Ah, good ol’ non-fungible tokens. They’re the technology no one really understands – not even, we’d argue, the people endorsing them – but you can either hate or you can create. Ain’t that right, Troy Baker? Seriously, though, we’re slowly seeing more games publishers adopt the controversial format, as perhaps best evidenced by recent announcements by Ubisoft.
It was inevitable that other publishers would follow suit, and so here’s a trademark registered by SEGA in Japan last year for a new initiative named SEGA NFT. The emergence of the logo is particularly interesting, because CEO Haruki Satomi recently stated that his company wouldn’t explore NFTs if they were perceived as a “simple money-making” scheme.
“We need to carefully assess many things such as how we can mitigate the negative elements, how much we can introduce this within the Japanese regulation, what will be accepted and what will not be by the users,” he said of NFTs. In Satomi’s defence, just because SEGA’s registered the abovementioned trademark doesn’t mean it’s committed to following through with them.
In other related news, The Last of Us star Troy Baker felt the full-force of the Internet’s wrath this week after he announced a – presumably lucrative – collaboration with Voiceverse NFT. “Appreciate you sharing your thoughts and giving me a lot to think about,” he said of the robust backlash. “I’m just a storyteller out here trying to tell my story to whomever will hear.”
[source videogameschronicle.com]
Comments 65
Before anyone comments on this post, SEGA filed this trademark before they cancel their NFT plans. It was just released today.
@Milt This was filed in December, correct.
@Milt
Internet!!! Blinkers on, set dial to outrage!!!!
Still, the way the article is framed and lacks that info it's perfect bait to get people riled up 😆
@lolwhatno I hope you didn't pay hundreds of pounds for that pic, I just copied it 😆
Can we have a moment of silence for the goodness that was Sega...ya know, 2 decades ago.
Honestly, are NFTs in video games any different from regular MTX?
Apart from the fact that owning an MTX doesn't turn you into a pretentious wannabe millionaire.
Where's an article on the sh*tshow that is Konami and Squeenix going full steam ahead with NFT? Clearly there's a push in the industry to get this normalised, much like how MTs have become so that now people aren't bothered about things being sold to us because they're just 'cosmetic'; as if that makes it ok to sell us content we used to get free.
NFT is even more insidious than MTs and before long young gamers are going to be indoctrinated into it if we don't make far more of a fuss about it than we did MTs. We need the media to be on our side on this and do some quality journalism exposing it for the scam it is. Start with that POS Peter Molyneux and his pyramid scheme he's already made a fortune with.
@Integrity push square with a click bait article? I dont know what you are implying..they would never deliberatly wind people up 🤣
@Northern_munkey 😆 and FIFA 22 is an 8/10 😁😉👍
If I had my head so far up my own butt like Mr. Baker, I'd probably dribble out such rubbish too, thinking it made me sound poetic & not at all douchey🙄 (We all know where he gets his strong hair product now as well!) What a *****.
@Octane yes its much, much worse. Artists are having their work stolen and are finding it extremely difficult to get anyone to acknowledge it, stop it or be compensated for it. Also NFTs are selling you stills of games you can easily copy and paste for yourself, or you could see for yourself just by playing the game, and save for yourself too!
Also they try and tell you it's a unique pic that will never be reproduced but that's a nonsense too.
This is far more disgusting a practice than MTs. People are having bidding wars to own nothing of value!
At least Sega have acknowledged the negativity and acted on it. Troy Baker on the other hand....
NFTs are just another way that rich folk can exploit poor folk, or in some cases, other rich folk.
Your average Joe on the street will never have the resources, the skills, the money or the knowledge to create them, let alone sell them for a profit. But those rich folk have realised gamers will buy anything related to the game they are currently emotionally involved with.
First it was selling DLCs, then it was selling virtual armour and guns and pets, then it was just selling the virtual coins to buy the virtual armour and pets, and now it’s selling you a virtual picture of the armour and pets - without you being able to do anything with it.
They must be laughing into their diamond encrusted gold iPhones at the stupidity of “normal people”.
@Integrity A video game wouldn't use stolen assets.
And the point of owning an NFT isn't so much about the JPEG that's attached to it, but it's more about the unique blockchain data unit behind it. It's that unique data string you can sell. It's crypto currency, except that every unit has its own fluctuating value, much like art, hence why JPEGs are often attached to NFTs.
Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't buy it, nor do I see the point of NFTs in gaming, but if Activision wants to sell you an NFT with a one of a kind skin attached to it, I don't see the difference with regular MTX.
