By
Chimamanda U. Martha
April 22nd, 2024
The benefits offered in the NFT patent filed by Sony include the opportunity to have an interoperable Web3 gameplay experience, which means that players will be able to transfer NFTs between different devices.
In September last year, Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc (SIE), a multinational video game and digital entertainment company owned by multinational conglomerate Sony Corporation (NYSE: SONY), filed for a patent that would bring the company deeper into the world of non-fungible tokens (NFTs). The name of the patent published yesterday tells for itself “NFT Framework For Transferring And Using Digital Assets Between Game Platforms.” In other words, the company is exploring the potential for NFTs to be transferred between video games and consoles, with players reaping the benefits in multiple games.
Sony explained:
“Current systems are technologically inadequate for the owner to use the asset across different games and platforms. Accordingly, as further recognised herein, the functionality of the game may be enhanced by enabling gamers and/or spectators to exclusively use the asset and possibly transfer its rights to others via NFT.”
The benefits offered in the NFT patent filed by Sony include the opportunity to have an interoperable Web3 gameplay experience, which means that players will be able to transfer NFTs between different devices such as virtual reality (VR) headsets, tablets, smart TVs, computer, and smartphones. Further, the benefits include NFT rewards. Let’s say a player who has won a particular battle in a particular game gets an in-game asset – a new skin, artwork, access to new avatars, weapons, or even “video game skills”.
The patent further states:
“The NFT may then be transferred to someone else, who may then resume the game where the transferor left off according to the NFT so that the transferee begins gameplay at the same level, with the same score, and/or with the same points accumulation as the transferor.”
The patent even mentions the opportunity for players to mint their own NFTs once they reach “a certain level, score, and/or points accumulation in a particular video game”.
Sony’s Moves in Web3 Space
Sony has been making steps towards Web3 adoption for a long time, with its patent being not the first initiative in the NFT direction.
In November last year, Sony revealed a wearable motion-tracking system called Mocopi that can be used to control a digital avatar in real-time within metaverse applications like VR Chat. There are six pucks comprising the new Mocopi system, and users can wear them around the wrist, ankles, hips, and head.
Last month, we reported about Sony’s partnership with a multi-chain smart contract network called Astar Network to introduce a Web3 incubation program for projects that target the use of NFTs and decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs). The program will essentially concentrate on real-world use cases of blockchain. It is curated to look deeply at the various methods by which blockchain technology can solve problems in their industry. It will run from mid-March to mid-June of this year.