Web3 firm sees future where gamers rent out their in-game assets for crypto

December 15, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Nifty News: Square Enix invests into NFT gaming firm, Beeple speaks on NFT art future and more…

December 26, 2022 Coin Telegraph

beeple

Pokémon Company International has taken an Australian company to court over advertising an unlicensed NFT-based Pokémon game and HSBC has filed for a host of NFT and Metaverse trademarks.

NFT-friendly Japanese gaming giant Square Enix has invested 7 billion yen ($52.7 million) into game developer Gumi to create “high-quality” mobile games, blockchain games and a Metaverse initiative, among other things.

According to a translat ion of the press release, the partnership will help Gumi tap certain intellectual property from Square Enix, while it has also teased that the duo could be teaming up for a game-NFT-focused marketplace.

“We are already considering the establishment of a platform dedicated to blockchain games and an NFT marketplace, etc. Through collaboration between the two companies, we will provide a one-stop service from the development and distribution of blockchain games to the sale and distribution of tokens and NFTs.”

The company also outlined plans to work on a host of NFT games that will likely have Metaverse integrations. The Japanese company has outlined a quirky new term called “Wow and Earn” which essentially refers to games built off of world-famous IP that is integrated with blockchain-based Play-to-Earn (P2E) features.

“In the future, while considering the use of powerful content that everyone recognizes, we will break away from the highly speculative blockchain games of the past and create value while enjoying fun and excitement. We strongly recognize that it is necessary for game users all over the world to create a blockchain game that realizes ‘Wow and Earn,'" the release reads.

Gumi also stated that its “working day and night” to develop its Metaverse-focused arm of the business, as it looks to add another source of revenue outside of mobile games.

Gumi has previously worked with Square Enix on a couple of mobile games as part of the Final Fantasy Brave Exvius series, and both firms are partners of the Oasys blockchain-gaming project, which is building its own network designed purely for P2E gaming.

Beeple outlines future of NFTs and art

Michael Winkelmann, the widely successful digital artist also known as Beeple, believes that all physical art in the future will one day have an NFT attached to it.

Speaking with the Wall Street Journal on Dec. 23, Beeple suggested that NFTs will massively help the art industry by providing superior methods for tracking provenance and storing verifiably authentic data.

“I think all paintings will eventually have NFTs attached just because again, it's a better system than just handing you a piece of paper,” he said, adding that:

“If you had a standardization around ‘this is a painting,’ you could have all the provenance in the metadata of that NFT. You could have [that data on] where that painting was shown. So it’s all there and it's searchable in a database.”

As such, he thinks that NFTs will eventually help build a standardized art database that “everyone relies on.”

Pokemon takes NFT company to court

Pokémon Company International has taken an Australian company to court over advertising an unlicensed NFT-based Pokémon game, according to documents lodged with the Federal Court of Australia.

The company in question is called “Pokémon Pty Ltd” and it has been advertising an unlicensed “metauniverse” P2E game on Ethereum called Pokeworld.

On its website, it also claims to work on a host of official Pokemon games in the past, while it also claims to have an official partnership with Pokémon Company International.

However in the court documents, the Pokemon IP holders are seeking to restrain Pokémon Pty Ltd from representing that they hold any license, partnership or rights to sell Pokemon NFTs.

It has also called for the company to halt the launch of the game, promote it using Pokemon trademarks on its website and social media.

HSBC trademarks

British multinational mega bank HSBC has filed virtual trademarks for its name and logo, outlining potential plans for a host of NFT, blockchain and Metaverse products.

In its filing, highlighted by licensed trademark attorney, Mike Kondoudis via Twitter on Dec. 23, the HSBC lists a host of products and services including downloadable NFT virtual goods and files, virtual world friendly debit cards, NFT music and video content files.

The Metaverse appears to be a keen focus in the filing, as it also states that it is looking at providing financial advisory and entertainment services in the Metaverse and other virtual worlds.

#HSBC has filed trademark applications for its name and logo. The applications indicate plans for:

▶️ Digital media backed by NFTs
▶️ Virtual currency exchange + transfer
▶️ Virtual credit card processing
…and more!#NFTs #Metaverse #Cryptocurrency #Blockchain #Crypto pic.twitter.com/RK1yegoYIh
— Mike Kondoudis (@KondoudisLaw) December 23, 2022

Other Nifty News:

Hackers linked to North Korea’s Lazarus Group are reportedly behind a massive phishing campaign targeting NFT investors — utilizing nearly 500 phishing domains to dupe victims.

