Pokemon can enter NFTs
NFTs. Blockchain. The metaverse. It happened with other gaming companies, and it could also happen to a Nintendo property – in fact, it just might. Last week, The Pokémon Company posted a job at LinkedIn which requires experience with NFT, blockchain and metaverse. When it comes to Pokemon, I wanted to catch them all. But not like this.
The listing uses many words to describe the vague duties of a “business development principal” paid six figures to have an advanced business degree. But if you read down to the candidate requirements, you’ll see what this is all about: NFTs. The Business Development Principal must have “deep knowledge and understanding of Web 3, including blockchain technologies and NFT, and/or metaverse.” The ideal candidate is “deeply connected to a network of investors and entrepreneurs in the above technology sectors (Web3 and metaverse).”
Bleh. I wouldn’t be worried about this if this was a small gig in an experimental technology department that will fold within a year. But this role has the direct ear of the executive leadership team – and works just two levels below the president. TPC isn’t just looking to hire a clown. It’s hiring a clown teacher to turn the company into a circus. Kotaku reached out to TPC to ask whether or not this job reflects the company’s future priorities, but did not receive a response at the time of publication.
Maybe we should have predicted this all along. Neopets, a pet collecting franchise, had been experimenting with crypto collectibles last year. Axie Infinity was one Pokémon clone where finance bros exploited low-wage workers to farming resources. Logan Paul’s fans have lost thousands of dollars on CryptoZoo, a game where players hatch NFT eggs and trade exotic digital animals. Even within the Pokemon community itself, players have been buying and selling Shiny Pokemon via eBay for years. Other people saw the NFT potential of collectibles Pokémon before TPC did. So perhaps it was inevitable that its leaders might get the idea to create their own. But that doesn’t mean it’s not a crap idea. Linking the kid-friendly IP to an ecosystem rich in fraud and fraud would cause significant damage to Pokémonits public image. Did I mention that the NFT community that TPC tries to judge is filled with fraudsters and hackers?
I wouldn’t buy the image of an ugly Charizard to play a Pokemon game, and neither would most Pokemon fans. Hopefully TPC realizes that before they lose also a lot of money on metaverse bullshit.
