww Your argument of ‘this is good because I make money and you’re all idiots’ just doesn’t work. Is slavery good? I’m sure people made lots of money dealing in slaves.
I feel like an old man watching 2 kids arguing over something but being completely confused as to which side is in the right! Hahahaha!
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@kingbreww Thankfully there is a concerted effort by people who go where the file is stored on the internet and then just delete it, replacing it with nonsense. £80,000 down the drain. 😂😂😂
Great headline.
@KayOL77 so far with zero success. Nice try though. I should probably withdraw all the money from my bank account in case they “steal” that on the internet too 😂😂😂😂
@KayOL77 doesn’t need to remain exclusively one persons. Make all the copies you like. Digital ownership records are all you need to sell it
@kingbreww Wiping the file the reciept points to off the internet is zero success? The banks are relatively protected.
@KayOL77 not even a concern. You’re more likely to get your bank card skimmed x1000 than that ever happening. And even if it did the digital paper trail would be more than enough to have it reinstated
@naruball
For me, it’s the fact that they are artificially manufacturing scarcity to drive a price up and make more profit. It’s like how companies hoard diamonds to control the market price.
Well, that’s their intent anyway, how successful they will be is yet to be seen.
@kingbreww if you buy a shed, don't be offended if everyone you see around you also has the keys to it.
@KayOL77 they won’t have keys, they’d have pictures of the shed. But who cares, I can sell the “shed” and they can only look at a free picture of it 🤦🏻♂️
@kingbreww So your all for implementing a grand beurocracy to protect the fact you own some pixels and remove all other instances of it?
@kingbreww I would recommend a Citroen C5 Aircross. Unique design mixed with ultimate comfort.
Jokes aside, I REALLY hope you don't regret spending your hard-earned money on that. You have EVERY right to invest in anything you want, but promoting a scam? Guurl, please don't.
Why does everyone want to become a billionaire overnight?
@KayOL77 it’s not necessary. At all. Digital ownership, or proof of is all you need. The most expensive NFT’s are all over the internet. They still sell for hundreds of thousands though
genuine crypto currency is completely irrelevant to NFT garbage, just as were moving further towards people not really owning anything and just owning licenses or paying for services there are millions of dimwits forking out for pixelated monkey thumbnails, 99% of this trash only retains its value if people keep buying it and they simply won't, there is obviously some genuine NFTs out there that aren't complete garbage but most of it is, the market is currently being inflated by those with mental deficiencies unfortunately
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@KayOL77 just like they could hack anything. Or someone could burn your house down. Irrelevance
@kingbreww The way you respond to people, belittling them and calling them names, is not acceptable on this site. Continue and you will be banned.
I just watched a documentary on sky called "the man who bought crickett"..i think that nft's are a bit like the cdc's he was getting people to invest in..didnt work out well for him in the end..i hope that people dont get scammed like those poor people in that series..diabolical..
@Kidfried I thought he was talking to me! Haha!
@lolwhatno yes, it's a very interesting discussion, apart from some of the name calling.
@Kidfried I’m bloody 21 years old, I’m not ready to be a grandpa 😂
NFTs are pure grift. I almost respect it. It takes a special kind of con to not only trick people out of their money but also have the morons defend it to people pointing out that they're being conned.
@nessisonett No need to show off 😂
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@lolwhatno Yeah sorry peeps for helping to keep this charade going. This is a touchy subject for all the right reasons. It should be noted even artists have had their property stolen and 'minted'. The disingenuisness on all levels of this technology is exposing a lot of wolves.
What is to stop someone buying one and editing it slightly and selling multiple iterations of it?
@Enigk Nothing. You could even morph the picture in stages over time to make it an entirely different image 😂.
@lolwhatno haha! Yes, that's exactly what I'm doing!
Reminds me of the guy who famously kept selling the statue of liberty to passing tourists 😂. Its clever and all plus it can garner a few chuckles with its deviousness but ultimately you are openly preying on people genuinely not knowing any better.
Konami exploiting assets from a classic series to cash in on a gimmicky crypto grift that's only really useful for money laundering should probably piss me off, but... it really doesn't. I've long given up hope that Konami will either start becoming a decent company again or stop squatting on the vault of classic IPs they have exclusive access to.
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@nessisonett Waiiittt... You're 21!?
I always thought you were like 27 or 28, based on the way you comment on things. And I mean that as a compliment! 😅
Let's stop with the arguing, everyone. Please just ignore users you don't agree with instead of turning the comments section into a nightmare.
I wish Konami would sell some of their franchises to Sony. At least one of the big three: Metal Gear, Silent Hill or Castlevania.
NFTs are 99 percent a scam. Half of the art being sold has been taken off off someone's website, so it's also art theft too. (or you own absolutely nothing, cause the artists still have the original file on their computer anyway.)
That's setting aside the massive amounts of damage it does to the environment to just make one NFT... this in a winter that feels like spring.