NFT marketplace OpenSea has been banning artists and collectors from Cuba, citing United States sanctions as the key reason behind its action.

NFT games are ‘only scratching the surface’ of what’s possible — Animoca’s Yat Siu

October 14, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Animoca Brands

Yat Siu thinks it's only a matter of time until more advanced models of NFT gaming are created, designed around the ideas of digital ownership, interoperability and economic utility.

Animoca Brands co-founder Yat Siu believes nonfungible token (NFT) games are only scratching the surface of what's possible and predicts completely new models of gaming will be developed as a result of digital ownership.

Speaking to Cointelegraph, Siu likened the potential growth of NFT gaming to mobile phone gaming, which started out relatively niche and clunky in its formative stages before rocketing to become the most popular method of gaming across the globe.

“Mobile gaming brought a form factor of a type of game that we've never seen before, you know, one-hand play and that kind of stuff, and innovations around how you play with AI [artificial intelligence]. Because of the fact that you have this limited form factor, it became the most popular form factor in gaming,” he said.

Siu commented that while many blockchain games themselves also have a clunky experience at this stage, the whole sector is still quite new. As such, it is only a matter of time until more advanced models are created that are designed around the ideas of digital ownership, interoperability and economic utility for the user.

“With NFT games, we’ve only really scratched the surface. Everyone's very focused on ownership. [...] I think it's going to mushroom into everything and we're going to see new kinds of game formats emerge because of the ownership that we weren't able to do before.”

In the interim period, Siu pointed to metaverse gaming platforms and massively multiplayer online games as models that fit well with NFTs, as you “can trade items and you have deep levels of economic design” that make sense.

The Animoca co-founder also argued that many current users are willing to accept that the blockchain gaming experience is not necessarily smooth at this stage.

He suggested that this was because they are aware of the significance of being able to own a stake in the games, as opposed to the traditional model in which people sink capital into games that they can never retrieve.

“I mean, when you think of this [blockchain games], you could say it's a UX [user experience] nightmare. But because of ownership, people put up with it not just because it's valuable, but because it's meaningful because this is my land, this is my car.”

Asked when NFT technology will get to a point of seamlessness that even a grandmother can use it without being aware of it, Siu emphasized this would likely be through the widespread tokenization of physical things, NFT integration with commonly used services and how people interact with each other.

He outlined that as the world continues to become more digitally focused, children will of course want digital things.

“Grandma is probably going to buy a digital item for their grandchildren as a way to not just as a gift that's relevant to them, but also as a way to interact,” he said, adding that vice versa, a grandchild could even gift their grandmother a digital illustration that they drew.

“We're going to have a digital world. These digital artifacts and art and creativity and games and utility that's going to be mushrooming in the thousands and thousands and thousands of small medium enterprises that are going to be doing this.”

Yat Siu: Asia GameFi opportunity huge as gamers don’t hate NFTs

September 27, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Animoca Brands

The Animoca Brands co-founder suggested that Asian gaming companies don’t have to deal with the same amount of pushback against NFTs that U.S companies have faced.

Animoca Brands co-founder Yat Siu thinks that GameFi has the biggest opportunity for growth in Asia, as gamers there don’t hold the same vitriol towards nonfungible tokens (NFTs) as they do in the West.

Sitting down with Cointelegraph during Asia Crypto Week, Siu argued that Asia generally has more of a welcoming culture towards gaming and advancements in tech such as NFTs, digital property and Play-to-Earn (P2E).

“I think that Asia has the potential to really lead in blockchain gaming, at least in the short term. And there's a couple of reasons why I think that's the case. Not just because, you know, there's the most gamers in this region of the world. [...] but it's also because gamers in Asia are welcoming NFTs.”

“Gaming companies in the West have to deal with consumer resistance that gaming companies in Asia do not have to,” he added.

The Animoca co-founder attributed this acceptance of NFTs to a broader Asian viewpoint on capitalism, which he suggested is viewed more favorably in the region — barring China — than in the U.S., as people see it as a path out of poverty.

He pointed to examples such as South Korea, which “only four decades ago” had the same size economy as North Korea but has swiftly climbed the global rankings through innovation, “creativity, legal frameworks, and property rights” despite lacking natural resources.

