The only source of the alleged Furukawa comment on NFT was that one single tweet from David Gibson. I followed his quick-fire Nintendo Q&A transcriptions every earning report, and sometimes found them inaccurate or incomplete after comparing them to the official account or press reports. This could be another one of those misses.
And of course VGC wrote a whole article based on just one tweet without any attempts to verify it (per their usual MO), and the internet gleefully piled on. I, a mere schmo on a gaming forum, somehow was able to locate more credible sources on this Q&A, such as the following Sankei Shimbun report, in which Furukawa commented on the metaverse but no mention of NFT whatsoever:
Machine translation:
In the following Reuters story, Furukawa also only commented on the metaverse but not NFT:
And this pay-walled Nikkei report, as least in the preview section that I can read, likewise only mentioned the metaverse.
Considering David Gibson's tweet and the press reporting, it seems to me that an analyst probably asked Furukawa to comment on the hot topics of metaverse and NFT, and he chose to side-step the NFT and only answer about the metaverse. Unless there's a credible source validating Gibson's claim, I'm not convinced that Furukawa—and by extension Nintendo—expressed any interest in the NFT.
And of course VGC wrote a whole article based on just one tweet without any attempts to verify it (per their usual MO), and the internet gleefully piled on. I, a mere schmo on a gaming forum, somehow was able to locate more credible sources on this Q&A, such as the following Sankei Shimbun report, in which Furukawa commented on the metaverse but no mention of NFT whatsoever:
また、インターネット上で現実に近い体験ができる仮想空間「メタバース」市場への参入について「大きな可能性を秘めた分野」としつつ、「新鮮な驚きや楽しさを提供する任天堂らしいアプローチが見つかれば検討するが、現時点では難しい」との見方を示した。
Machine translation:
As for entering the "metaverse" market, which is a virtual space that allows users to experience something similar to reality on the Internet, he said, "It is a field with great potential," but added, "If we can find a Nintendo approach that provides fresh surprises and fun, we will consider it, but at the moment it is difficult."
In the following Reuters story, Furukawa also only commented on the metaverse but not NFT:
The idea of the metaverse, or an immersive online world where users game, shop and work, is driving industry investment by players such as Facebook's parent Meta (FB.O). Furukawa said Nintendo could see the possibility of the metaverse but would only consider it when the "surprise and fun" that is the firm's focus can be delivered.
And this pay-walled Nikkei report, as least in the preview section that I can read, likewise only mentioned the metaverse.
Considering David Gibson's tweet and the press reporting, it seems to me that an analyst probably asked Furukawa to comment on the hot topics of metaverse and NFT, and he chose to side-step the NFT and only answer about the metaverse. Unless there's a credible source validating Gibson's claim, I'm not convinced that Furukawa—and by extension Nintendo—expressed any interest in the NFT.