@Octane NFT selling include stolen assets from many artists who can't afford to sue for compensation or will have tremendous difficulty getting compensation or even recognition that they own the artwork. Its not just about assets sold from games. NFTs are despicable whether they are assets sold from games as if they are something desirable (Castlevania Collection for example. All NFTs there you can get free easily enough and there's nothing unique about what is being sold)
How you are prepared to allow NFTs as just another avenue for Activision to monetise amazes me. It's yet another way the industry is treating us with utter disdain. You should read Squeenix's announcement about their future with NFTs to see how we are viewed as a commodity to be exploited and not as invested fans of an industry and hobby we love. See Peter Molyneux's pyramid scam and tell me that its the same as MTs.
I say all this to you with respect 👍
Damn, why does it seem like Japanese companies in particular are jumping all over NFTs at the moment? Square Enix, Konami, now Sega. I swear, next is gonna be Nintendo.
To be this good takes tfnages
@Integrity 🤣🤣🤣
As someone who's made a significant sum of money from blockchain, specifically bitcoin, by acquiring a number of coins years ago when smart people liked to mock and deride it, and selling small portions of it at ever higher prices ever since, I witness the same anger towards NFTs.
Everyone criticising them, knowing what they know now with regards to price appreciation and market adoption, would quite happily go back a year or two and buy some apes or similar at the price they were then.
They're quite pointless imo, same as I think bitcoin is pointless actually, but let's not kid ourselves - a lot of the faux rage is borne out of good old human bitterness and jealousy.
@redcorpuscle not the same thing. First and foremost I want you to know I'd agree with you if NFTs were a product in isolation, outside the boundaries of game design, but game publishers are trying to incorporate them into core gaming. We don't need this becoming a fundamental part of design like MTs have become, further corrupting our hobby and introducing even more psychologically manipulative processes designed to part us with our money. (STARWARS: Battlefront 2 being the posterchild of a game that's built from the ground up with monetisation and lootboxes in mind, the antithesis of gaming as a pastime) We already have FIFA and games of its ilk disguising gambling as a game mechanic, NFTs are a step even further into that cesspool and will move gaming irretrievably away from the pursuit of fun to the pursuit of work, like that episode of Black Mirror where people build up credits by playing games.
Of course their longterm plan is to ride out the criticism until this is normalised in a decade or so. They'll probably succeed because I don't see the mainstream media making too much fuss about it. I agree there are a lot of people jumping on the antiNFT bandwagon because it's easy, and that is human nature, but I sincerely think its the worst thing to happen to gaming. Its absolutle minimum effort for maximum profit. Konami has practically downed tools as a publisher just to concentrate of whoring out it's back catalogue to gambling machines and NFT.
I hope future Yakuza games poke fun at this NFT craze.
Hate to sound like a thicko but I just don’t get this NFT malarkey 👀
I’ll just keep my head down and carry on and not let it bother me 💅
Konomi did ok with their NFT sales
NFTs may be stupid but doesn't mean people cant make money out of stupid things
Maybe the villain in Persona 6 will be a crypto bro?
@redcorpuscle absolutely agree. Within the gaming community there's little nuance to this topic, just salt. Everything is an extreme. Story driven SP games will continue to exist as well as indie games etc. I think the crypto space is a den of vipers, but play it right and it can be more rewarding than classic investing or putting your money in a bank. Bored apes etc is still not a great use case, but I would gladly invest time and money in something like genshin impact if I know that the time and money spend can become profitable in return and not just a worthless MTX. At the same time I'll also just play a standard game for the fun of it. Not everything is black or white.
@redcorpuscle yup. I don’t really have an opinion on NFTs but it’s easy to just dig into the idea that you hate them. Can’t afford an Xbox? Xbox sucks! Can’t justify the cost of a VR headset? VR sucks! Gaming on PC too complex to get your head round or wife won’t let you have a rig in the bedroom? Sony exclusives on Steam is a terrible idea! No 4K TV? Resolutions don’t matter! Didn’t get a PS5 yet? There’s no point, everything worth playing is on PS4!
It’s easier to just be lazy, ignorant and dig in 👍🏻
That said, in the context of video games, my limited understanding indicates NFTs are not worth it, since publishers and developers retain overall control anyway. That’s not to say you can’t make some money selling them on to those willing to part with their cash, and I can see why those with an interest in them are very motivated to talk them up. But it could be the ship has already sailed…?
@Gloamin Look at the first comment of this post
Imagine a weapon from god of war ragnarok is an nft that only 10 people can use in the campaign.
I am boycotting all games that do stuff like that.
I was joking about ea charging $0.99 for bullets in a shooter but I am guessing this is another way.