Yeah some people will make a quick buck, but there is nothing right about NFTs
@johncalmc In my experience, it's pretty common for people being conned to go all in on defending it to others. The alternative is admitting you've been hoodwinked, and for some people, that's a fate worse than death.
Hoping that NFTs go away quickly but as the world has gone insane and remains insane, I expect the worst from companies and humanity in general now. NFTs fall under that category.
@Divergent95 I’ve been here a long time to be fair!
It's almost impossible not to come up with imaginary situations to completely and hilariously circumvent whatever is apparently attractive about NFTs.
@KayOL77 So companies are trying to make as much money as they can now before people realise how much of a scam it all is.
They’re coming wether we want them or not and these big company’s are gonna make a fortune from them.
It’s worrying seeing people here either not bothered by them or saying they’re a good thing. I think you need to educate yourself. Yes NFT’s can benefit someone, you can make money but it’s much like gambling, only the minority end up winning big. You’re buying into a dream that in most cases will not come true.
The future is grim with NFT’s, if you think microtransactions are bad (and they are) then you’ve not seen anything yet. Us as consumers are going to be exploited and preyed upon even more so, and even if you don’t buy into NFT’s we’ll suffer as gamers as games start to be designed with them in mind.
@lolwhatno I know riiightt?!! I'm still shook lol. If only more people were as mature as him.
@Ralizah Someone actually did a study about it. I remember reading about it - I think it was in America. It was more to do with politics, but the finding was that people would willingly repeat things they knew weren't true or that were bad for them because the candidate they'd voted for said them rather than face the music and accept they were conned.
@Enigk Nothing is off limits. Pump and dump scams happen all the time. 🤔☹️
@Fenbops Imagine someone paying £100000 for a digital pic of a particular situation in a game. And then you play the game and organise the in-game circumstances to simulate it, then an ingame prompt says "You are very close to being charged a £19.99 fee for copying a scenario that has been bought and now owned by ...". 🤔
collect stamps instead 🤷
@kingbreww https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/todd-kramer-nft-theft-1234614874/
Just saiyan..best of luck to your endeavors.
Konami, what a strange company. It's like they are actively trying to troll everyone at this point, what with the disaster of eFootball as well. I mean, did someone from their biggest rival buy them just to destroy the company, or are actual employees making all these decisions?!
It'll succeed. I have no faith in modern day consumers. If they say this junk is optional...then it will be accepted.
@DenzelDM I'm sorry but if you think making a single NFT causes massive environmental damage then you know nothing about NFTs.
@kingbreww True that! I have hundreds of Beanie Babies from the 90s. This time next year I'LL BE A MILLIONARE.
🤷♂️ meh I'm not so arsed about it
Its Konami.like hall and oates says out of touch.thats konami.word up son
@kingbreww Irony considering how little you know and the danger they pose to the Earth itself.
@KayOL77 I don't want to reignite this complicated topic. But I think pushing back wholesome on NFT is probably not the right thing either. In this Konami case, we agree, this is manufactured scarcity.
I happen to work in the industry and among many contacts I also work on multiverse NFT based future releases. A lot of those have the artists as the key focus (paraphrasing a C-suite of one of the company I work with "we care about providing artists means to keep control on their creation and how they choose to distribute or commercialize them. If people decide to speculate on this we won't prevent it, but we won't make it the center of our business."). In the new ways of digital distribution, artists are losing their ability to generate revenue. NFT allow them to keep more control on their digital creation without necessarilly having to go through a big label or someone ripping them off.
Never black or white ^_^ It's not just about a picture of a sandwhich, it's also for true artist who produces digital content and want to keep control of their creation.
Its the gaming industry as a whole. It just gets worse and worse every year. Its alot of the reason i prefer indie games. Its the only true form of gaming anymore. None of these companies will see a dime from me supporting NFTs. You all should do the same. People should just boycott all these companies games. Id love to watch all three of these companies fall from there greed.
@kingbreww How are NFT's worth anything? What exactly do you own?
@Kalime78 I'm not averse to the right people making money from their own art. I'm pointing out the absurdity of it being owned by one person who buys it despite it flying around and permeating the digital space. Also, people are minting other people's art, and it's on the Blockchain that the new person now 'owns' it thank you very much. Original artist had to disown and accept the loss and he can't afford to uphold his copyright. The result? It's absolutely NOT his anymore. This whole thing seems to rely on the 'owner' having faith in the receipt they will recieve and nothing more. I'd rather the artist make that profit but that's not going to happen is it? Thanks for the polite discourse.
@Kalime78 Also, please define 'keep control of their creation'. Thanks
@naruball Making money of something that is a lot of the time is used without consent from original artists.
A thing that uses extreme amounts of energy in the time where we need to work on the environment. So usefull if you use all renewable sources of energy for this. Its not like we are consuming less energy as time goes on.
If gamers and non-gamers are pissed off, who are companies like Konami listening to when they make these decisions? Lame.
