Back in 2020, it seemed that every major games publisher was on board with the NFT and crypto craze as it created more opportunities to capitalize on in-game purchases. Sega went all-in at the peak but pulled out once public interest had started to drain. Despite calling play-to-earn games “boring,” it seems like the company wants to gain a few more rings in a surprising upcoming project.
Sega’s Co-COO Shuji Utsumi spoke with Japanese outlet Dengeki Online about an upcoming blockchain game based on the Three Kingdoms digital card series for mobile gamers. (A translation of the interview is available here.) The new game is being developed by double jump.tokyo, who previously collaborated with Square Enix and Tezuka Osamu, creators of Astro Boy.
Sega announced this partnership back in 2021 on their official Twitter to a ton of fan backlash regarding the environmental impact of the blockchain. Commenters were quick to point out that the core message of Sonic The Hedgehog, saving animals from deforestation and scientific testing, went against the wasteful platform.
Hironobu Ueno, CEO of double jump.tokyo, admitted in the Dengeki Online interview that “Users are finding it challenging to adapt to this technology, and as a result, I believe we are still in the early phases of user adoption.” Despite this, the pair are optimistic that they can break through the negative stigma of NFTs to provide a compelling experience.
Utsumi says that blockchain technology is being integrated to simulate the “feeling of owning a card,” but due to the low adoption rate of NFTs, in-game purchases will be optional, and the game will adopt a free-to-play model. The COO also revealed that Sega had been researching new business models for a while and sees their partnership with double jump.tokyo as a beneficial learning opportunity in this regard.
The project was hinted at in July when Bloomberg talked with Utsumi, stating, “Sega does plan to let external partners use its lesser-known Three Kingdoms and Virtua Fighter characters for non-fungible tokens.” However, Utsumi was a lot less optimistic about NFT games as a whole, commenting, “The action in play-to-earn games is boring. What’s the point if games are no fun?”
It seems like Sega has changed its tune once again on blockchain gaming, at least in Asian regions where Battle of Three Kingdoms—Sangokushi Taisen is planned to release. Sega previously mentioned the existence of ‘super game’ projects featuring the return of classic properties like Jet Set Radio and Crazy Taxi in a Web 3.0 experience, but no word on the games has been mentioned since 2022.
