Astro Boy is another Japanese IP that is set to enter the NFT and Metaverse trend. Tezuka Productions will work with J&J and NOBORDER.z to create NFT game cards featuring the eponymous hero and other characters from the franchise. The virtual cards will be usable in the NFT Duel game and tradeable on the Xanalia marketplace. [Thanks, 4Gamer!]
The Astro Boy NFT cards will also contain images of landmarks in Japan. The first batch will feature landmarks in Tottori Prefecture, such as Tottori Dune and Koiyamagata Station. In the press release, the companies stated that they are working together with Japanese prefectures to help recover the regions’ economy and tourism market that was affected by the coronavirus pandemic. The companies will also use the cards to help promote the country in the Metaverse.
NOBORDER.z is the company that develops the NFT Duel game, the Xanalia marketplace, and the Xana NFT metaverse. Earlier in 2022, the same company opened pre-orders for NFT Duel cards containing characters from the Ultraman Netflix anime. It will sell a limited number of premium cards purchasable with Ethereum, cryptocurrency and credit card until March 2022. It will then sell regular Ultraman NFT cards starting from April 2022.
Many Japanese companies have shown interest in entering the NFT scene in recent months. Konami and Square Enix are the two companies most interested in joining the market. In January 2022, Konami held NFT auctions of Castlevania music, art, and gameplay videos.
