Gamers will use the PS4 controller when playing the new Ubisoft video game Watch Dogs Legion on October 28, 2020.
Kenzo Tribuyer | AFP via Getty Images
Gamers are a notorious skeptical crowd.
For example, in 2018 Electronic Arts Faced Big repulsion Over the decision to have players pay to unlock certain characters in the Star Wars Battlefront II game. Traditionally, players have had to struggle for hours to access such content.
The protest was so intense that EA finally Retreated the plan, Critics described it as a “pay-to-win” model.
When doing so Ubisoft, French video game publisher, Dropped the video This month we will show off that advance Non-substitutable tokenIt is no exaggeration to say that the reaction was a little predictable.
The company debuted a platform called Quartz that allows players to own in-game items such as helmets in the form of NFTs, a digital asset designed to track ownership of unique items on the blockchain. I did. This feature has been added to Ubisoft’s “Ghost Recon Breakpoints” game.
The move was hit by widespread anger from gamers who accused Quartz of being a cash grab. Some comment providers also Environmental impact Of cryptocurrency.
Operator Drewski, a YouTube channel with over 1 million subscribers, commented:
YouTube recently hid something it didn’t like in the video, but users who downloaded the software to avoid the change could find a trailer for Ubisoft’s Quartz. Overwhelmingly dislikeThere are only 1,600 likes and over 40,000 dislikes.
A Ubisoft spokeswoman told CNBC that the NFTs available in Quartz are now free and the company hasn’t reduced sales in the secondary market.
“Ubisoft Quartz is an experiment,” said a spokesman.
Ubisoft’s NFT, “Digits,” is a “good-looking, playable in-game item that doesn’t affect gameplay,” a spokeswoman added. “In that sense, they are completely optional.”
Ubisoft said it relies on a low-energy cryptocurrency network called Tezos to address environmental issues.
Ubisoft isn’t the only gaming company on the NFT trend.
EACEO Andrew Wilson To tell This phenomenon is “an important part of the future of our industry.”Ukrainian developer GSC Game World wanted to integrate the NFT into the next title, “STALKER 2”, but now Abandoned those plans Following the backlash from the fans.
The industry is divided
Ubisoft’s blunder highlights the division of the gaming world over non-fungible tokens. For example last month Microsoft Xbox Chief Phil Spencer has warned of some efforts to bring NFTs to video games.Exploitative.. “
“There are certainly some aspects [NFTs] Game Awards host Geoff Keighley called CNBC ahead of the video game industry. Annual awards ceremony, Recently done.
Keighley says he likes the idea that game creators make money by paying royalties on NFT sales, but “I hope the game will be a platform just for commerce.” ..
“For me, what I like about games is the in-game world, stories, and experiences,” he added. “What I don’t want is to feel that things are transactions. It’s a bit similar. Microtransaction, When it was a big drama for gamers. “
Some cryptocurrency startups are betting that NFTs will play a role in the video gaming world. For example, Axie Infinity is a blockchain-based game that allows users to collect and breed creatures called “Axies.” It’s like a “Pokemon”, but it has an NFT.
Why blockchain?
Robby Yung, CEO of Animoca Brands, an investor in Sky Mavis, creator of Axie Infinity, says the game’s business model has changed over the last few years.
“The game has historically been a premium, which means I bought a cartridge, a DVD, or something that I could download later. I paid the prepaid price for the game,” he said.
“This has moved to an economic model that is primarily free-to-play-centric. The idea is that prepaid is free, but there are virtual assets in-game to get to enhance and improve gameplay.”
Yung says the NFT approach is revolutionary as gamers can now take ownership of digital properties purchased in-game. Players can then take those assets out of the game and exchange them elsewhere. He said the phenomenon reminded him of his childhood.
“If you buy a cartridge for a game console and you want a new one but can’t afford it, you’ll sell some of the old games in second-hand stores,” Jung said.
“With modern digital content, there was no such second-hand market, and now blockchain can make it possible again and dispose of content that is no longer interested or is no longer playing.”
Still, it’s clear that not everyone is involved, despite the excitement from people over some NFTs and their potential use in the game.
According to George Jijiashvili, chief analyst at Omdia, NFTs may one day appear in video games, but they are still in the “embryo stage”.
“If you rush to offer an NFT without a thorough evaluation, it can lead to serious reputational damage,” said Jijiashvili.
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