NFT & Web3 gaming console to launch in 2024, Chinese firms to check ID for NFT buying

The 'Polium One' console will be available in Q3 2024 and compatible with eight blockchains

By Shashank Bhardwaj

Image: Shutterstock

A web3 gaming-focused company, Polium, has announced the release of a multi-chain gaming console, ‘Polium One’, that will support eight blockchains and NFTs (non-fungible tokens) on Monday. It will be compatible with Solana, Polygon, Ethereum, Immutable X, EOS, Harmony, and WAX blockchains. The company identifies itself as a firm that is "building the products and infrastructure for Web3 gaming."

Not much information has been released about the console's specifications. However, the listed specifications include that the console will support 4K Ultra HD resolution at 120 frames per second. Polium also claims that its community will assist in the development of the console's hardware and software and that a functional prototype will be available in "a few months”.

The price for the console is yet to be released. However, Polium intends to issue a Polium Pass NFT, which will allow holders to claim a console on the first day of its official release. Passholders will receive an additional NFT, which can be staked for a PLAY token, the console's native token for transacting on its marketplace app, in the future.

The company has also stated that the ‘Polium One’ console will include its own multichain crypto wallet and a wallet button on the controller to help users conduct more efficient trades. A fingerprint scanner on the controller will enable security and verification of console transactions.

Polium will be distributing approximately 10,000 consoles to Polium Pass holders and partners at the initial launch in Q3 of 2024. More units of the console will be made for the general public in Q3 2025. Polium has set a sales target of one million units. The company has already faced backlash for its logo resembling another famous platform, the Nintendo GameCube. Polium claims it did not replicate the logo and is now working on a new logo "that is original”.

Chinese firms to check ID for NFT buying

According to a South China Morning Post report on Monday, China's NFT sector players and the country's major technology businesses have agreed to verify customers using digital collectible trading platforms.

Companies with a stake in China's NFT sector, such as JD.com, Tencent Holdings, Baidu, and digital payments platform Ant Group, an offshoot of Alibaba Group, have all signed a "self-discipline initiative" document.

The China Cultural Industry Association released the document mentioned above on June 30, and while companies don't need to follow it, the document still calls on companies to "require real-name authentication of those who issue, sell and buy" NFTs and "only support legal tender as the denomination and settlement currency."

The writer is the founder at yMedia. He ventured into crypto in 2013 and is an ETH maximalist. Twitter: @bhardwajshash

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