Sega exec yawns at P2E games
The executive has called play-to-earn (P2E) games “boring” amid the firm’s retreat from franchising some of its hottest properties to the blockchain gaming space.
On July 6, Bloomberg reported that Shuji Utsumi, co-chief operating officer of the gaming company behind Sonic The Hedgehog, said it would shelve plans to develop blockchain games for now.
Third-party blockchain gaming projects would also not get access to Sega’s biggest franchises, with Utsumi adding:
“The action in play-to-earn games is boring; what’s the point if games are no fun?”
However, some of the less-known Sega titles will still get licensed for runs in nonfungible token (NFT) collections and are getting blockchain games slated for announcements later this year, with Sega still pumping millions into related projects.
Breaking: Via @bloomberg, SEGA Co-COO Shuji Utsumi has confirmed that SEGA’s biggest IPs, Sonic will not use blockchain, to avoid devaluing them. #SonicNews
They were non-committal on using Web3 for their fabled “super game.”
Source: https://t.co/fgeVTRYHdB
— Sonic Stadium ✪ Sonic the Hedgehog Community (@sonicstadium) July 7, 2023
It’s up in the air if the “super game” touted by Sega for the last year — set for launch in 2026 — will still involve Web3 tech.
Utsumi believes the tech is useful for such cases as moving in-game items between gaming titles, but Sega may hang back until it sees wider use.
“We’re looking into whether this technology is really going to take off in this industry after all,” Utsumi said.
Tom Brady’s NFT company breaks up with NFTs
Professional American football star Tom Brady is reportedly switching up the strategy for his NFT-focused startup Autograph — which is now moving away from NFTs.
On July 6, The New York Times reported Autograph’s marketing has quietly removed crypto language, downplays terms such as NFT and has shifted focus away from marketing them, with a new emphasis on helping stars generally spin up loyalty with their fans,…
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