At last month’s SXSW event in Austin, Texas, Reggie Fils-Aimé took to the stage to discuss various aspects of his career, from the start of his tenure at Nintendo to his post-retirement work with Gamestop and Cornell University.
While talking about the future of video games and the innovations that drive the industry, Reggie touched on the concept of Blockchain and “play to own”. Although he ultimately supported the idea and sees an opportunity with the concept, he is convinced that it should be used in the player’s interest.
You can check out the interaction in the video above, but here’s the quote from Reggie regarding Blockchain:
“So I’m a fan of blockchain, I think it’s a really compelling technology. I also believe in the concept of ‘play to own’ in video games, and I say that as a player where I may have invested 50 hours, 100 hours. or 300 hours in a game, and when I’m ready to move on to something else, would it not be great to make money on what I’ve built? I bet I would have some participants here today “If I wanted to sell my Animal Crossing island from the latest Nintendo Switch version; I would like to be able to monetize it. Blockchain technology embedded in the code would allow me to do that.”
Reggie went on to clarify that the use of blockchain must be thoughtful and completely consumer-friendly:
“Now I say it in the context of ‘it should make sense for the player’. It can not only be an approach from the developer that it is interesting, or it is a way for them as a development unit to make more money. In the end it should be good for the player, but I see an opportunity. “
So there you have it! It is likely that the concept of blockchain has come to stay, with companies like Ubisoft and Square Enix both promising to become big players in blockchain gaming. Although Nintendo has not itself entered the NFT world and “games to own”, it may simply be a matter of time at this point.
Be sure to share your thoughts on NFTs and blockchain in the comments below (but please keep it civil!).