Virtua Fighter NFTs are a thing now

Virtua Fighter co-creator Yu Suzuki has teamed up with NFT firm Oasyx to produce 1,000 NFTs of the popular fighting game series.

In a statement, Oasyx has said that the NFT range “will include 11 characters from the first three Virtua Fighter games” and is for “new and old fans of Virtua Fighter alike.”

These NFTs will, apparently, “serve as a base for future metaverse avatars.”

#OASYX collaborates with SEGA’s iconic 3D fighting game, Virtua Fighter, Virtua Fighter 2 and Virtua Fighter 3!!!
1,000 out of 10,000 OASYX series 1 NFTs will be this limited Virtua Fighter edition👀

Follow @oasyx_official and stay tuned for upcoming https://t.co/SJIqf6uwiT… https://t.co/duuIkhixWh pic.twitter.com/mpmWFuySa0

— Oasys🏝Blockchain for Games (@oasys_games) March 17, 2023

The NFT market has cooled significantly in the last six months and such projects have generally attracted negative sentiment among video game fans, and this Virtua Fighter project is no different, with Virtua Fighters taking to Twitter to complain.

Virtua Fighter was the first 3D fighting game and was a forerunner for titles like Tekken and Soul Calibur. The most recent entry in the series was 2021’s Virtua Fighter 5 Ultimate Showdown.

Sega appears to have licensed the IP for the NFT project although it’s unclear whether the company themselves have any involvement. The publisher has previously claimed that they’re interested in exploring NFTs but hasn’t yet announced any projects.

Yu Suzuki is one of Sega’s most famous faces. He served as the director on the Virtua Fighter series from the franchise’s inception in 1993. He worked as a producer on racer Daytona USA and light gun shooter Virtua Cop but Suzuki is best known for his role as director on Shenmue and Shenmue II. Suzuki left Sega in the late 00’s, but was in charge of Virtua Fighter until that time.

In a statement, Suzuki said: “During my time as a director at SEGA, I initially developed Virtua Fighter using innovative 3D computer graphics technology, which was cutting-edge and industry-leading at the time. Since then, the Virtua Fighter series has grown to be loved by many players and continues to be supported by numerous fans today.

“Through my work supervising the development of OASYX’s unique worldview, I am delighted to combine innovative technology in the form of blockchain-based NFTs, with three titles from the Virtua Fighter series to create new entertainment for a wide range of gaming fans.”

In other gaming news, Total War developers Creative Assembly has opened a new studio in Newcastle, named Creative Assembly North.