“The consumer in Asia looks at capitalism as a net-good fight. In other words, okay, there is inequity. There's a guy who made a lot of money, but [people] think ‘I can get there too, or I have an opportunity,’” he said.

Drawing a contrast to the United States, Siu highlighted that capitalism draws a more demonized view by some people there, and rightly so as many people haven’t seen capitalism “work for them.”

He argued that this type of thinking ultimately bleeds into gamers pushing back on NFTs, as people worry about being priced out of the market with expensive NFTs that are seen as a “rich man’s tool.”

“When the headline news isn't a $5 or $10 in-game NFT item, but a $300,000 Bored Ape well, then, you know it's a little bit like saying the entire car industry is just Lamborghinis. That's not true either. But that's what we see. And so the rejection in the West comes from that lens.”

Expanding on the Asian context, Siu also emphasized that blockchain gaming is opening up access to venture capital from Silicon valley that hasn’t really been tapped before, especially in the context of countries like the Philippines where P2E gaming guilds have become quite popular.

He again highlighted that this is due to a vibrant ecosystem that is growing in Asia as many gamers are adopting the tech while many projects are actively innovating in the space.

“Now you have companies like a16z, not just ourselves investing but also Silicon Valley money moving into Vietnam and Philippines. I think that's unheard of. So that's kind of exciting as well. I do think Asia is pointing towards a web three blockchain gaming future. Broadly speaking,” he said.

Final Fantasy creators join Oasys blockchain, gamers whine about it

September 14, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Coin Telegraph

As part of the deal, Square Enix will develop games on Oasys’ PoS network, joining the likes of Sega, Double Jump, Bandai Namco and Ubisoft.

Square Enix, the Japanese game developer behind the beloved Final Fantasy franchise has signed on as a node validator for blockchain gaming project Oasys, with the duo also teaming up to create blockchain games.

The move has predictably been met with criticism from some crypto and NFT hating members of the gaming community, irritated that the firm is continuing to double down its focus on blockchain tech.

In a Sept. 12 announcement, Oasys revealed that Square Enix had jumped on board to be the project’s 21st node validator, taking up the final slot of initial validators.

Moving forward the duo will also team up to develop new games on Oasys’ EVM compatible Proof-of-Stake (PoS) blockchain, which hopes to become a hub for Triple A quality games with Play-to-Earn (P2E) integrations.

Square Enix joins a host of big names in gaming to partner with Oasys such as Sega, Double Jump, Bandai Namco and Ubisoft — with the latter also having a troubled history with gamers who have pushed back against the firm’s NFT gaming initiative Quartz.

In 2022, Square Enix has done irreparable damage to its image by

- Investing in crypto
- No longer prioritizing “fun” in gaming
- Selling off all their western studios

I’d call it self sabotage, but compared to what’s happened to Warner Bros this year, it’s honestly nothing https://t.co/TD8d1O1nj9
— Bruh Momento (@JBoop_is_ballin) September 12, 2022

The pitchforks are out

While the prospect of having reputable gaming giants jumping behind a blockchain project is welcome news in the blockchain world, the traditional gaming community has not received Square Enix’s move well.

The Gamer reported the news, with the headline: “Square Enix Sets Its Dreaded NFT Plans In Motion By Partnering With Crypto Company.”

“Unlike most video game developers who decided to announce their ventures into the jpeg-filled world of NFTs, Square Enix has only been doubling down on it,” the article notes, as it questions Square Enix president and CEO Yosuke Matsuda’s previous statements about introducing P2E elements into games:

“He probably ignored the fact that so many NFT games aren't just scams, but also look like they were made by an actual bored ape.”

On Twitter gamer @ShyVortex said the partnership was “truly disgusting. Never buying a Square Enix game again,” while @eramaster12 questioned “what does it take to f#ckin force them to stop?.”

@Pilnok also chimed in that this “has become tiresome and embarrassing” and @ManuelRomer2 added “what about just don’t entirely?”

pic.twitter.com/AVI7Kf2lB0
— RecklesFlam1ngo (@RecklesFlam1ngo) September 12, 2022

Square Enix and blockchain

Square Enix has been gradually ramping up its blockchain related plans in 2022, despite pushback.

Matsuda stated in a New Year’s Letter in January that he was particularly interested in the idea of introducing blockchain-enabled “token economies” into games to incentivize both players and users that generate content to add to the games.

“With advances in token economies, users will be provided with explicit incentives, thereby resulting not only in greater consistency in their motivation, but also creating a tangible upside to their creative efforts,” he wrote.

