Benzinga - Video game giant Sony Group Corp (NYSE: SONY) has more patents related to non-fungible tokens (NFTs) up its sleeve.
What Happened: As the owner of the PlayStation video game consoles and several video game studios, Sony is one of the leading companies in the video game sector. While other video game companies are shying away, Sony appears to be getting deeper involved with non-fungible tokens.
A new patent filing from Sony shows several ways the company could use NFTs in games.
“Systems and methods are disclosed for determining that a first-end user entity has performed a task within a computer simulation for which a non-fungible token is to be provided, where the NFT is associated with a digital asset,” the patent says.
One item that caught the attention of gamers on social media quickly was the mention of other consoles and platforms.
“Ownership of the NFT may also be subsequently transferred to other end-user entities for their own use across different simulations and/or platforms.”
The patent mentions cross-console capabilities, specifically naming the Xbox console from Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ: MSFT) and video game maker Nintendo (OTC: NTDOY). The patent also mentions that cross-platform capabilities could make the NFTs usable across different Sony-owned consoles like the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5.
“The present application related generally to NFT frameworks for transferring and using digital assets between game platforms.”
The patent refers to the NFTs often as digital assets and said that they could represent items like skins, video game artwork, an avatar, a video game weapon or a video game skill.
NFTs could be earned through gameplay according to the patent and in some cases be offered as first-come, first-serve rewards.
The patents also indicated that Sony wants the NFTs to work with virtual reality headsets, augmented reality headsets, smartphones, tablets, computers and televisions.
Related Link: How To Buy NFTs
Why It’s Important: The latest patent filing by Sony follows up on a filing reported by Benzinga in November 2022.
At the time, Sony filed for several patents involving the blockchain and digital assets. This included tracking digital assets in video games.
“In traditional video games, there is no way to differentiate a specific instance of an in-game item that a famous player of the video game used to win a famous tournament from any other instance of the in-game item,” the patent said.
The patent from Sony indicated the company could make digital assets tied to celebrities and esports winners. Sony could also create NFTs of video clips of gameplay.
Sony is not the first company to explore use cases of NFTs in video games and likely won’t be the last.
Ubi Soft Entertainment (OTC: UBSFY) announced the launch of in-game NFTs in December 2021 and additionally in February 2022, utilizing its library of intellectual property to enter the growing Web3 gaming space.
Square Enix (OTC: SQNNY) announced plans for a Web3 game called “Symbiogenesis,” which will use NFTs from the Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) blockchain. Square Enixx has signaled support for blockchain in games for years.
The wording of cross-play and cross-platform and the mention of the rival Xbox console could be interesting as Microsoft has remained quiet on NFT gaming plans. Microsoft owns “Minecraft” maker Mojang, which announced it would ban integrations of NFTs.
Video game retailer GameStop Corp (NYSE: GME) launched its own NFT marketplace to enter the growing space and has been looking for games to partner with.
Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN), which owns the Twitch video game streaming platform, is also rumored to be launching an NFT marketplace in April.
The Pokemon Company, which is partially owned by Nintendo, is looking to hire someone with knowledge of NFTs, which could suggest the gaming and card company could be exploring the use cases of digital assets.
Sony’s patents don’t guarantee that games will have NFTs anytime soon, but the multiple patent filings indicate the company has aspirations to connect in-game items like skins and avatars to the world of NFTs.
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