Sony files patent to allow gamers to own in-game assets through NFTs

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Video gaming giant Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc. has made its patent public to allow gamers to own unique in-game collectibles pertaining to their favorite celebrities, activities, and eSports champions.

The gaming conglomerate filed the patent in 2021 as a “system and method for tracking digital assets associated with video games” using non-fungible tokens (NFTs). The patent, which credits Mischa Stephens, Warren Benedetto, and Foley Laiyemo as inventors, was released on November 10 and will leverage distributed ledger technology.

“In traditional video games, there is no way to differentiate a specific instance of an in-game item that a famous player of the video game used to win a famous tournament from any other instance of the in-game item,” said Sony as it looks to cater to the growing eSports community.

According to the patent, the digital assets may be representations of gameplay moments of either images or video clips with a unique identifier showing the properties of the created digital asset. The provenance of the asset and any changes made “can be identified in a request to update the history.”

Although the filing is for a patent, a bird’s eye view shows that Sony is throwing all of its weight behind NFT gaming. The firm is looking to catch up with pacesetters like Axie Infinity and Alien Worlds, Web 3 gaming firms that have snagged a large chunk of the market share in recent years.

Sony had previously struck a collaboration with Theta Labs to launch a collection of 3D NFTs to be used with the Sony Spatial Reality Display (SRD), an initial foray into the metaverse and digital collectibles.

Japanese gaming firms are leading the NFT and metaverse charge

Several firms have signaled their intentions to enter into the NFT and metaverse space by filing patents for their plans. Samsung, Visa, and Mastercard are among the companies to have filed patents relating to NFTs and other digital collectibles.

Gaming companies are not left out in the craze, as Japanese gaming firm Konami recently announced hiring individuals versed in NFTs to provide new experiences for its customers. The firm had previously released an NFT collection to mark the 35th anniversary of its popular franchise, Castlevania.

Other Japanese gaming companies have taken a similar path, with Bandai Namco working on its own metaverse while Square Enix and Sega are both looking to issue play-to-earn opportunities in their upcoming gaming titles.

Watch: The BSV Global Blockchain Convention panel, Blockchain: Data Power-Ups and NFTs for eSports & Online Games