The details of a patent filed by Sony Interactive Entertainment suggest the PlayStation parent company may be interested in implementing NFTs and blockchain technology on its platform. The patent title is “Tracking Unique In-Game Digital Assets Using Tokens on a Distributed Ledger,” as reported by Video Games Chronicle.
The patent details a system where the history of a unique in-game item would be tracked with blockchain technology, including details of who created the item, who owned it in the past, and whether it has been modified along the way.
In the background section, Sony compares the digital assets in question to sports memorabilia, saying “individuals often find it meaningful to own or use unique physical items related to respected celebrities or activities.”
The patent suggests fans might want to collect in-game objects that were owned or created by notable esports players or gaming influencers, saying that the tracked data could show if an item was the one used by a player to win a major game tournament, as one example. The patent also mentions transferring items between games and even across platforms.
“The techniques and technologies described herein expand the functionality of digital assets associated with video games, and of systems that create and manage such digital assets, by tracking a history of the digital assets,” the description concludes.
Sony’s gaming division so far hasn’t had much to add to the conversation around NFTs in games, though when it announced the digital collectible program PlayStation Stars earlier this year, a spokesperson clarified that the program was “not leveraging any blockchain technologies and definitely not NFTs.”
While SIE hasn’t announced anything publicly about the patent, some of Sony’s other divisions have already released their own NFTs–such as a campaign offering Spider-Man NFTs for fans who pre-bought tickets to Spider-Man: No Way Home.
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