While blockchain is yet to creep into Square Enix’s games, the firm kicked things off in July by releasing tokenized character figures for $129.99 featuring characters such as Cloud Strife from Final Fantasy.

Ubisoft cools off on NFTs and blockchain, says it’s in ‘research mode’

September 13, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Coin Telegraph

Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot appears to be walking back some of the company's enthusiasm for NFTs, months after receiving strong pushback for its NFT project Quartz.

Yves Guillemot, the CEO of French gaming giant Ubisoft appears to have cooled the rhetoric behind the company’s NFT gaming project Quartz, noting in a recent interview that it was merely in “research mode” concerning Web3 tech integrations.

It’s a relatively different take from other Ubisoft execs in the past, including chief financial officer Frédérick Duguet who in October stated that blockchain integrations will enable users to own and earn content and the firm wants to “be one of the key players here.”

During a Sept. 10 interview with gamesindustry.biz, Guillemot appears to be walking some of those comments back, emphasizing that at this stage, Ubisoft is primarily looking to discover how NFTs can be applied to games and whether they will benefit gamers or not.

"We are very much on cloud, on the new generation of voxels, and we're looking at all the Web3 capabilities. We tested a few things recently that are giving us more information on how it can be used and what we should do in the universe of video games,” he said, adding that:

“So we are testing ground with some games, and we'll see if they really answer the players' needs. But we are still in research mode, I would say."

Ubisoft announced its first foray into NFTs in December, after launching a beta version of Ubisoft Quartz, aimed at offering gamers playable NFTs that could be utilized in games such as Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Breakpoint.

The move was met with strong pushback from some members of the NFT-hating gamer community, with some accusing the firm of “milking” every cent possible out of its popular game franchises by introducing NFTs into the mix.

Nicolas Pouard, the vice president at Ubisoft's Strategic Innovations Lab defended the company’s NFT efforts in January, stating: "I think gamers don't get what a digital secondary market can bring to them."

Reflecting on Ubisoft’s NFT rollout, Guillemot says the firm ultimately didn’t communicate the company’s approach to the project effectively enough.

"We probably were not good at saying we are researching," he said, adding that "we should have said we were working on it, and when we have something that gives you a real benefit, we'll bring it to you.”

The Ubisoft CEO was also questioned about the environmental impacts of blockchain tech, something which is often highlighted by gamers who generally confuse energy-intensive Proof-of-Work (PoW) chains as the industry standard for all projects.

Guillemot noted that while he’s “very cautious” about the environmental impacts of the sector, he’s optimistic that these issues will be ironed out over time.

"Like so many things, at the beginning it's not as good as it could be, but like other new technologies they will find the right way."

Minecraft ban ‘hypocritical’ and NFTs are inclusive: Animoca’s Yat Siu

July 23, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Animoca Brands

“They did not cite evidence, they didn’t even correctly point out what NFTs are, nor did they talk to NFT Worlds,” noted Animoca Brands co-founder Yat Siu.

Yat Siu, the co-founder of crypto/NFT venture fund giant Animoca Brands, labeled the recent Minecraft NFT ban as “hypocritical” and emphasized that nonfungible tokens (NFT) can be inclusive, despite arguments to the contrary.

As previously reported, Minecraft developers Mojang Studios announced a ban on all NFT integrations in the game on July 20. The firm stated that NFTs were against its values, as they foster price speculation, scarcity, exclusion and potential rug pulls.

Speaking with Cointelegraph, Siu expressed his frustration at Mojang Studios given the context in which NFTs were being integrated with Minecraft before the ban.

Projects such as NFT Worlds were utilizing Minecraft’s open source servers to host a metaverse platform that had crypto and NFT ecosystems built around it. The project appeared to be relatively popular, given that it has generated more than $80 million worth of NFT trading volume and claims to have around 100,000 players.

The Animoca Brands co-founder noted that he found it hypocritical that Minecraft would exclude a small portion of the user base, considering that the company’s stated that it values “inclusion” and suggested NFT integrations in games drive exclusion.

“The general perspective is that this is hypocritical, NFTs have not hurt anyone at Minecraft, it's very clearly a minority. This was not a decision of actual evidence of harm, this was a preference decision, purely based on an opinion.”

“They did not cite evidence, they didn’t even correctly point out what NFTs are, nor did they talk to NFT Worlds,” he added.

