Final Fantasy: This $160 statue of Cloud doubles as an NFT
This character would not make Cloud happy.
As you may have noticed, Square Enix is showing a lot of interest in the NFT market, which the company says will break through later this year. So far, the statements about the project have been very abstract, but now there is a first concrete product: A figure of Cloud Strife from Final Fantasy 7, which is to act simultaneously as an NFT. Yes, you read that right.
What are NFTs anyway? NFT stands for Non-Fungible Token, which means “non-exchangeable token”. This is a unique, unchangeable link that serves as proof of transaction, title deed, and certificate of authenticity for digital goods. This information is stored on a blockchain, i.e. a network of decentralized databases that is not controlled by individual people or institutions.
From the outside, the statue actually looks harmless:
That’s behind Square’s NFT character
In addition to the physical statue, buyers also get a “digital version of the figure”. Exactly what the latter should look like is stated in the advertisement in the official Square Enix store unfortunately not clear, although the article can already be pre-ordered. Do we get an in-game item? Or a 3D render? Or just an image file? All of this is still open at the moment. The fact is that when you buy the statue you will receive a unique code that verifies you as the owner of the digital version.
The Digital Plus Edition is a bundle of a physical action figure with a ticket to redeem a digital certificate of authenticity and the digital version of the figure. Both the digital certificate of authenticity and the digital version of the figurine are managed by blockchain technology known as NFTs.
Final Fantasy fans aren’t thrilled: on Twitter the community pokes fun at how Final Fantasy 7 is about saving the planet by fighting a greedy corporation – while Square now sells NFTs that have been proven to have a negative impact on the climate. Mining the blockchains that NFTs are stored on consumes vast amounts of energy without (at least in this case) adding any real value.
More news on the topic:
The Cloud figure is slated for release in November 2023 and will retail for $159.99. Thus, it appears parallel to Final Fantasy Rebirth, which is announced for winter 2023.
Here you can see the announcement trailer for FF7 Rebirth again:
1:34
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth – The first look at the second part of the remake
Here’s what we know about Final Fantasy Rebirth: Not much is known about the next part of the remake trilogy. However, those responsible let it be known that with Red XIII we will finally be able to play one of the best characters in the series ourselves.
The big question right now is whether Final Fantasy Rebirth will offer an open world. Current statements indicate that this will not be the case, but the game world should definitely be enormous and exhaust the PS5’s SSD.
What do you think of the NFT-enabled statue?
Reference-www.gamepro.de
