Bit Digital Expands AI and HPC Footprint, Signs $700 Million Agreement With Boosteroid

August 20, 2024 Bitcoin.com

‘Natural extension’: Sega’s Super Game project looking to add NFTs

April 13, 2022 Coin Telegraph

“It is a natural extension for the future of gaming that it will expand to involve new areas such as cloud gaming and NFTs” said Sega producer Masayoshi Kikuchi.

Japanese gaming giant Sega is looking at integrating cloud technology and NFTs as part of its new “Super Game” project to connect different games to each other.

The news has caused a predictable backlash from the crypto-skeptic section of the gaming community, with many people voicing their frustrations at the firm online this week.

The Super Game initiative is set to roll out over the next five years and will reportedly see the development of a wide range of new cross-platform triple A grade games. The firm is said to be weighing up an investment of around $800 million into the project.

The suggestion of potential NFT and cloud support was made during an interview on Sega Japan’s recruitment website. Gaming news outlet Video Games Chronicle provided a translation for English speakers earlier this week.

During the interview, Sega producer Masayoshi Kikuchi noted that the gaming industry has a “history of expansion” into new forms of culture and technology such as social media in particular, with streaming and watching others play games via platforms like YouTube and Twitch becoming popular in recent years.

Kikuchi went on to suggest that a move into cloud tech and NFTs would therefore be inevitable, noting that:

“It is a natural extension for the future of gaming that it will expand to involve new areas such as cloud gaming and NFTs. We are also developing SuperGame from the perspective of how far different games can be connected to each other.”

THE BETRAYAL. WHY SEGA? pic.twitter.com/HuabO5QaiG
— JOLLY J✨ (@DynamoSuperX) April 10, 2022

Some Sega fans vented their frustrations on Twitter, with user NotEdgyYet stating “Don’t you dare Sega you’re doing good right now, don’t screw up now.” While matthewhenzel noted “I've said this before and I stand by it.. NFT = NO FVCKING THANKS! Not for me.”

The pushback seemed much tamer than other occasions in which big gaming firms announced NFT plans, possibly because these comments were from Sega Japan execs and not from the U.S. branch.

Sega says 'future of gaming' includes NFTs and cloud streaming: https://t.co/4gTSOqoJoJ pic.twitter.com/JGmBTQJJX2
— Kotaku (@Kotaku) April 10, 2022

Over on Reddit, members of the r/gaming community were also questioning the potential NFTs integrations, with “Radingod123” suggesting that gaming firm’s like the idea of NFTs due to the supposed pyramid scheme elements.

However other users such as “Bouldurr” offered a different take on the subject, arguing that the idea to have cross game portable digital assets that can be owned and sold is a “cool one” that could work in the right circumstances:

“NFTs are a technology. They aren't inherently good or bad. The trepidation comes from the greedy micro transactions already in games. It’s understandable people don’t like the idea of ‘NFT’ games.”

“But the idea has promise in certain situations. I’d love to be able to sell my hearthstone collection even if it was pennies on the dollar,” they added.

In news that might frustrate anti-crypto gamers even further, iconic actor Jim Carey, who plays the role of Dr.Robotnik in the Sonic the Hedgehog movies, based on the Sega games, also unveiled plans to enter the NFT space.

Apart from acting, Carey is also a respected artist and during an interview earlier with Access to promote Sonic the Hedgehog 2 earlier this month, the 60-year-old stated that he will soon be launching an NFT collection dubbed “Magic Hour” featuring digital art and spoken word pieces.

Jim Carey releasing his Art as NFTs.

I’m a big Jim Carey fan, let’s see how this goes down pic.twitter.com/qvA3CPW5zJ
— Matty (@DCLBlogger) April 4, 2022

Microsoft’s massive metaverse move: Buying Activision for $69B

January 19, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Microsoft’s massive metaverse move: Buying Activision for B

Activision Blizzard

Following the Activision Blizzard acquisition announcement, Microsoft CEO and chairman Satya Nadella stated that gaming “will play a key role in the development of metaverse platforms.”

Microsoft is acquiring gaming giant Activision Blizzard for $69 billion as part of a move to ramp up its gaming and metaverse plans.

Activision Blizzard is home to a long list of iconic gaming franchises such as Call of Duty, Overwatch, Candy Crush, World of Warcraft and Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater. Following the deal, its games are set to be added to Microsoft Xbox’s Game Pass service, which has 25 million subscribers.

According to a Tuesday announcement from Microsoft, the firm will acquire Activision Blizzard for $95.00 per share at a valuation of $68.7 billion. The deal is set to close in the 2023 fiscal year will see Microsoft become the third-largest gaming company in terms of revenue behind Riot Games owner Tencent and PlayStation developer Sony.

Together with @ATVI_AB, we will usher in a new era of gaming that puts players and creators first and makes gaming safe, inclusive, and accessible to all. https://t.co/fF2Ig3gSfx
— Satya Nadella (@satyanadella) January 18, 2022

Microsoft outlined that the acquisition will support the growth of its services across mobile, PC, console and cloud gaming and also notably stated that it will “provide building blocks for the Metaverse.” Microsoft CEO and chairman Satya Nadella said:

“Gaming is the most dynamic and exciting category in entertainment across all platforms today and will play a key role in the development of metaverse platforms.”

As part of the acquisition, Microsoft stated that Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick will remain at the helm until the deal closes, with the reins then being handed over to Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer.

Spencer welcomed the deal via an Xbox blog post and emphasized the company is working to make cloud gaming accessible on as many devices as possible. He didn’t mention the metaverse or nonfungible tokens (NFT), however — sectors that have seen a backlash from some sections of the gaming community.

“The fantastic franchises across Activision Blizzard will also accelerate our plans for Cloud Gaming, allowing more people in more places around the world to participate in the Xbox community using phones, tablets, laptops and other devices you already own,” Spencer wrote.

Some sentiments I’ve heard from Activision Blizzard employees today:
- Optimism about management changes and the positive culture at several Xbox-owned studios
- Fury toward Microsoft for giving Bobby Kotick a big payday and soft exit
- Determination to keep organizing
— Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier) January 18, 2022

In November, Nadella first unveiled Microsoft’s metaverse plans via an upgrade to its “Teams” service and a product called “Dynamics 365 Connected Spaces.” The “Mesh” upgrade for Teams is set to introduce personalized digital avatars and immersive spaces to meet in the metaverse later this year.

Nadella also stated at the time that people can “absolutely expect” to see Microsoft integrate metaverse features with the Xbox gaming consoles but didn’t divulge any concrete plans or specific details.

It is unclear whether Microsoft’s metaverse play for Xbox will include the introduction of NFTs, with Spencer stating in November that he felt the experimentation happening in NFTs was more “exploitative than about entertainment.”

Spencer noted that if the Xbox Store were to support NFTs, the company would actively weed out any nefarious behavior or content.

Microsoft acquires another massive gaming company, the monopoly continues to grow as Sony scrambles to make their next power play, the console war is at an all time climax

Meanwhile, at Nintendo: pic.twitter.com/adJlrMQZLY
— Colin (@IntroSpecktive) January 18, 2022

The Wall Street Journal reported last week that 100 employees from Microsoft’s augmented reality team have left the company over the past year to join metaverse competitor Meta (Facebook).

Cloud gaming