In a statement available on the Konami website, Kimihiko Higashio hinted at a possibility of Konami entering the NFT market. Higashio is the Representative Director and President of Konami Holdings Corporation. While he does not explicitly say that Konami will start to sell them, he brings up NFTs as one of many possibilities in Konami’s future expansion.
The message, which Higashio directs at Konami’s investors, talks about how the company will stay on top of changing trends and technologies. Aside from NFTs, Higashio also brings up AI, 5G, subscription services, and esports as ways that the video game market is changing. Aside from video games, Konami also plans on providing products in the sports industry. This is due to the aging society in Japan, as well as the growing number of people staying inside due to the pandemic.
Konami is far from the first video game company that has an interest in the NFT market. In April 2021, Sega announced that it would start selling NFT content based on its existing intellectual properties. Just earlier this week, Square Enix also revealed their plans to enter the NFT games market. NFTs in general are fairly controversial due to their impact on the climate.
It is unknown when exactly Konami will start selling NFTs, if they decide to sell them at all. In other Konami news, several Metal Gear Solid games were temporarily removed from digital storefronts so that Konami can renew their licenses of historical footage used in-game.
