NFT in the beloved video game animal crossing? For most gamers, the idea should send a shiver down your spine. Former President of the United States Department of nintendo, Reggie Fils-Aimé, sees it as the perfect marriage. And thus attracts the ridicule of the community.
At this year’s festival South by Southwest (SXSW) in Austin, Texas, the media mogul turned out to be a big blockchain fan last week. Fils-Aimé was at Nintendo from 2006 to 2019. “I believe in technology,” the 61-year-old explained on a sign.
“I bet there were people in that audience who would buy my island in Animal Crossing,” the former Nintendo boss mused. The blockchain makes this possible thanks to the so-called “Play-To-Own” concept. A dream – or not?
“I’m sorry Regginator. Nintendo will never commit to this,” replied kotaku prompt, one of the largest video game sites in the world. And followed up with relish: “But hey, you can just sell a worthless NFT from your Animal Crossing island if you really want to monetize the time you spent on a video game using terrible technology most of them hate the players.” Ouch.
The comments column below the story reads like an endless litany of wickedness and curses. Just as it always is when the topic of crypto comes up in the gaming scene. NFTs and blockchain have become absolute buzzwords. Just mentioning it on social media triggers more people than the words ‘Lauterbach’, ‘Drosten’ and ‘Ricarda Lang’ combined,” said Petra Fröhlich, founder of the trade journal. game economyset in February 2022.
The problem: So far, according to Fröhlich, most play-to-win pitches and NFTs in games appear to be a “goulash of unnecessary speculation, obscene energy requirements and considerable scam potential.” Its proponents could rarely convincingly explain the practical benefits of a blockchain implementation. Even well-meaning observers regularly implode the cerebellum.
Many developers also reject NFTs
The tentative advancements in blockchain by well-known publishers such as Ubisoft or Electronic Arts over the past few months have been almost reflexively acknowledged by the scene with shit storms of colossal proportions. So far, all classic game companies immediately backed off. Even their own developers sometimes step up to the barricades. And are celebrated as heroes in the scene.
“Long live the enviable French pastime of telling management to fuck off,” Kotaku said, for example, when Ubisoft employees publicly and harshly criticized their company’s NFT plans. A dozen developers launched a petition against “exploitative NFTs” this week, including game designers from Minecraft. A deep chasm runs through the industry.
A game company is getting into the subject of blockchain
However, another report these days shows that the subject cannot be ruled out in the long term. Square-Enix, one of the largest video game companies in the world, is converting its games business model to blockchain, metaverse and NFT. And walk away with nearly 50 gaming brands that have no place in this new era, including the legendary grave robber. The Japanese group sells the brands and development studios of more than 1,400 employees to the Swedish company group of kissersat the ridiculous price of 280 million euros.
For comparison: even for a medium-sized Düsseldorf company like Astragon Entertainment, the studio behind the bus simulator, you paid the last 100 million euros. Square Enix sends a clear signal: the future of the industry is seen in the land of the blockchain. Classic games no longer have any significant value.
The market seems to agree: Square Enix stock rose 4% after the deal was announced, while Embracer Group lost three points. And how do gamers react?
You can guess three times.
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