While Siu acknowledges many in the traditional gaming community want nothing to do with NFTs, generally out of fear of games becoming over-monetized and “even less fair.” In this instance, users had the choice to play in NFT-affiliated servers or not, and there were no NFT integrations forced on regular Minecraft users.

Siu stressed that excluding minority views means “you actually hurt the whole community, and you stifle its growth.”

In terms of NFTs being inclusive, Siu argues that NFT tech or the digital property itself doesn’t foster inclusion or exclusion, and instead, it's all about how the tech is deployed to drive community value.

He noted that in the right contexts, NFTs in games or the Metaverse can offer users a redistribution of the platform's economy and power. In Siu’s point of view, NFTs enable users to own a tokenized stake in their favorite platforms which can then be utilized how users see fit, as opposed to the Web2 model in which users are not offered ownership over their content and data.

“What NFTs do is redistribute the economics of the players who add value to the game which then also has the same effect of decentralizing and redistributing the power dynamics inside games. [Therefore] allowing for more freedoms and power to the community instead of just a community.”

“Property rights and freedoms are intertwined, the next natural evolution is digital property rights to either enhance or actually produce true digital freedom,” he added.

Delphi Digital: How to get gamers to accept the integration of NFTs

July 21, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Blockchain gaming

Delphi Digital outlined that games could provide a core free-to-play experience for anyone to enjoy, while incorporating NFTs as part of expanded experience..

Crypto research firm Delphi Digital has outlined possible ways in which gamers may accept nonfungible tokens (NFTs) as part of their gameplay experience, such as using the tech for additional aspects that don’t impact the core experience.

The lengthy report was published by Delphi Digital on Wednesday and explores how NFTs can be incorporated into games without impacting the core gaming experience or “true competitive play” that gamers tend to value.

The report argues that if monetization and NFT elements can be incorporated correctly, gamers might not be so staunchly against the idea:

“If untamed, money will always trend towards the dominant motivator. As such, the first port of call is to separate out the market games from the core game loop itself.”

Delphi Digital outlined that a way to do this could be for a game to provide a core free-to-play experience for anyone to enjoy while utilizing NFTs for optional experiences such as tickets to tournaments, new character skins, side games and competition rewards.

The firm explained that this would allow those who are using the game for its monetization purposes to prosper, while those there for enjoyment can play without being forced to buy NFTs, or struggle to compete with top-spenders within the gaming marketplaces.

“Nobody is tricked into playing the other’s game,” the report noted.

The report also went on to argue that the “more people care about the game,” the more likely they are to spend money on it, suggesting that the core gaming experience needs to be meaningful enough to make hesitant gamers even consider purchasing an in-game NFT:

“In theory, the more people care about the game, the more gets spent directly on metagames. By maximizing meaning generation and competition in the core game, we are able to maximize revenues through peripheral monetization around it.”

Gamer hate

The report addresses the dislike of crypto games from the traditional gaming community by noting that there is “validity to many of the critiques” that have surfaced.

In particular, Delphi Digital highlighted that much of the hostility toward crypto appears to stem from the negative implications that monetization has had on traditional gaming, such as developers purposely limiting functionality to push users to spend more money to get the full experience:

“Parts of the traditional gaming industry have skewed towards aggressive monetization practices that are sometimes detrimental to the player’s experience.”

“As such, when gamers see the need to purchase NFTs to play with early crypto games, or large publishers announce plans to build in this sector, they assume it’s another money grabbing attempt and shy away from it,” the report added.

Delphi emphasized that this “isn’t to say that all forms of monetization are bad,” but crypto or not, it needs to be done in ways that don’t negatively impact the game.

Commenting on the current state of crypto gaming, the report also notes that the sector has so far seen the monetary components of the game’s trend toward the “dominant motivator” for users. As a result, it argues that the actual gaming quality has suffered while whales have been able to dominate most games for speculative purposes:

“The gameplay of these early titles has suffered on two fronts: 1) the primary incentive of the bulk of the player base is the expectation of financial reward rather than play and 2) the core competitive circuit has been subject to pay-to-win mechanics as whales can spend their way to success.”

Nifty News: GameStop NFT’s first day, Limewire trends and game dev attacks!

July 14, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Coin Telegraph

Video game developer Mark Venturelli launched a surprise attack on NFTs at a Brazilian gaming event, and Limewire is trending again following its NFT marketplace launch.

