Gaming giant Sony grants patent to enable NFT transfer across games and consoles

by James · March 22, 2023

Entertainment and gaming giant Sony has applied for a patent to make non-fungible tokens (NFTs) transferable and usable between different games, devices and consoles.

The patent (WO2023039557 – NFT FRAMEWORK FOR TRANSFER AND USE OF DIGITAL ASSETS BETWEEN GAME PLATFORMS) was published on March 16, but filed last September.

The patent seeks,

“[T]the digital asset can be used, via NFT, across several different computer simulations and/or across several different computer simulation platforms. Ownership of NFT can also later be transferred to other end-user devices for their own use across different simulations and/or platforms.”

Simply put, this means that players will be able to transfer their in-game assets between different video game platforms and devices, including computers, smartphones, tablets, smart TVs and VR/AR headsets, or even “across generations” – means from one PlayStation generation to the next.

The patent suggested that the assets could be transferred between different gaming ecosystems altogether, saying:

“The standardized format may be readable to insert the digital asset into different computer simulations which may include different video games with different titles [and/or] may be readable via various video game platforms such as PlayStation and Xbox.”

Outside of the Sony ecosystem, the digital assets could potentially be used within “at least one computer simulation,” including “a cloud-based video game.” Computer simulations may include different annual versions of a particular video game title, different video games of different game genres, and/or different embodiments of the same video game, it added.

The assets can include in-game skins, avatars, artwork, weapons and “video game skills” among others.

The patent further discusses features to recognize specific fraud attempts, when users try to obtain NFTs and other in-game assets by repeating certain steps or tasks. Furthermore, “the method may include […] prevents other end-user devices participating in other instances of the at least one computer simulation from being provided another NFT to perform the task again after the first end-user device performs the task, it says.

Not the first for Sony

Sony is not new to the NFT/metaverse/Web3 world.

In May 2021, Sony Interactive Entertainment published a patent filed back in 2019, which showed that the giant had patented its own eSports gaming platform, allowing users to bet currency (including BTC) or digital items, with odds determined by machine learning.

Last May, South Korea’s blockchain network operator Theta Labs (THETA) announced that the new 3D NFTs were designed to be used with Sony’s Spatial Reality Display, a display device that contained a high-speed vision sensor, which follows users’ eye movements to create 3D based on eye positions – without an eye. -related accessories required.

And in November, a patent application revealed Sony’s vision for a system that could be used to track the creation, use and transfer of NFTs as in-game assets.

Meanwhile, several other major mainstream companies also announced plans to expand into NFTs and cryptoassets in recent months.

Investment giant rendering hinted at an intention to push deeper into cryptocurrencies and Web3 with three new trademarks filed last December.

And just this month, reports indicated that the tech giant Amazon was preparing to launch its new initiative to enter the NFT and Web3 space. Around fifteen collections are expected to be available to US residents from the March 24th launch date, under the “Amazon Digital Marketplace” tab.

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