@nessisonett i have to admit that going from the way you construct your comments and your music choices i thought you were at least 30..jesus that makes me feel older than what i am..
I'm sure if there was some kind of environmental charge they wouldn't be quite as excited about it
Take it away and burn it with fire, no wait, that's what we are doing to the carbon required to produce the electricity for all the processing required. Any nft art, any play to earn concept in a game, go do one.
@kingbreww You probably won't see this and certainly won't reply to it since you're banned and all, but just fyi, the profits from your digital property game that you bragged a ways up about being "untaxed and now in [your] bank account" are fully subject to US (I presume from your choice of currency) capital gains taxes, just as if you'd made it playing stocks.
If all you're playing with is a few thou, nobody's going to care, of course, but if you're regularly passing SUV money through your federally-insured-and-regulated bank account and thinking you're living in a tax-free wonderland, you're going to find yourself in for quite a rude awakening sooner or later.
NFTs are disgusting, an absolute cancer to the gaming industry right now. I really hope it doesn’t catch on. It’s up to us to let the developers and publishers know our feelings towards NFTs. We’ve already saw GSC Game World back down after announcing NFTs for Stalker 2.
Also gotta say the comment sections on this site will be a little better now without 🤴☕️
@Divergent95 the whole traditional stock market is a giant ponzi scheme too. But how many people buy into that?
@Bingbongboyo Yep. I'm no expert, but it seems to be a bubble thing. A few people are pushing the market, speculating and trading amongst themselves and raising prices. People with too much money, basically. It will either burst and fade away, or it will gain more mainstream attraction through some as yet unknown (and more reasonably priced) application of the idea. As it stands at the moment, it's a ridiculous thing that also has an environmental impact. But if we're all living in virtual worlds in a few decades, a la Ready, Player 1, it could become huge. I'm still reeling over the concept of the first ever tweet selling for ridiculous money. Oh, and despairing for humanity. I'm doing that a lot too.
Today is the first anniversary of the U.S.A. Capital Siege, now it seems like the comments section of push square is in anarchy.... & Where's the new Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater Remake!?!
Not to desire anyone's doom but I really wish Konami would go bankrupt so they had to sell all their franchises to better companies.
@PossibLeigh yes, I see your point. @Kalime78 made a comment about the original artists keeping ownership and making money. I guess that wouldn't be a bad thing if it went mainstream. For example, it would be cool if I could buy some art from Uncharted, say, where I could physically have on my wall, and I pay the original artist. But, it seems, that's not what NFTs are all about, is it? It just seems to be rich people trying to scam others in order to get richer. As you say, despairing for humanity is all we can do! Haha!
a franchise important as Castlevania deserved a new game to celebrate it 35th anniversary, not this ridiculous way it anniversary is celebrated.
please someone save Konami franchises, before they destroy them.
first Pachinko mechines now this, unacceptable.
@PossibLeigh Regarding the tweet, type it out into a small box and take a screenshot of it and send it around the internet. Nftbros LOVE that! 😂
@KayOL77 I guess there are as many possible implementations possible as there are companies looking towards that space. The one I have interacted with emerges from music artist who made it and want to create a virtual world where artist can perform and create but without losing instantly right to their creation by just being digital. It can be music that they chose to license, or digital merchandising.
For gaming I guess, we all agree manufactured scarcity is poor approach, but there are also considerations regarding user generated content. Wouldn't it be more motivations for private creator to receive monetory rewards for their work...
I think the tech, like any tech is just a tool, it's what we do with it that matters ^_^
@Bingbongboyo I'm def. not an expert on NFT, but from what I discussed with partners, I believe there are various potential implementations. Like licensing your music, so that you can sell to multiple persons. Or creating original art. What if DaVinci started to paint online, surely he should have the right to keep ownership and/or sell ownership of his work, just like he would if it was a real painting.
It's just like usual, new tech is going to attact porn and/or scammers... but the tech itself is not inherently bad ^_^ except yes in NFT case, environmental considerations are clearly something that needs being tacked.
@Kalime78 good points, I agree with you about the tech not being inherently bad.
@KayOL77 would that really work, is it really that simple? So everything that Konomi is doing, if all the pissed of people just took screenshots and shared it, it would destroy the NFTs of Konomi? There's no way that people could get in trouble? If so, that's quite funny.
Well...if people got into trouble for right clicking and sharing it then that would maybe make clear that digital scarcity is being prioritised. Even though it's not actually a thing?
@KayOL77 I don't think it would destroy the NFTs, but it would dilute them into insignificance. And the only saving grace would be the faith that they are still worth something. Even though they are everywhere. "The receipt said it's MINE!!!" would maybe be more acceptable if the machines that created the receipt weren't simultaneously creating more carbon dioxide than can possibly be reversed by climate change policy? But it IS complicated.
What type of reporting is this? At least tell us where to buy it
Konami's been dead to me for awhile, didn't help that I never played most of their games.
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