Game publisher Electronic Arts (EA) explained that collectible NFTs are part of the future of the games industry. Because NFTs now become a way to buy and sell digital-only art and collectible items.
EA makes the Fifa football series is using “card packs” to “collect” players in its Ultimate Team mode. Chief executive of EA Andrew Wilson explained details about the future of the games industry in a recent interview. He believes Fifa players want to see NFTs in the franchise. He said, “[Players] want more modalities at play inside the game, which go beyond just straight 11-on-11 football,” He also said, “They want more digital experiences outside the game – esports, NFTs, broader sports consumption and they want us to move really, really quickly.”
However, he also mentioned that NFT ideas are “still really, really early” and came with “a lot of hype”. Then he warned, “It’s still early to kind of figure out how that’s going to work.”
NFTs presented a new idea called “play to earn”. The basis of this idea is a unique digital item that can increase in value over time. It also can be sold off later for a profit. However, some game designers think that the concept of NFTs is bad for the future gaming industry. That’s why major PC gaming platforms steams banned NFT-based games in their gaming platforms.
Games industry analyst Piers Harding said about the NFT and blockchain games “These are new disruptive forces within the games sector”. He also said all major publishers would be looking at the potential of these formats to make money – and “EA is no exception”. Then he added, “It would be bad commercial practice not to be analyzing how these technologies could impact its existing business.”
Piers continued, “I mean the slightly longer answer to that is we need to work and make sure we continue to appropriately tune and balance the experience for our players… but we will continue, as we have evolved the Ultimate Team experience over the last decade, we will continue to look for ways to add value for our players.”