Sega Dials Back on NFT Plans, Ready to Drop if Fans Disagree

Prominent Japanese videogame company Sega had earlier announced its plans to look into NFTs last year, partnering with blockchain game developer double jump.tokyo to make the move a reality. The company also hinted that it was willing to spend around ¥10 billion to ¥15 billion for the creation of “super games” after receiving a business investment of ¥100 billion.

However, during a recent management meeting in December, Sega has since become wary about its decision following the backlash that the integration of NFTs into games has received due to its vulnerability to scams and damage to the environment. “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,” explained Sega Sammy Holdings CEO Haruki Satomi, senior executive vice president Koichi Fukazawa, and Sega Corporation president Yukio Sugino.

“Then, we will consider this further if this leads to our mission ‘Constantly Creating, Forever Captivating,’ but if it is perceived as simple money-making, I would like to make a decision not to proceed,” they added. The rollout of play-to-earn NFT games would “be better to work with partners on new technologies and domains […] rather than dealing with them in-house.”

The gaming industry has been significantly divided when it comes to NFTs. Some are ready and willing to embrace the emerging technology, while others have dropped their plans completely after fans voiced their concerns. Just last week, fellow Japanese company Konami became the most recent developer to venture into NFTs after releasing its 14-artwork collection to celebrate the 35th anniversary of its Castlevania franchise.

Pieces from the “KONAMI MEMORIAL NFT” will be auctioned beginning January 12 on OpenSea, highlighting “a new initiative to share content that has been loved by players all over the world, for many years.”

Sources: IGN Southeast Asia, CoinTelegraph, PC Gamer