EA Sports partners with Nike to bring NFT gear to games – Destructoid
It’s in the game (but it doesn’t exist)
Another week, another boring story about rich men jumping on a bandwagon just as the wheels fall off. Electronic art has announced that the EA Sports division is partnering with apparel company Nike for a multimillion-dollar new venture that will bring blockchain elements to the former’s lineup of popular sports titles.
EA Sports will work in tandem with Nike Virtual Studios to bring the sportswear maker’s new NFT series, known as the “.Swoosh,” to the studio’s lineup of annual releases. One would assume this refers to titles such as EA Sports FC (formerly FIFA), Madden and EA Sports PGA Tour. No details were released on how the controversial blockchain technology would be incorporated into the video games, but the publisher noted that details will follow in the near future.
What’s in the game? Only time will tellโฆ@EASPORT x .SWOOSH ๐ฎโฝ๏ธ๐๐ pic.twitter.com/AXgidKX7rd
โ .SWOOSH (@dotSWOOSH) 1 June 2023
“In future EA Sports titles, EA Sports and Nike plan to make select virtual .Swoosh creations available, giving members and players unique new opportunities for self-expression and creativity through sport and style,” EA said in a statement. “By working with the .Swoosh, we want to bring creativity and self-expression to the fore for fans as they connect, compete and share their love of sports.”
Creativity.
Electronic Arts’ foray into blockchain comes at a time when several game publishers are taking another swing at making the “Pretend like crap for tons of money” technology fly for the gaming community. This comes at a time when many studios, such as Ubisoft, Team17, Square Enix, and Sega, have been brutally cursed for trying to marry gaming with the metaverse, and a full year after the NFT market has seen a major drop in Google – search. This is not even to talk about the complete collapse of outlets like FTX and the total money wasting embarrassment of the Meta.
Regardless, the drive to make the NFT/gaming synergy happen continues, with frowning, boneheaded suits still utterly confused as to why this expensive, unsustainable market that they don’t understand and can’t control just isn’t taking.