Konami, a Japanese video company, has taken bold steps in the world of NFTs. Although it is part of the company’s plan in 2022 to explore several opportunities in blockchain technology, its main focus is an NFT collection. Following this, the company announced its NFT collection, which took the form of a Castlevania-themed collection while celebrating the 35th anniversary of the franchise.
This move takes into cognizance the latest trend of NFTs, which has been increasing the Japanese market. For instance, Square Enix’s president, Yosuke Matsuda, promised integrations with metaverse in 2022. Although, unfortunately, fans are not enthralled with the announcement, this is simply because they are yet to get the hang of the impending NFT adoption.
Also Read: Square Enix President Shares Plans to Expand into the NFT World
Celebrating Thirty-Five Years
Castlevania is an ancient mainstream franchise that has been in existence before the invention of the present ones. Although it is more of a niche series, it has garnered success and popularity across multiple gaming generations over the last three-and-something decades. Its popularity in Japan is second to none, and it is more like a flagship for Konami. In other places, Konami has produced the likes of Metal Gear, Pro Evolution Soccer, and some Silent Hill games.
Different from fans’ expectations of a new title to the Castlevania franchise in celebration of its 35th anniversary or an alternative entertainment medium entirely, Konami instead announced an exclusive ‘Konami Memorial NFT Collection.’ However, fans are not elated about the announcement, just like Ubisoft’s Quartz NFT platform or S.T.A.L.K.E.R 2’Ss NFT project.
The Konami NFTs have been said to take the form of digital arts, music tracks, and never-before-seen clips from the Castlevania franchise. Allegedly, these NFTs would contain secret, unlockable items that the owners of the NFT would benefit from. Also, fans would be able to bid these NFTs at four separate auctions to be held throughout January.
What Does it Mean?
Pursuant to the successful purchase of one or more of the Konami NFTs, owners will have their names enlisted on the company’s website. However, in the opinion of a critic that perused the terms and conditions of the NFT, these terms and conditions are not clear-cut. Firstly, it was clad with many regulations as regards the display name and username. In addition, there were terms that restricted ‘inappropriate use’ of the Konami NFTs and a statement that claimed that the company might sell ‘similar’ NFTs in the future. These however do not undermine the value of the NFTs. Also, Konami stated clearly that there is no guarantee that the NFTs would increase after the sale.
Despite the opinion of this critic, this could be a great start for Konami, a company known for its marketable franchises. Following the growth of play-to-earn, the metaverse, NFTs, and cryptocurrency industries, it may be inferred that more game developers would join the trend.