EA seems to be warming up to including more NFTs in their games.
The popular video game publisher recently announced it is partnering up with Nike to improve the virtual sports experience for fans worldwide, which could also mean integrating Nike's Swoosh NFTs into its games.
It is unknown when EA will release games with Nike's Swoosh NFTs, though established precedence says they will be unpopular at launch.
EA-Nike Partnership Details
EA mentioned in its announcement it is partnering with Nike's Virtual Studios to enhance and personalize the virtual sports experience for fans worldwide.
The partnership would also pave the way for EA sports fans and members of Nike's Swoosh to express their personal style through play. For those unaware, Nike's Swoosh is the company's digital community experience allegedly designed to allow members to co-create the company's future, per the community's official webpage.
EA further said that Nike's partnership with EA Sports will "look to build new immersive experiences" and unlock new levels of customization within the EA Sports ecosystem. As such, the partnership allows EA and Nike to plan to make select Swoosh virtual creations available in future EA Sports titles, allowing members and players to enjoy "new opportunities" for self-expression and creativity through sport and style.
Andrea Hopelain, SVP of Brand for EA Sports & Racing, said that working with Nike Virtual Studios and Swoosh allows the company to bring creativity and self-expression to the forefront as they connect, compete, and share their love for sport[s].
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While EA didn't make it clear in its announcement, Kotaku mentioned in its report that, simply put, EA is eager to integrate Nike's NFTs into its sports games in the future to give players and Swoosh members new opportunities for self-expression and creativity.
Nike's Swoosh community, a Web3-enabled platform, allows members to "learn about, collect, and eventually help co-create virtual creations... such as virtual shoes or jerseys," per the company's announcement of its launch.
Unfortunately, EA has yet to share more information about how it plans to integrate the Swoosh community with future EA Sports games, though it promises to reveal more in the coming months. Regardless, the idea of offering NFTs in their games isn't new to EA; the company is offering that in the form of free unlocks, and others that you have to pay for using in-game or real-world currency.
NFT's Rise And Fall
NFTs have a bad rep to almost everyone, especially gamers. You may recall that many celebrities, including the likes of Logan Paul, Sacramento Kings star guard De'Aaron Fox, and even NFT game developers like the one behind Evolved Apes NFT game, then-known as Evil Apes, scammed people of their money after they received a significant amount, either disappearing from the internet or closing the project entirely prematurely.
Gamers also disdain NFTs being included in the games they play. You may recall that Ubisoft's NFT game plan for its Ghost Recon game got major backlash from players worldwide due to the company giving something players didn't ask for; others said it was a sign that Ubisoft is exploiting the "Ghost Recon" franchise for every cent while putting minimal effort into the actual game.
As such, there is reason to believe EA's integration of the Nike Swoosh community could end up in disaster.
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