Digital Entertainment Asset (DEA), a Singapore-based GameFi developer and operator of the PlayMining NFT gaming platform, has entered into a strategic partnership with Greenway Grid Global (GGG), a power infrastructure investment and development joint venture established in part by Tokyo Electric Power Grid Co. (TEPCO PG) in Japan.
The partnership will see DEA and GGG explore the development of a Play-to-Earn (P2E) game that incentivizes players to make real-life social contributions. The game will use gamification and Web3 technology to address the challenges that understaffed government and infrastructure organizations face in patrolling and inspecting aging public facilities. In an innovative marriage of the virtual world and the real world, players will receive P2E tokens when they inspect physical infrastructure in their towns, while also enjoying a fun video game.
“We are proud to partner with Greenway Grid Global, and excited to see where this project leads,” said DEA co-founder and co-CEO Naohito Yoshida. “DEA has always been devoted to social good campaigns, with a number of charitable and social good initiatives underway in Japan and Southeast Asia. Gamifying as a means of maintaining shared community infrastructure is a noble cause that we wholeheartedly support.”
TEPCO PG and GGG recently announced the sale of an ‘Electric Power Asset’ NFT collection based on TEPCO PG’s ‘Transmission Tower’ trading cards, comprising images of the company’s power infrastructure such as utility poles and transmission towers. The NFTs aim to portray the power assets in an appealing manner and to aid recruitment and other activities throughout the electric power industry. The partnership with DEA will enable intrinsic value to be added to the Electric Power Asset NFTs by integrating them into a P2E game, while also contributing to society through a social good initiative.
As a joint venture between TEPCO PG, CHUBU Electric Power Co., and ICMG Partners, GGG operates as a means for the three businesses to cooperatively manage, incubate and invest in overseas companies engaged in power transmission and distribution or development of next-generation infrastructure. One of GGG’s primary focuses is investment in projects that bring electric power and water infrastructure into non-electrified communities in Asia.
Play to Make a Difference
“While the concept of a game that incentivizes social contribution may be new, it is exactly the kind of innovation that DEA aims to champion,” said DEA CSO Tatsuya Kohrogi. “We have a vision to solve real-world problems through P2E gaming, and DEA is constantly exploring new ways to make a difference for real people and communities."
An example of this can be seen in DEA’s commitment to their players from Southeast Asia (SEA). In December 2022, DEA partnered with Yield Guild Games Southeast Asia (YGG SEA) to onboard the entire PlayMining GameFi catalog to the yggsea.io gaming platform, thereby increasing exposure in the SEA region for PlayMining games. SEA is one of the world’s largest markets for P2E games, where players from disadvantaged areas are able to earn supplementary income by borrowing NFTs through “scholarship programs” to join the games. DEA reported over 9,300 NFT borrowers having earned over US$4.7 million since December 2021 for the JobTribes PlayMining game alone, with some of them earning enough to pay for their monthly living expenses.
DEA also reallocates a portion of their revenue to charitable works in SEA. For example, PlayMining and YGG SEA teamed up on a food drive in Indonesia in October 2022, and PlayMining also has an ongoing agricultural project in the Philippines.
PlayMining has a number of games that allow players to earn DEAPcoin ($DEP) through play, including JobTribes, Cookin’ Burger, Menya Dragon Ramen, Graffiti Racer and Lucky Farmer. DEA makes it easy for players to earn real-world income through play, too, by continuously buying back DEP worth up to 40% of DEA’s sales on a monthly basis. DEP can also be traded on popular exchanges or spent on the PlayMining NFT marketplace.
PlayMining is also keen to explore various ways for players to interact, both digitally and physically. In addition to the social contribution game planned with GGG, PlayMining has an upcoming game called SOUL Fusers that will see players collaborating on NFT design. They have a metaverse initiative called Kamui Fujiwara Verse, which has NFT-holding fans collaborating with famed artist Kamui Fujiwara on the creation of a new manga series, as well as gathering together for in-person meetups in Japan.
“While the crypto bear market has been hard for everybody in the industry, our focus at DEA has always been to keep developing and innovating,” Kohrogi said. “The most important thing is building and supporting our community by providing as much value as we can for our 2.7 million users.”