GameStop’s new NFT marketplace took home roughly $44,500 from transaction fees in the first 24 hours after it launched via a public beta on Monday.

GameStop NFT reportedly generated around $1.98 million worth of NFT sales on its first full day of business. As the platform charges a 2.25% fee on NFT sales, this equates to roughly $44,500 worth of fees.

While that sum may seem underwhelming, considering it would represent just 0.27% of GameStop’s daily revenue for 2021, it depends on your perspective. According to gaming news outlet Kotaku, GameStop had 4,816 stores across the U.S. at the start of 2021, which on average accounted for $3,426 worth of daily net sales for the company.

To provide further contrast, despite much anticipation in the lead-up to its launch in May, Coinbase NFT generated just $75,000 worth of NFT sales on its first day, and took roughly a month to generate $1 million worth of sales volume. Coinbase NFT also offered zero fees to attract new users that month.

GameStop NFT, which is based on Ethereum Layer 2 Loopring, is currently home to a long list of new and unknown NFT projects. However, it will soon be home to several projects from Ethereum Layer 2 scaling solution, Immutable X such as Gods Unchained, and Guild of Guardians. The duo partnered back in February to develop NFT games together.

At this stage, the MetaBoy NFT project depicting animated GameBoy-like console avatars is the marketplace’s top-selling collection so far, and has generated 989.597 ETH worth of volume, or $1.1 million at current prices.

When game devs attack: ‘Why NFTs are a nightmare’

Video game developer Mark Venturelli launched a surprise attack on NFTs during Brazil's International Games Festival on Friday. The event was sponsored by multiple NFT/blockchain companies such as Lakea and Ripio.

Venturelli, known for his work on Chroma Squad was penciled in to provide a virtual presentation on the future of gaming, however after introducing himself he promptly switched gears by launching into a tirade about “why NFTs are a nightmare.”

Venturelli’s presentation, which also has an English version, essentially argues that the introduction of speculative economic activity via NFTs will end up ruining the experience for people who just want to play games for fun.

During an interview with PC Gamer on July 11, Venturelli said:

"What's actually going to happen is that organized groups are going to operate and scale with ever-diminishing margins, and just push out everybody else. Because that's what happens. If you play EVE Online or Runescape, or any other game that simulates economy, that's what happens.”

“Organized groups are going to fucking crush you. What actually is going to happen is that if you just naively play a game and have fun—imagine that—then you want to sell your stuff, your stuff is not going to be worth anything,” he added.

Tony Hawk drops in… to the Metaverse

Skateboarding icon Tony Hawk has partnered up with The Sandbox to build the “biggest skatepark” in the Metaverse.

The move was announced on July 13, and early previews show users socializing at Hawk’s skatepark and the ability to build customized courses their avatars can skate around.

Specifics are sparse at this stage, but Hawk noted that it will be the “biggest skatepark” to hit the Metaverse. The deal marks another notable mainstream partnership for The Sandbox this week, after Playboy announced that it was launching the MetaMansion on the platform.

Coming soon to The Sandbox: alongside @Autograph, I’m helping to create the biggest skatepark in the #metaverse. Stay tuned for updates. pic.twitter.com/0R2ODsR4qt
— Tony Hawk (@tonyhawk) July 13, 2022

Limewire is back with a bang

Limewire, the brand famous for providing file sharing/pirated music between 2000 and 2010, is trending on Twitter this week following its relaunch as a music and entertainment focused NFT platform.

Limewire is trending, and no it’s not the Limewire that used to give your computer viruses. The company has now rebranded as a music NFT marketplace. Now that Limewire has released its new promo, the internet has some thoughts (: @limewire) pic.twitter.com/RB4Gp7o2XE
— What's Trending (@WhatsTrending) July 13, 2022

The platform launched on July 7 and has nothing to do with the torrent software apart from purchasing the rights to use the name. It has partnered with iconic musicians from the 2000’s such as Soulja Boy to spread the word.

Many people on Twitter have since had fun pointing out the irony of Limewire going from an music pirating platform, to selling NFTs in which their artwork can easily be “stolen” via a right-click and save. Limewire has joined in on the fun however by retweeting such memes.

https://t.co/b7jS5TLhY9 pic.twitter.com/ycuZEbddXN
— LimeWire (@limewire) July 13, 2022

Other Nifty News:

Blockchain analytics service Nansen published its NFT Indexes Report for the second quarter of 2022, with the data showing June recorded the lowest figure of the calendar year despite buyers remaining consistent.

