Can Sony and Microsoft bring blockchain to consoles?

By Olga Vorobyeva, Founder of Vox Consulting, CoinTelegraph, Compiled by Song Xue, Golden Finance

Sony and Microsoft, the two giants of the gaming industry, have been making significant strides towards blockchain technology in recent years. This is an important development because it not only has the potential to revolutionize the gaming industry, but it could also be a "Trojan horse" that will bring blockchain into the mainstream.

Sony has filed a patent for a system that uses blockchain technology to enable players to transfer digital assets between PlayStation games. This will allow for unified progression and asset ownership across different games, rather than locking assets into individual games. Sony has also investigated the possibility of tokenizing in-game assets, enabling players to sell and trade these assets on the secondary market.

**Leaked documents show that Microsoft plans to add crypto wallets to Xbox. This will allow players to securely trade assets between different platforms. Microsoft's goals in the annual report are in line with this, as they are looking to acquire Activision Blizzard and acquire Savage Game Studios for mobile. This suggests that Microsoft is seriously expanding its gaming business and that blockchain may play a role. **

Blockchain gaming is a significant opportunity, so it's no surprise that two gaming leaders are paying attention to it. **The market is expected to be worth as much as 10% more by 2025 than in 2022. **

**The main drivers for the growth of the blockchain gaming market include the growing popularity of play-to-earn games, the growing demand for more immersive and engaging gaming experiences, and the increasing adoption of blockchain technology by game developers and publishers. **

Global Gaming Market Forecast: It is estimated that the gaming market is likely to grow by more than 10% between 2022 and 2025. Source: Newzoo.

But why use blockchain in the first place? The traditional gaming industry generates revenue primarily through game sales, in-game purchases, and subscriptions, often restricting player ownership of in-game assets and focusing monetization strategies on microtransactions and downloadable content (DLC).

While tokenization has been present in games since the advent of in-app purchases, the unique attributes of blockchain provide true ownership of in-game assets, new revenue streams for players and creators, and a more transparent and secure game economy, including real-world value that players can earn, community governance where players can influence game development decisions, and dividend-like payouts or staking rewards distributed to token holders.

Ownership of characters, items, and currencies also means that you can trade or sell these assets on the secondary market or use them in other blockchain games.

Can gaming consoles make blockchain mainstream?

This isn't the first time Sony has brought previously niche-ed, cutting-edge technology to the masses.

In the early 2000s, Sony was one of the main proponents of the Blu-ray disc format. Blu-ray finally won the format battle over HD DVDs and has now become the standard for HD discs. By partnering with other big companies, Sony has provided enough support for Blu-ray to help it become the dominant format.

But with the addition of Blu-ray players to PlayStation 3 (followed by PS4 and PS5), more than 239 million households worldwide will have a cost-effective HD theater. The year before the PS3 launch, the average cost of a Blu-ray player was over $1,000, and unlike a $500 console, it couldn't play games.

But the Japanese gaming giant has also made several mistakes. Sony Aibo is arguably the best home robot ever made, and in the eyes of many, the ability to connect with a PlayStation, play games with this capable metal dog, and reprogram it would obviously create economies of scale that would make it a must-have.

Many have commented that PlayStation Home may be ahead of anything Meta and others are creating, trying to bring the virtual world into homes and offices, but when the PS4 was born, it strangely disappeared.

Existing blockchain gaming hardware

Of course, Sony and Microsoft are not the first companies to enter the blockchain gaming space. There are several blockchain gaming hardware products available on the market, including the Oculus Quest 2 and HTC Vive Pro 2 VR headsets, which can currently play blockchain games, as well as various high-end gaming laptops, such as the Alienware x17 R2 and the Asus ROG Zephyrus G15.

All of these devices are similar to earlier Blu-ray players in terms of cost and popularity.

However, there are a few options at the other end of the price range. WOWCube is a 3D puzzle game console that allows players to interact with the digital world by twisting, shaking, and tilting the device, reminiscent of the Rubik's Cube, and the company behind it has announced that they are working with developers to create a blockchain game that can be played on the device.

In 2021, Atari released a new version of the iconic VCS designed specifically for blockchain gaming. It has a built-in wallet, supports multiple blockchains, and comes pre-loaded with a number of blockchain games, including Atari Pong, Atari Breakout, and Atari Asteroids. It is also possible to sideload additional blockchain games onto the VCS.

The Anbernic RG552 is a handheld retro gaming console that was also released in 2021. While it's aimed at those who want to play retro games, including those from Atari 2600, Nintendo Entertainment, and Super Nintendo Entertainment, it can also be used to play retro games. Run blockchain games through an open-source RetroArch emulator.

The road ahead is promising

Sony and Microsoft's move towards blockchain is a major development in the gaming industry. Blockchain has the potential to revolutionize the way games are designed, played, and monetized.

Of course, there are challenges ahead. **Web3 games are excluded from significant gaming platforms and marketplaces to prohibit applications that issue or allow the trading of cryptocurrencies or non-fungible tokens (NFTs). However, with the power of the two gaming giants to drive this agenda, these barriers may be lowered or removed.

Major players such as Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo dominate the console market. However, these platforms do not yet offer decentralized game development or digital asset ownership. On the other hand, there are various blockchain-based games. Despite this, there is no unified hardware platform to optimize the gaming experience for blockchain-native games, and all games are limited to PC use.

If Sony and Microsoft change the landscape, or if any of the existing emerging solutions become wildly popular, then gaming (as opposed to financial services, real estate, voting, or NFTs) can succeed in bringing blockchain to the masses and even have a significant impact on global technology.

Perhaps, just like Blu-ray, games are the way to deliver it to the general public and not just to the technological genius.

Source: Golden Finance