Square Enix’s ‘Final Fantasy VII’ NFTs Miss The Point Of Its Own Game

Games Square Enix’s ‘Final Fantasy VII’ NFTs Miss The Point Of Its Own Game Paul Tassi Senior Contributor Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. News and opinion about video games, television, movies and the internet. New! Follow this author to improve your content experience.

Got it! Jul 21, 2022, 08:42am EDT | New! Click on the conversation bubble to join the conversation Got it! Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Square Enix action figure SE On the same day that Minecraft announced it would be shutting down NFT applications using its game and technology, Square Enix went ahead and announced a slate of new NFTs attached to Final Fantasy VII. Square Enix has previously threatened to move further into the web3/blockchain/NFT space with new investments at the same time as they sold off two of their western studios, Crystal Dynamics and Eidos, to Embracer Group. And now we’re seeing what that looks like.

The irony is…something, considering the game we’re talking about here. The actual NFTs are going to be digital card collectibles meant to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Final Fantasy VII. They’ll be available to those who make purchase from the physical anniversary collection next year.

There’s also an NFT Cloud “action figure” coming, a digital version of a physical figurine. The irony, of course, is that Final Fantasy VII is a game about fictional megacorporation destroying a planet through environmental devastation, and you play effectively the role of a group of ecoterrorists trying to stop them. Of course, Square Enix and their NFT partners will counter with the idea that Enjin, the cross-chain platform being used for this project, is a self-proclaimed “destination for eco-conscious blockchain [users]” which “provides environmentally-friendly solutions for building decentralised gaming products.

” It says it’s committed to carbon-neutral NFTs by…2030. MORE FOR YOU ‘Demon Slayer’ Season 2 Finally Has An Actual 2021 Release Date Netflix’s ‘Squid Game’ Season 2 Not A Sure Thing, Says Director ‘Genshin Impact’ Still Refuses To Increase Anniversary Rewards, Despite Fan Outcry Final Fantasy Square More and more of these supposed “eco-friendly” NFTs have been popping up recently as environment concern being a main concern about the tech. But it’s incredibly hard to either verify their claims, or the eco-friendly bit is more of a long-term goal, as we see here, with no guarantee any of these companies will even still exist by then.

And most won’t, judging by how web3 is going so far. And in any case, any acceptance of NFTs is a tacit endorsement of crypto and the blockchain as a whole, which at this point, is about some of the most eco-unfriendly tech on earth, as we currently watch the devastation of climate change occur in real time with weather disasters and extreme heat waves. Of course, Square Enix is getting roasted for this online, as was easily predictable.

For every one NFT profile pictured user celebrating the move in the comments, there are 30 people ratioing them or pointing out the irony of Final Fantasy VII NFTs, as mentioned above. While no, this is not attaching NFTs to the game itself, it feels like a first step for larger, future projects, which is certainly how Enjin is selling it: “This partnership marks a coming-of-age phase for digital assets and entertainment; Square Enix, an esteemed developer with iconic intellectual property, is paving the way for the industry,” said Enjin exec Witek Radomski. Sure, we’ll see how that goes.

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