Sony and Microsoft, Setting Sail for Blockchain Gaming

Sony and Microsoft Embark on a Journey into Blockchain Gaming

Source/cointelegraph

Compiled by/Nick

Sony and Microsoft, the two gaming giants, have been making frequent moves in the field of blockchain technology and have achieved significant progress. At the same time, Sony and Microsoft are seeking to enter the world of crypto gaming, a move that could not only revolutionize the gaming industry but also serve as a “Trojan horse” to mainstream adoption of blockchain.

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Sony and Microsoft are seeking to enter the world of crypto gaming

Sony has filed a patent that allows players to transfer digital assets between PlayStation games using blockchain technology. This would enable unified progress and ownership of assets across different games, rather than locking assets within a single game. Sony is also exploring the possibility of tokenizing in-game assets, allowing players to sell and trade these assets on secondary markets.

Leaked documents indicate that Microsoft is planning to add a cryptocurrency wallet to Xbox. This would enable players to securely trade assets between different platforms. The goals set forth by Microsoft in their annual report also align with this, as they are seeking to acquire Activision Blizzard and Savage Game Studios in the mobile domain. This indicates that Microsoft is serious about expanding its gaming business, and blockchain can play a role in that.

Blockchain gaming is a significant opportunity, hence the attention from the two gaming giants should come as no surprise. It is estimated that by 2025, the market value of blockchain gaming could grow by more than 10% compared to 2022.

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

Data source: Newzoo

But why adopt blockchain in the first place? The traditional gaming industry mainly earns revenue through game sales, in-game purchases, and subscriptions, usually limiting players’ ownership of in-game assets, with monetization strategies focusing on microtransactions and downloadable content (DLC).

Although tokenization has been present in gaming since the advent of in-app purchases, the unique attributes of blockchain provide true ownership of in-game assets, new sources of income for players and creators, and a more transparent and secure game economy. This includes the possibility for players to obtain real-world value, community governance where players can influence game development decisions, and payouts or staking rewards similar to dividends allocated to token holders.

The ownership of characters, items, and currency also means that players 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 the first time Sony has brought 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 ultimately triumphed over HD DVD, becoming 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 including a Blu-ray player in the PlayStation 3 (followed by the PS4 and PS5), Sony provided a cost-effective home theater to over 239 million households worldwide. In the year before the launch of the PS3, the average price of a Blu-ray player was over $1000, and it couldn’t play games, unlike the $500 gaming console.

This Japanese gaming giant has also had its fair share of missteps. The Sony Aibo can be considered one of the best home robots ever made, and many thought it would be a must-have product when connected to the PlayStation, enabling gameplay with this powerful metal dog and even reprogramming it, which would clearly create the necessary economies of scale.

The general consensus in the market was that PlayStation Home may have been ahead of anything Meta and other companies are creating, as it sought to bring the metaverse into homes and offices. However, when the PS4 was born, PlayStation Home strangely disappeared.

Existing blockchain gaming hardware

Of course, Sony and Microsoft are not the first companies to enter the blockchain gaming space.

There are already various types of blockchain gaming hardware products on the market, mainly divided into headsets and laptops. These include Oculus Quest 2 and HTC Vive Pro 2 VR headsets, which can be used to play blockchain games, as well as various high-end gaming laptops such as the Alienware x17 R2 and the Asus ROG Zephyrus G15.

However, all of these devices are similar to early Blu-ray players in terms of cost and accessibility.

On the other end of the price range, there are also some options. 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. 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 designed specifically for blockchain gaming. It has a built-in wallet that supports multiple blockchains and comes preloaded with many blockchain games, including Atari Pong, Atari Breakout, and Atari Asteroids. Other blockchain games can also be sideloaded onto the VCS.

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

The road ahead is filled with hope

Sony and Microsoft’s foray into blockchain is a significant development for the gaming industry. Blockchain has the potential to completely change game design, gameplay, and revenue models.

Although currently, traditional mainstream gaming platforms generally prohibit the release of applications that allow cryptocurrency or NFT transactions, which poses challenges to the development of Web3 games. However, we believe that with the strong push from the two gaming giants, these barriers may be eliminated in the future.

Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo dominate the game console market. However, these platforms have yet to provide decentralized game development or digital asset ownership. On the other hand, various blockchain-based games already exist. Despite this, there is currently 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 landscape, or if any existing emerging solutions become popular, then games (rather than financial services, real estate, voting, or NFTs) can successfully bring blockchain to the masses and even have a significant impact on global technology.

Perhaps, just like Blu-ray, games are the key to bringing blockchain to the general public.

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