With excitement growing for both the Shiba Inu Game and the Shiba Inu metaverse, Shiboshi NFT holders are waiting to see what use-case their NFTs will have in the ecosystem.
First released in October 2021 and selling out in 35 minutes, the Shiboshi collection features 10,000 NFTs in a pixel art style with a current floor price of 0.915 ETH.
Here’s a look at how the Shiboshi’s link with the future of Shiba.
Shiba Inu Game x Shiboshis
By far, the largest role the Shiboshis will have in the SHIB ecosystem will be in the upcoming Shiba Inu Game.
Both the games will feature Shiboshi prominently, although we don’t know the specific details of their relationship with the in-game cards. However, in announcing its partnership with Shiba Inu, game developer PlaySide Studios said: “The development of the game will draw from the art of the Shiba token’s ‘Shiboshi’ NFT.”
Speaking in a Telegram channel, Shiba project lead Shyoshi Kusama also said:
Shiboshi will have use inside and outside of just the game. They are a big part of the growth of SHIB into new realms. Also, keep an eye on the actual game cards. These NFTs will also have value. I expect lots of interest once people see what we are doing.
In the Discord server, Shytoshi has hinted at some form of passive income involving Shiboshis. He said: “You think floor price, I think passive income for life. We are not the same.”
Despite the Shiboshi NFTs featuring traits rarity, these traits will not matter when it comes to the Shiba Inu Game, too. As explained by Shiba developer Eric M:
We didn't create Shiboshis for [speculation]. This is not the goal of our NFTs. We don't care about Iron Man, full naked or clown face. Our Shiboshis are game characters and each accessory (even the full naked) has attributes.
Shiba Metaverse x Shiboshis
The Shiba Inu metaverse, known by its current codename Shiberse, will also include some integration with the Shiboshi NFTs, although we still don’t know the specifics of the metaverse features.
Respected SHIB community member Shib Informer hinted at a few details about the prospective Shiboshi integrations. “It might be possible that some zones become exclusive to Shiboshi owners,” they said.
However, we do know - as Shib Informer also said - that the Shiboshi NFTs are not required to enter the Shiba Inu metaverse.
Speaking to Planet Crypto, Shiba Inu Discord moderator Scorchia said: "[Shiboshis] are the genesis NFT for Shiba Inu and a big part of the ecosystem's growth into new realms."
More Shiboshis?
Of course, with only 10,000 Shiboshi NFTs, this would mean only a handful of the 1.1 million-strong ShibArmy would gain access to some exclusive metaverse and gaming features. However, there are hints from Shytoshi Kusama about potential new Shiboshi NFTs, or at least more SHIB-related NFTs.
When asked about required Shiboshi ownership for the games, Shytoshi said: “There will be enough Shiboshis for all players.” This suggests some new form of Shiboshis - whether an NFT, or just in-game cards, will likely come in the future.
Shytoshi also said: “Now what would happen if 1st generation or whatever was exclusive.” When prompted for clarification, he said this was regarding Shiboshis. The fact Shytoshi described a ‘1st generation’ could suggest that the 2nd generation of Shiboshis could potentially be in the works.
But for now, the focus of the core SHIB team remains on the original Shiboshi NFTs. The Shiba Growth team has made a larger push to emphasise its importance in the last few weeks. This included a Twitter Spaces event that gained 35,000 listeners on Valentine's Day, where members of the ShibArmy spoke about their experiences with the Shiboshi NFTs.
