Can Sony and Microsoft bring blockchain technology to gaming consoles?

Will Sony and Microsoft Incorporate Blockchain Technology into Gaming Consoles?

Author: Olga Vorobyeva, founder of Vox Consulting, a blockchain consulting company; translation by Song Xue from LianGuai

Sony and Microsoft, as the two giants in the gaming industry, have been taking important steps towards blockchain technology in recent years. This is a significant development, as it not only has the potential to completely change the gaming industry, but also could be a “Trojan horse” that brings blockchain into the mainstream.

Sony has submitted a patent that involves using blockchain technology to allow players to transfer digital assets between PlayStation games. This would achieve a unified progress and asset ownership across different games, instead of locking assets in individual games. Sony is also exploring the possibility of tokenizing in-game assets, allowing players to sell and trade these assets on secondary markets.

Leaked documents revealed that Microsoft plans to add a crypto wallet to Xbox. This would enable players to securely trade assets between different platforms. Microsoft’s goals, as stated in their annual report, align with this, as they are seeking to acquire Activision Blizzard and acquire Savage Game Studios for mobile platforms. This indicates that Microsoft is serious about expanding its gaming business and blockchain may play a role in it.

• CZ is heavily fined, sparking a hurricane of speculation in the cryptocurrency circle
• A Delightfully Layered Plan for Celo’s Future
• Blast Storm The Secret and Controversy behind TVL’s Explosive Growth

Blockchain gaming is an important opportunity, so it’s not surprising that both gaming leaders are paying attention to it. It is projected that by 2025, the value of this market may be up to 10% higher than in 2022.

The main drivers of growth in the blockchain gaming market include the increasing popularity of play-to-earn games, growing demand for immersive and engaging gaming experiences, and more game developers and publishers adopting blockchain technology.

Global gaming market forecast: it is estimated that the gaming market may grow by more than 10% between 2022 and 2025. Data source: Newzoo.

But why use blockchain in the first place? The traditional gaming industry primarily generates revenue through game sales, in-game purchases, and subscriptions, often restricting players’ ownership of in-game assets and focusing monetization strategies on microtransactions and downloadable content (DLC).

Although tokenization has already been present in games since the advent of in-app purchases, the unique properties of blockchain provide true ownership of in-game assets, new income sources for players and creators, and a more transparent and secure gaming economy, including the ability for players to earn real-world value, community governance that allows players to influence game development decisions, and dividend-like payouts or staking rewards allocated to token holders.

The ownership of characters, items, and currency also means that you can trade or sell these assets on the secondary market or use them in other blockchain games.

Can gaming make blockchain mainstream?

This is not Sony’s first time bringing previously niche cutting-edge technology to the masses.

In the early 2000s, Sony was one of the main supporters of the Blu-ray disc format. Blu-ray eventually won the format war against HD DVD and is now the standard for high-definition discs. Through collaborations with other major companies, Sony provided enough support for Blu-ray to help it become the dominant format.

But by incorporating a Blu-ray player in the PlayStation 3 (followed by the PS4 and PS5), over 239 million households worldwide would have an economically efficient high-definition theater. The average cost of a Blu-ray player before the launch of the PS3 was over $1,000, and unlike the $500 gaming console, it couldn’t play games.

But this Japanese gaming giant has also made a few mistakes. Sony Aibo can be considered the best home robot ever made and, in the eyes of many, could be connected with PlayStation to play games with this capable metal dog and reprogram it, which would clearly create economies of scale and make it a must-have product.

Many commented that PlayStation Home may have been ahead of anything Meta and others are creating, attempting to bring the virtual world into homes and offices, but it oddly disappeared when the PS4 was born.

Existing blockchain gaming hardware

Of course, Sony and Microsoft are not the first companies to enter the blockchain gaming space. There are several existing blockchain gaming hardware products on the market, including Oculus Quest 2 and HTC Vive Pro 2 VR headsets that can currently play blockchain games, as well as various high-end gaming laptops such as Alienware x17 R2 and Asus ROG Zephyrus G15.

All of these devices are similar to the early Blu-ray players in terms of cost and accessibility.

However, there are also options on the other end of the price range. WOWCube is a 3D puzzle game console that allows players to interact with the digital world by twisting, shaking, and tilting the device, reminiscent of a Rubik’s Cube, and the company behind it has announced that they are working with developers to create blockchain games that can be played on the device.

In 2021, Atari released a new version of its iconic VCS specifically designed for blockchain gaming. It features a built-in wallet, supports multiple blockchains, and comes pre-loaded with numerous blockchain games, including Atari Pong, Atari Breakout, and Atari Asteroids. Additional blockchain games can also be side-loaded onto the VCS.

Anbernic RG552 is a handheld retro gaming console that was also released in 2021. While its target users are those who want to play retro games, including games from Atari 2600, Nintendo Entertainment System, and Super Nintendo Entertainment System, it can also be used to play blockchain games. It runs blockchain games through the open-source RetroArch emulator.

The Road Ahead is Full of Hope

Sony and Microsoft stepping into blockchain is a major development for the gaming industry. Blockchain has the potential to completely change game design, gameplay, and monetization methods.

Of course, there are challenges ahead. Web3 games are excluded from important game platforms and markets, with applications that prohibit the issuance or trading of cryptocurrencies or non-fungible tokens (NFTs). However, with the power of these two gaming giants pushing this agenda, these barriers may be lowered or eliminated.

Key players like Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo dominate the console gaming market. However, these platforms have yet to offer decentralized game development or digital asset ownership. On the other hand, there are various blockchain-based games. Nevertheless, there is no unified hardware platform to optimize the gaming experience of blockchain-native games, and all games are limited to personal computers.

If Sony and Microsoft change the game, so to speak, or if any existing emerging solutions gain popularity, then gaming (not just financial services, real estate, voting, or NFTs) can successfully bring blockchain to the masses and have a significant global impact on technology.

Perhaps, just like Blu-ray, gaming is the way to deliver it to the general public, not just tech geniuses.

We will continue to update Blocking; if you have any questions or suggestions, please contact us!