Reggie Fils-Aime, former president of Nintendo of America, gave his opinion on blockchain and the “play to earn” model as applied to the gaming industry. The executive said that he strongly believes in blockchain technology and that players who invest their time in games should be able to monetize any items they earn.
The former Nintendo president believes that blockchain elements can be used in games
While opinions about blockchain and play-to-earn technologies are still negative among traditional gamers, some gaming industry veterans seem to be taking these elements more seriously. This is the case of Reggie Fils-Aime, an executive who was president of Nintendo of America from 2006 to 2019, when he announced his retirement.
Fils-Aime was very clear about the role these new technologies can play in games, and at a recent panel at SXSW he said:
I believe in blockchain. I believe that blockchain as a technology is really attractive. I also believe in the concept of “play to own” in video games.
As an example, a former Nintendo executive said that players who invest their time in games should be able to monetize their activities in some way. He stated:
There are games that I’ve invested 300 hours in… when I’m ready to move on to something else, wouldn’t it be great to monetize what I’ve created?
Phils-Aime concluded by saying that many people would be interested in buying his island in the Animal Crossing game, presenting a possible application of NFT technology in Nintendo’s current franchise.
Nintendo, the gaming industry and blockchain
Nintendo, one of the pioneering companies in the gaming industry, has been slow to innovate by incorporating these elements into their games. However, this does not mean that they do not understand what these technologies can achieve in the future.
In fact, Nintendo touched on this topic at a recent Q&A session, where it said that while the company believes the meta-universe has great potential, it has difficulty determining “what surprise and fun” these elements might bring to players.
Other companies have already entered the world of blockchain technology, either by incorporating them as an important part of their investment and business strategy (like Ubisoft and Square Enix) or by already launching exclusive NFT drops featuring characters from their franchises, as Konami did with Castlevania.
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