China's biggest city Shanghai officially intends to boost the development of innovations such as blockchain, NFTs, the Metaverse and Web3 during its next five-year plan.

Nifty News: NFT and Web3 gaming console to launch in 2024, Chinese firms to check ID for NFT buying, and more

July 5, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Blockchain Game

The console's creators say it will be compatible with eight blockchains and have its own digital wallet, token, and marketplace, with a prototype coming in “a few months.”

Polium, a company that markets itself as “building the products and infrastructure for Web3 gaming,” has said it's launching a gaming console that will support multiple blockchains and nonfungible tokens (NFTs).

The “Polium One” console announced on July 3 is slated for an initial Q3 2024 release and will support the Ethereum (ETH), Solana (SOL), Polygon (MATIC), BNB Chain (BNB), ImmutableX, Harmony, EOS, and WAX blockchains.

We are introducing the Polium One, A multi-chain console for Web 3 Gaming. #Web3OnConsole pic.twitter.com/tkRaP2O13A
— Polium (@Polium__) July 2, 2022

Currently, the only specifications listed for the console are that it will support a 4K Ultra HD resolution at 120 frames per second. Polium says its community will help them build the console’s hardware and software and states it will have a functional prototype in “a few months.”

According to Polium, the console will feature its own multichain cryptocurrency wallet, and the controller will have a wallet button for users to make trades more efficiently. Security and verification of transactions from the console will be enabled via a fingerprint scanner on the controller.

The console's price is unknown, but Polium does plan to mint a “Polium Pass” NFT, which will allow holders to claim a console on the initial launch day. Pass holders will receive another NFT, which in the future can be staked for a “PLAY” token, the console's native token for transacting on its marketplace app.

Polium plans on releasing 10,000 consoles to Polium Pass holders and partners on the Q3 2024 initial launch, with more units manufactured for the public in Q3 2025. It has set a goal of selling over 1 million units.

The company has already received criticism for its logo looking similar to another popular console, the Nintendo GameCube. Polium said it didn’t copy the logo and is already creating a new logo “that is original.”

Man logo looks kinda familiar... pic.twitter.com/bruj4gX35D
— ben shambrook (@shambrookben) July 4, 2022

Chinese tech giants to check ID before NFT purchases

China’s NFT industry players and the country’s largest technology firms have signed an agreement to check the identity of users using digital collectible trading platforms, according to a report on July 4 from the South China Morning Post.

A so-called “self-discipline initiative” document was signed by companies with a stake in China’s NFT market, such as JD.com, Tencent Holdings, Baidu, and digital payments platform Ant Group, an affiliate of Alibaba Group.

The document was published on June 30 by the China Cultural Industry Association and, while not legally binding, calls on the firms to “require real-name authentication of those who issue, sell and buy” NFTs, and “only support legal tender as the denomination and settlement currency.”

The initiative also seeks for the companies to promise not to create secondary marketplaces for NFTs to combat trading speculation.

The popularity of NFTs in China is on the rise, and digital collectable platforms have grown 5X in just four months from February to mid-June 2022 despite multiple warnings from the government.

Nike looking to create video game NFTs

A patent filed by Nike Inc. on June 30 with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) shows the fitness clothier is interested in a “video game integration” of NFTs.

As per the filing, Nike seeks to patent a method where a “virtual object” will display in games, where that object is a “virtual shoe, article of apparel, headgear, avatar, or pet.” Other language in the filing suggests Nike plans to sell the physical shoes and clothes represented within the NFTs.

The reasoning presented in the filing suggests Nike is concerned with counterfeit digital collectibles and says there “exists a need for a retailer to more directly influence and control the nature and ultimate supply of digital objects within this virtual market.”

It also reasons an opportunity exists for it to capitalize and engage with video game players as most games feature customizable characters, which could make them “more engaged with a brand in the physical world.”

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The second-largest sale of an Ethereum Name Service (ENS) domain not only in U.S. dollars but also in Ethereum happened on July 3 when the domain “000.eth” sold for 300 ETH, roughly $320,000. The highest sale of an ENS domain was for “paradigm.eth” in October 2021, which fetched 420 ETH, around $1.5 million at the time.

Social media platform Facebook will add support for NFTs, and a “digital collectibles” tab will appear on the pages of selected creators in the U.S., with a feature to cross-post between Instagram and Facebook rolling out eventually.

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