Japanese games publisher Capcom is very soon launching their first blockchain-powered digital collectibles in the Street Fighter series. The company is doing this in collaboration with blockchain company Wax. Details about the nature of these digital collectibles, their prizes, or availability or not yet revealed. All they said, was ‘Street Fighter collectibles are coming soon… stay tuned’.
Digital collectibles are nothing new in the world of video games. Since the launch of the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 fifteen years ago, gamers have been collecting digital trophy and achievement points. In addition games like Assassin’s Creed have perfected the concept of ‘collecting items’. At the same time there’s all kinds of collectible merchandise on the market aimed at gamers.
However, never has a video game company launched digital items on the blockchain. These items will have a proven rarity, they are limited in supply and that makes them valuable. Out of every demographic it’s most likely that gamers understand the value of a digital collectible, because they’ve been grinding for digital gold in virtual economies for years already.
The partnership between Capcom and Wax should not be mistaken for an earlier partnership that was announced in February. Back then blockchain licensing company Ecomi announced their platform Veve, which would be used for licensed digital collectibles. They said they had deals with companies like Warner Bros, DC Comics and Capcom. There are plans for digital collectibles of brands like Adventure Time, Powerpuff Girls, Street Fighter, Monster Hunter, Superman, Batman and Star Trek. A select number of users is currently testing Veve in a closed beta.
Ecomi is using the GoChain for its digital collectibles, which are based on the GO721 token standard. GoChain is pretty obscure, but it’s fully compatible with the Ethereum blockchain. This should make it easy to for example swap assets.