Get ready to celebrate! Tech giant Sony is marking 25 years of its iconic robot dog, Aibo, in a very modern way. They’re launching an officially licensed soulbound NFT collection called “Entertainment Robot Aibo” on the Soneium blockchain. 

Here’s the cool part: this special NFT collection, designed to be unique to you (it’s soulbound, meaning it can’t be traded or transferred!), is free to mint on OpenSea’s NFT marketplace. You’ll just need to cover a small gas fee to make it yours.

According to official Discord community, Soneium’s team explained that bringing Aibo back as a soulbound token on their Ethereum layer-2 chain – a project co-created by Sony’s Block Solutions Labs and Startale Group – perfectly captures the essence of the original Aibo companion.

Quoting Soneium, they explain, “Aibo was never just a product—it was a companion.” They further emphasized that “these non-transferable assets reflect the unique bond between Aibo and its owner,” explaining the soulbound nature of the NFTs. 

And people are loving it! Over 9.8 million Aibo NFTs have already been minted, with a little over 38,000 unique owners, according to OpenSea’s stats. This is partly because each person can mint up to 1,000 NFTs. Don’t wait too long though – the minting period ends on March 24th.

We’ve reached out to Soneium for comment and will update if we hear back.

Going way back, Aibo first charmed the world in 1999, priced at $2,500. It wasn’t just a robot; it was an “intelligent and trainable robot companion” able to bark, walk, wag its tail, and even play ball! Since that initial hit, Sony released a range of updated Aibo models, sporting upgrades, fresh designs, and more accessible price tags. The latest Aibo model came out in 2018.

Right now, details about any future perks for holders of these “Entertainment Robot Aibo” tokens are still under wraps.

Sony Block Solutions Labs only just launched Soneium’s main network in January. This blockchain is already buzzing with activity, having processed over 50 million transactions since launch, and has previously hosted a music NFT collection.

Edited by Andrew Hayward