@RevGaming
“Imagine a weapon from god of war ragnarok is an nft that only 10 people can use in the campaign.”
But that’s the exciting aspect of NFTs. The exotics in Destiny were really not that exotic once everyone had one. The idea of being able to acquire very limited items in shared online games is pretty interesting to me. It’s all the b*locks that comes with it that I don’t like - generally you won’t just find it in a chest or acquire it by doing really well in a challenge, you’ll have to part real money for it somewhere along the line. But the reality is in that context there is no requirement for it to be an NFT - the developers can just create one instance of it.
So yes, it’s a cool concept, but it’s nonsense in games.
@kyleforrester87 So you find interesting that other people are not able to enjoy what you can enjoy?
@RevGaming I find the idea of walking on the moon interesting. I have never done it but other people have. Should I be…angry? Jealous? In the context of games should I be a sad panda if someone gets a car on Gran Turismo that I don’t have, because they get the fastest lap time on a particular circuit? No, because I am not a 12 year old.
The excitement that comes with owning a unique item should not be an alien concept to you. It’s why people collect things.
@kyleforrester87 He's just trying to bait you into an argument 🙄
@GalacticBreakdown I know, I got this, I got this.
@kyleforrester87 why would I pay to play a game if someone will always win because he paid more? Dafuq. Enjoy always spending more to beat strangers online.
Yeah. I get what you're saying but that ruins games. At least with microtransactions, everyone can buy it. It's not artifically limited.
Do you just want feel better because you can spend more?
@GalacticBreakdown I wasn't baiting. I was really giving my thoughts on it. Like imagine half of the horizon forbidden west enemies were nfts. I would quit gaming. That or everything is on the cloud would make me quit.
Not saying it will happen. Both look unlikely, but I was just saying I don't like publisher's mentality.
@RevGaming wanna go back and read what I said in my original response to you and try again, duck?
@kyleforrester87 No. It's what I think. I'm not even replying you directly. Just giving my thoughts about it general.
@RevGaming by trying to bait him, you're asking him obviously insulting things "does it make you feel good..." which is pretty much you implying a flaw in his character by being interested in such things.
That's not you stating your thoughts or giving an opinion on NFTs, it's you directly asking him about his motivations while framing it negatively.
@GalacticBreakdown
You're right. Still think the same tho.
@RevGaming That's fine that you have that opinion, mine isn't much different, but we are all allowed to like things for different reasons.
I love collecting rare comic books. I desire them lol. So I guess that's similar to this NFT thing
@GalacticBreakdown I get that, but those things are physical.
Glad we can agree 😊
I still don't understand all this so I can't get angry for once
swampy garbage, disgusting nonsense
@3MonthBeef I never said nobody wants it. It's dumb. It's to please some low self esteem dudes that need to feel special with something nobody else "can" have.
And I agree. Same thing with money. What's the point of a plane if you can't fly it? Well... you know why
@kyleforrester87 just shuffle around a bit barefoot on some dusty parmesan, it's pretty much the same as being on the moon, apparently
I mean, it's Sega, after all. It's not as if they ever made disastrous mistakes like abandoning all their beloved IPs not named "Sonic" or "Yakuza", like Shining Force, Shinobi, Skies of Arcadia, Dragon Force, or any of their iconic Arcade franchises (it's only been, what, a couple decades, a little more?). Or ran themselves from a perch atop the industry to being out of making consoles altogether. Why would anyone be worried?
i still don’t know wtf nfts are , can someone explain in the most simplistic simple way please ….
The defending of giant corporations, especially ones with the track of Sega, will never cease to amaze me. Yes, sometimes as consumers we overreact but one thing you can count on Sega for, and I say this as a fan of the company since the Genesis era, is that if there's a wrong decision, Sega will make it and not think twice.
I tried to understand what NFTs were and after reading up on it, I still don't really understand it. Some kind of way to show ownership of digital items vs the standard license? So maybe this will be a way to make it so end users can sell back digital games? 🤔
Then I see crap about how some NBA players have NFTs worth $100k+ for BS no one should care about? I don't understand.
For those still unsure of exactly what NFTs are or what they do, please allow me to break it down to the simplest terms: they're the latest fad to enable companies to make money without actually making or improving GAMES. I mean, look at some of the most popular business models utilized by the industry right now; 343 just released a 70 percent complete "AAA" game that's making $$$ for them after the original point-of-sale via wannabe Fortnite skins. It's ALWAYS about more profit and control after the sale; anyone who thinks it's in any way about value for the consumer anymore is deluding themselves. Those days are LONG gone.
