Square Enix has announced a new product in its line of official merchandise: Final Fantasy 7: Anniversary Art Museum trading card packs, which contain six physical cards and one ‘Digital Card Plus,’ which for all intents and purposes, are NFTs.
As spotted by VGC, the complete collection of 207 cards will exist in both physical form, with digital versions of the collection also available.
While the company is initially careful not to use the word ‘NFT’ anywhere in its primary marketing, opting for the phrase ‘digital card’ instead, it does explain the concept on its official website.
Each digital card will become an NFT managed by blockchain technology, and you can view the items on a dedicated website.
However, according to an FAQ about the product, Square Enix states that the ability to resell or transfer the items is not available. The company also states that all intellectual property rights on the products will continue to belong to Square Enix, there is no upper limit to the number of cards that can be generated, and the period for redeeming digital NFT versions of the cards will end on 31 March 2024.
Finally, it states that it is ‘possible you will not be able to view or use the digital card in future’, if the wallet service the cards are using, Enjin Wallet, goes down.
The Final Fantasy 7 Anniversary Art Museum cards will be released on 31 March 2023, and cost ¥440 per pack.
Square Enix seems committed to continuing going down the route of pursuing NFTs despite the wave of enthusiasm for the technology greatly diminishing in 2023, with several video game publishers like Ubisoft seemingly revoking their big stakes in the field.
Square Enix recently revealed a trailer for Symbiogenesis, a blockchain game that the company describes as ‘narrative-unlocked NFT entertainment,’ though what that means is still unclear. The game will feature 10,000 collectable NFT artworks, which the company claims will have ‘real game utility,’ though it’s hard to see how meaningful it could be without dramatically impacting the experience for other players.
Square Enix’s current CEO, Yosuke Matsuda, who seemingly let the charge for many of Square Enix’s blockchain initiatives, is also set to be replaced following shareholder approval in June 2023.
