Nintendo President admits that the Metaverse has great potential, but is not in a hurry to enter the field

Andrew Hayward
Odaily Planet Daily Translator | Yu Shunsui

summary:

• Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa said the Metaverse has "huge potential."

• However, he added that Nintendo needs to think further about how to approach the space in a unique way.

The Metaverse became a major buzzword after Facebook (now Meta) unveiled its vision in October 2021, and now gaming and tech giants are weighing in on its potential for the future of the internet. Shuntaro Furukawa, president of Japanese gaming giant and console maker Nintendo, sees “huge potential” for the future of the Metaverse.

Shuntaro Furukawa recently commented on the Metaverse during an investor Q&A session. According to the official release, Furukawa talked about the potential of the Metaverse and mentioned the comparisons the media has drawn to Nintendo's popular life simulation game Animal Crossing.

“The Metaverse has attracted the attention of many companies around the world, and we believe it has great potential,” Furukawa said, according to a translation by VGC. “Also, when the media mentions the Metaverse, game software such as Animal Crossing is sometimes cited as an example, and in that sense, we are very interested in it.”

The Metaverse refers to a more immersive vision of the future of the Internet, where users can socialize, play, and even work together in a shared 3D space. It may be powered by blockchain technology, including NFT assets and Ethereum-based games such as Decentraland and The Sandbox, which sell digital plots of land to users, setting an early example for the field.

However, there is some debate over what exactly the term "metaverse" means. To some, it simply means an immersive shared experience enabled by a virtual reality (VR) or augmented reality (AR) headset, while others believe that NFTs - assets that demonstrate ownership of digital items - are the most important pillar of its design. It's a rather vague buzzword, in part because a fully functional metaverse may still be years away.

Regardless, while Shuntaro Furukawa seems positive about the potential of the Metaverse, he says Nintendo isn’t ready to start exploring the possibility just yet. As the maker of well-known games like Super Mario and The Legend of Zelda, Nintendo doesn’t chase trends, and Furukawa says Nintendo needs to find its own Metaverse strategy.

Furukawa said, “It is difficult to define what kind of surprises and fun the Metaverse can bring to customers. As a company that advocates entertainment, we have to think about how to provide fresh surprises and fun.”

He continued, "If we could find a way to communicate our 'Nintendo Way' to many people in an easily understandable way, we might consider something. But we don't think that's the case at this time."

In January, Nintendo’s main rival Microsoft announced it would acquire major game publisher Activision Blizzard for nearly $69 billion, saying the move provides “the foundation for the metaverse.” Also in January, Grand Theft Auto developer Take-Two Interactive acquired NFT game maker Zynga, with CEO Strauss Zelnick noting that the company saw “Web3 opportunities.”

Many traditional game publishers are experimenting in the NFT space, including Ubisoft using Tezos-minted NFT items in its games, Konami selling NFT collectibles based on its classic games, and Square Enix revealing its plans to develop NFT games.

However, such announcements have been met with widespread resistance, with many gamers criticizing the environmental impact of NFTs — which vary by blockchain platform — or calling them frauds or scams.

Ukrainian game developer GSC Game World cancelled plans to add NFTs to its STALKER 2 game in December last year due to fan opposition. Just this week, Team17 did something similar with NFT collectibles based on the Worms series.