Fueled by Beeple’s US$69 million auctioned digital art, Takashi Murakami is the latest to join the world of NFT’s. The Japanese artist was said to be inspired by Animal Crossing: New Horizons, a Nintendo game many turned to during lockdown.

“They were watching some fireworks display within the game while talking with their school friends, who they could no longer meet in person, through Zoom, admiring how beautiful it was”, he says. Murakami was struck by the “beauty within a virtual world”.

To create his art, Murakami enlisted Yoshihisa Hashimoto, former director of Sonic Unleashed and the Hedgehog Engine. Together, the pair released Murakami’s signature flower in 24 x 24 pixels, which evokes “nostalgia for Famicom (The Nintendo Entertainment System)”. The art piece was created in 108 variations and is available for purchase on OpenSea.

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