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On Sept 29, the CEO of Pudgy Penguins Luca Netz posted a video of a new Pudgy Arcade with the caption: “Pudgy Penguin arcade machines are now taking over the country!” In line with the NFT collection’s commitment to produce physical products that can be enjoyed in real life, Polar Challenge arcade can now be played at Castle Park in Sherman Oaks, California — with many more arcades expected soon at various locations around the U.S.
Polar Challenge is a classic arcade style game where penguins battle seals, orcas, seagulls, and other predators to climb the leaderboard. The game is played on a 55-inch HD screen with a cabin that’s enhanced with RGB LED T-molding.
Netz acquired the Pudgy Penguins collection in April 2022 for 50 ETH, or around $2.5 million at the time. Since then, he has been working to transform Pudgy Penguins from a PFP NFT collection into a complete “IP and brand development company.” One strategy has been to launch a line of physical products, including plushies, pins, figurines, mugs, t-shirts, and custom sweatshirts.
The strategy has worked, and despite the NFT bear market, Pudgy Penguins has managed to keep evolving its ecosystem, as well as its digital and physical assets. The collection of 8,888 NFTs currently ranks 7th in overall sales volume on OpenSea, and has a floor price of 10.85 ETH (around $28,200) at this time of writing.
Although Penguin arcades popping up around the U.S. might not lead directly to a price increase for the collection, it will equate to more eyeballs on the brand and the potential to onboard people into the Pudgy Penguins’ Web3 community. And ultimately, this appears to be Netz’ goal.
About a year ago, Pudgy Penguins escaped Web3 to release real-life Pudgy Penguin toys at retail specialty stores around the world. Each toy came with a QR code linking users to Pudgy World where they could mint a soulbound NFT and become a part of the Pudgy World metaverse. Since then, Pudgy Penguins has launched several initiatives to expand its brand and onboard people into Web3 via more traditional products and partnerships.
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