@Integrity
Exactly this........ totally sums up the whole thing for me. Especially when it comes to digital pictures 🤣👍
@AtlanteanMan so is it DLC ??
NFTs are pure speculation, and you just hope you’re not the one holding the NFT when everyone else realises it has no value
In terms of video games, if a publisher or developer can show how NFTs will make their games more enjoyable, then great. But they can’t, as it’s a pure money grab. Everything they say they’ll do with blockchain, they can do better with their own managed database. Everything else is smoke and mirrors
Does NFT's make a game better, does it need to be in there; NO.
Regarding Troy Baker, he explained his remark was stupid and he didn't know too much about NFT's. Give the guy a break.
Source: https://youtu.be/HcJDYkm4jZA
Troy Baker was so popular and I actually respected his success but these last few years he’s been a complete ‘whatever’. (This site is being difficult with the words you can express freely so I’d just say he was ungood).
AAA gaming is such a ***** show these days. Games released half-broken without a whole lot of content (you have to buy the rest of the game in tiny chunks via MTX), and now this slap in the face. I know it's not every dev doing it but I don't know why anybody bothers with the exploitative trash of AAA anymore.
Since when are voice actors storytellers?
If you own an nft of something you don't even own the copyright - you just own something that was dreamed up called an nft. There is no value. It's effectively a collectible of nothing. But it's verified by the Blockchain to be the nft for that particular thing. That's it. You'd be mad to buy one - unless you're trying to launder money or hide assets for purposes of tax evasion.
@RevGaming
"Imagine a weapon from god of war ragnarok is an nft that only 10 people can use in the campaign."
For some reasons publishers are trying to spin this as a positive but it doesn't make financial sense for them. How much time does it take to make a new weapon, balance it, do the art and animation, etc.? And only 10 people could get it?
Microtransactions make a bunch of money because a dev spends very little time making a cosmetic item while potentially millions of people could buy it. It's profitable at a large scale. But making a cosmetic for one person? The price for one item would have to be insane for them to bother.
Ubisoft has already tried this and almost no one bought their crap.
@nomither6
Imagine a song. A person or corporation owns the copyright to that song. No one can sell it on their own - the owner of the copyright has to authorize it. They generally enter into a deal with someone (say, Spotify or a radio station) where they can play or sell the song for profit, but they give a cut to the copyright holder.
This is how a great many things make money. A person holds the copyright to a movie, and they get a cut when the movie makes money. Someone holds the patent to a medication or video game controller, and they make money each time there's a sale.
Society in general agrees on the existence of copyright, patents, etc., and there are many laws involving them.
An NFT is a concept that was literally created out of thin air last year. It stands for "Non-Fungible Token." How it works is, a person uses the Blockchain to create a unique identifier to a piece of media. Then they say they are selling that unique identifier, and call it an NFT. This is all separate from copyrights, patents, etc.
If a person owns the NFT to a song they still have no rights - they can't sell the song or make money from it. They don't really own anything about it, other than the imaginary thing they themselves created called an NFT.
So people are making NFTs for things, then selling them to whoever is willing to buy them. They may or may not have anything to do with the actual item associated with the NFT.
If this all sounds like nonsense to you, it's because it is. A person is basically hoping the NFT increases in value - like a collectible card. The main difference is that with a collectible card there is at least an actual thing increasing in value, whereas an NFT is something literally made up by greedy tech people.
Companies are getting involved because all big corporations get involved if they think they can make money somehow. But it's all nonsense.
People who launder money or hide assets are involved because it facilitates their criminal behaviour. Governments are slow to catch up to these types of things, but my guess is they will be banned at some point. Even governments like the US are starting to crack down on things like Cryptocurrency - this year the front page of your tax return has you list how much money you have in crypto. NFTs won't be far behind.
When it occurs to a big enough group of people that NFTs are worthless, they will actually be worthless.
@KippDynamite 👍
@redcorpuscle Its so wastefull and it serves no purpose what extra does it bring to the world besides money laundering and a waste of energy? It does not help the producers of digital art people steal the art like its no deal. The people who defend are the people who invested in it. Ill go on Patreon to let the artist get some money out of their work.
@KippDynamite Yeah I know, but maybe it's the same weapon but with boosted stats and that won't be hard to do and sell for a couple of thousands. Idk. It's hard to predict.
@3MonthBeef spot on about your last part where an NFT will drive up the value of in game item. Thats just the way it works and is exactly the reason videogame companies see an opportunity to cash in on it. 500 virtual credits for the rare item, and 5000 virtual credits for the item and a one off NFT.
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