Nintendo’s president said the company will refrain from expanding into the metaverse until it can be sure it will deliver the “surprise and fun” players have come to expect.
Nintendo , the Japan-based video game and entertainment company, has admitted that it is looking forward to the growing trend of the metaverse and non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa shared the company’s vision around this new development during an earnings call on Wednesday. As reported by Reuters , Furukawa said the company would consider expanding into the metaverse, but will take a cautious approach until it can be sure the development will deliver the ” surprise and fun ” that gamers expect.
MST Financial analyst David Gibson, who participated in the conference, also reported on the Nintendo representative’s statements . In a Wednesday tweet , Gibson said that when asked about his views on the metaverse and NFTs, Furukawa responded:
We have interest in this area, we feel the potential in this area, but we wonder what joy we can provide in this area and this is difficult to define right now.
Q) How think about the 98m versus next console?
A) Into 6th year of Switch and we are maintaining momentum, we are looking at how to expand and grow this 100m users, leading into next gen device (sounds like next device will be backward compatible!) 7/— David Gibson (@gibbogame) February 3, 2022
Gibson noted that the company president’s statement focused primarily on the metaverse and not digital collectibles.
Video game companies are interested in the metaverse
The company behind some of the most popular game consoles and famous game brands like Super Mario Bros is the latest in the industry to speak out on the metaverse. Just a week ago, PlayStation creator Ken Kutaragi also spoke about the trend, although he wasn’t enthusiastic. In an interview with Bloomberg , he called the metaverse ” isolating ” and virtual reality (VR) headsets ” annoying .”
The metaverse, a term that refers to an immersive online world where users play, shop, work and socialize through avatars, has become the latest big business promise for tech companies. The idea has exploded mainly in the wake of Meta ‘s (formerly Facebook ) investment to build its own virtual world.
Other tech giants like Samsung, Microsoft, and Apple have also announced developing strategies focused on the metaverse and NFTs. Meanwhile, renowned video game companies are also eyeing the emerging sector with interest. Square Enix , Ubisoft , and Konami are among those that have dabbled in the space, despite widespread pushback from gamers and fans.
For example, GSC Games , the company behind the popular game STALKER, decided to cancel an NFT strategy due to criticism from fans. Others like Ubisoft , for their part, have not been afraid to point out that gamers still do not understand the benefits of NFTs.
Nintendo is reluctant to NFT
In general, Nintendo has shown a evasive attitude towards NFTs, aggressively pursuing through lawsuits collectibles and token projects that use the firm’s iconic video game personas as their image.
CoinDesk believes this could be related to the company’s historically protective culture of its intellectual property (IP). Nintendo has preferred to keep it in-house rather than license it to third parties. On expanding Nintendo’s empire through licensing, Furukawa said during this week’s call, ” It wouldn’t be an advantage to suddenly bring in people who don’t have the Nintendo way of thinking .”
As for the metaverse, while the creators of the popular Switch video game console are not yet ready to dive into this sphere, many investors already see Nintendo as a metaverse business . According to CoinDesk , many metaverse indices hold it in their stock basket, including Solactive’s Metaverse Index , in which Nintendo accounts for roughly a 5% stake.
ProShares recently asked US regulators to launch an exchange- traded fund (ETF) that tracks the index , while another product that tracks Solactive ‘s index is already trading on markets in Germany.