PlayStation is no stranger to filing patents, but their newly filed patent seems to be hinting that the console giant is looking to integrate NFTs and Web3 into its world. A reading of the patent states that Sony is coming up with a system that will allow users to acquire and trade ‘unique digital assets’ in the hope of expanding the functionality of such assets, and change their structure from fungible to non-fungible.
PlayStation already has a PlayStation Stars program that resembles NFTs, but Sony was quick to deny that they are incorporating any blockchain technology. However long Sony might deny it, it seems like NFTs and Web3 are almost certainly going to be integrated into the PlayStation setup at some point.
Image Credit | Archysport
NFTs Are Everywhere
What was once a means for artists to monetize their work has quickly become a talking point in every major industry, particularly gaming. NFTs are minted and flipped, with the former being the process of creating one, and the latter being the buying and selling of one of these tokens.
These NFT tokens are usually works of pictorial art, and were seen as ways for digital artists to earn some income. Despite being talked about since the early 2010s, they only became a media phenomenon around the time when the world was hit by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Everyone from sports personalities, Hollywood actors, and musicians have been selling NFTs. One NFT from the artist Beeple was sold at the Christie’s auction for $69.3 million. So what exactly is the problem here?
Why Playstation Might Want To Distance Itself From NFTs
NFTs have got a negative tag at the moment for various reasons, but there are two that stick out: the trading of these tokens has been compared to gambling, and the carbon footprint that is allegedly associated with producing them.
Many of the characteristics that one would find at a high-stakes poker table are seen in the minting and flipping process in NFT trading. There are barriers to entry, and the value of an NFT is quite volatile because an NFT’s value is not governed by some underlying policy. The thrill of profiting from such a trade is not dissimilar to winning big rewards at a casino.
Of course NFTs aren’t, strictly speaking, gambling and they aren’t the only products in the world that are harming the climate, but this is often highlighted because of the lack of information that the masses have on NFTs. They’re still a fairly new concept to the larger world, and aren’t used by the masses for the time being, but the feeling among experts is that this phenomenon around NFTs and cryptocurrencies isn’t dissimilar to early days of the internet. The internet today, of course, is used by old and young, and is fundamental to every major industry. But in the wake of the massive turbulence in the crypto world at the moment, it won’t be surprising to see if Sony are just testing the waters and biding their time with this patent – there are PR costs to going all in on this world in the immediate future.
By putting in place the PlayStation Star program, and filing this new patent, it seems like Sony and PlayStation are preparing themselves for a time when the integration of NFTs and Web3 will be better received in public.
Some PlayStation users might object to this, but Sony will have the final say. For now, there’s no confirmation that PlayStation is looking to incorporate any of this – but it might only be a matter of time.
