Sega partners with Double Jump Tokyo to sell NFTs of classic game assets

Sonic the Hedgehog steward Sega has all at once announced a partnership with and investment into with the blockchain-focused company Double Jump.Tokyo. Together, the two companies aim to sell a number of digital assets for various Sega IP as NFT content this summer.

NFTs, or non-fungible tokens, are unique tokens representing digital assets created via the blockchain. They picked up momentum this year partially as a way for artists and art collectors to sell, buy, and trade digital art with a blockchain-backed certificate of ownership, though NFTs can encompass digital assets beyond static images.

NFTs made for digital goods like memes, art, and tweets have sold for thousands or even millions online already.

However, as with any blockchain-powered system, their use raises significant concerns over the environmental impact as a massive amount of energy is needed to the mine the cryptocurrency to which NFTs are tied. Some companies announce initiatives to offset the emissions generated by their NFT dabblings, but this announcement doesn't contain anything on that subject from Sega.

The company says that it is now, with the help of Double Jump.Tokyo, looking to give assets for both classic and new IP the NFT treatment. A press release from SEGA (translated into English via Google Translate) announces its plans to seemingly sell everything from past promotional images to background music from Sega games as NFTs.

"In this initiative, many classic IPs, which were developed on the hardware released by Sega in the past and are still very popular all over the world, are rich in digital [assets] such as visual art at the time of release, images used in the game, and BGM. We will sell the assets as NFT (*) content in sequence," reads a translation of that announcement.

"In addition, starting with this, we are planning to develop various NFT contents in the IP currently being developed and also in new IPs to be released in the future, and in the future, we will effectively utilize the NFT contents owned by users. We will also seek services that you can enjoy even more."

Sega also plans to pursue future blockchain-backed initiatives thanks to its investment in Double Jump.Tokyo.

"Through this initiative, we will accumulate knowledge on the blockchain, promote aggressive business development beyond NFT using blockchain technology, increase the possibility of games, and aim for users all over the world," continues the translated press release.