Nifty News: Square Enix invests into NFT gaming firm, Beeple speaks on NFT art future and more…

NFT-friendly Japanese gaming giant Square Enix has invested 7 billion yen ($52.7 million) into game developer Gumi to create “high-quality” mobile games, blockchain games and a Metaverse initiative, among other things.

According to a translation of the press release, the partnership will help Gumi tap certain intellectual property from Square Enix, while it has also teased that the duo could be teaming up for a game-NFT-focused marketplace.

“We are already considering the establishment of a platform dedicated to blockchain games and an NFT marketplace, etc. Through collaboration between the two companies, we will provide a one-stop service from the development and distribution of blockchain games to the sale and distribution of tokens and NFTs.”

The company also outlined plans to work on a host of NFT games that will likely have Metaverse integrations. The Japanese company has outlined a quirky new term called “Wow and Earn” which essentially refers to games built off of world-famous IP that is integrated with blockchain-based Play-to-Earn (P2E) features.

“In the future, while considering the use of powerful content that everyone recognizes, we will break away from the highly speculative blockchain games of the past and create value while enjoying fun and excitement. We strongly recognize that it is necessary for game users all over the world to create a blockchain game that realizes ‘Wow and Earn,'” the release reads.

Gumi also stated that its “working day and night” to develop its Metaverse-focused arm of the business, as it looks to add another source of revenue outside of mobile games.

Gumi has previously worked with Square Enix on a couple of mobile games as part of the Final Fantasy Brave Exvius series, and both firms are partners of the Oasys blockchain-gaming project, which is building its own network designed purely for P2E gaming.

Beeple outlines future of NFTs and art

Michael Winkelmann, the widely successful digital artist also known as Beeple, believes that all physical art in the future will one day have an NFT attached to it.

Speaking with the Wall Street Journal on Dec. 23, Beeple suggested that NFTs will massively help the art industry by providing superior methods for tracking provenance and storing verifiably authentic data.

“I think all paintings will eventually have NFTs attached just because again, it’s a better system than just handing you a piece of paper,” he said, adding that:

“If you had a standardization around ‘this is a painting,’ you could have all the provenance in the metadata of that NFT. You could have [that data on] where that painting was shown. So it’s all there and it’s searchable in a database.”

As such, he thinks that NFTs will eventually help build a standardized art database that “everyone relies on.”

Pokemon takes NFT company to court

Pokémon Company International has taken an Australian company to court over advertising an unlicensed NFT-based Pokémon game, according to documents lodged with the Federal Court of Australia.

The company in question is called “Pokémon Pty Ltd” and it has been advertising an unlicensed “metauniverse” P2E game on Ethereum called Pokeworld.

On its website, it also claims to work on a host of official Pokemon games in the past, while it also claims to have an official partnership with Pokémon Company International.

However in the court documents, the Pokemon IP holders are seeking to restrain Pokémon Pty Ltd from representing that they hold any license, partnership or rights to sell Pokemon NFTs.

It has also called for the company to halt the launch of the game, promote it using Pokemon trademarks on its website and social media.

HSBC trademarks

British multinational mega bank HSBC has filed virtual trademarks for its name and logo, outlining potential plans for a host of NFT, blockchain and Metaverse products.

In its filing, highlighted by licensed trademark attorney, Mike Kondoudis via Twitter on Dec. 23, the HSBC lists a host of products and services including downloadable NFT virtual goods and files, virtual world friendly debit cards, NFT music and video content files.

The Metaverse appears to be a keen focus in the filing, as it also states that it is looking at providing financial advisory and entertainment services in the Metaverse and other virtual worlds.

Other Nifty News:

Hackers linked to North Korea’s Lazarus Group are reportedly behind a massive phishing campaign targeting NFT investors — utilizing nearly 500 phishing domains to dupe victims.

NFT marketplace OpenSea has been banning artists and collectors from Cuba, citing United States sanctions as the key reason behind its action.

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