In Brief:
- MakersPlace will release NFTs modelled on iconic arcade machines by Nolan Bushnell.
- The arcade machines in all of the NFTs use augmented reality technology and allow owners to view them in 3D.
- The NFT project will have five components and each will show a different arcade machine.
Nolan Bushnell, the founder of the iconic video game business Atari, and NFT marketplace MakersPlace announced today The Arcade OG Series, a set of Ethereum-based NFTs.
Bushnell was instrumental in popularising arcade gaming. He now hopes to bring some of those crucial early devices into households as digital, augmented reality treasures, thanks to the arrival of NFTs.
Each of the five components in the NFT project shows a different arcade machine. Each Arcade OG Series item, however, features an augmented reality experience that lets you view a 3D rendering of the arcade cabinet in any real-world place. Owners will be able to place the digital cabinet where they want it and then walk around it, inspecting it from every angle.
Bushnell collaborated with artist Zai Ortiz, a 3D designer who has worked on films like “Iron Man 2” and “Tron Legacy,” as well as video games, on the Arcade OG Series. The two previously collaborated on the murder mystery board game “St. Noire,” which was powered by Amazon’s Alexa voice assistant.
According to a Bloomberg report, beginning on October 12, some of the NFTs will be available in open editions for anybody to purchase at a predefined price for a set period of time.
Others, on the other hand, will be limited-edition collectibles that will be auctioned off to the highest bidder with added bonuses. A limited-edition red “Pong” NFT, for example, will be accompanied by a visit with Bushnell to the Two Bit Circus arcade and entertainment centre in Los Angeles, while a yellow “Computer Space” NFT will be accompanied by a signed and unopened Atari 2600 game machine.
“I think we can blast your socks off every six months with a new sock-blower-offer,” Bushnell told Bloomberg about future efforts in the NFT industry.
Recently Snoop Dogg also declared his partnership with The Sandbox, the Ethereum Blockchain-based metaverse game where users can modify and share their experience in a 3D World.
Atari referred to the fiscal year ending March 31, 2021 as a “transition year” in its most recent annual results report from August, claiming that it had generated more than $1 million in sales through NFTs on partnered platforms. The company also intends to build its own NFT marketplace focused on video games.
