How NFTs Bring Back Childhood Memories for Millennials

Quick take:

• Music related platforms like Limewire, Napster, Winamp have made a comeback this year through NFTs.
• Popular virtual gaming platforms Neopets and Habbo Hotel have also released NFTs.
• These platforms were some of the most familiar to children growing up in the early years of Web2.

Millennials, the generation born between 1981 – 1996 would remember growing up during the early years of the internet and dotcom bubble, waiting for their parents to hang up the phone and get online via a dial-up modem, which would emit a annoying yet distinctive unforgettable buzzing sound when connected to the network.

These were special times for millennials who devoured media and games on the World Wide Web, spent hours downloading music through peer-to-peer file-sharing platforms like LimeWire and Napster, then playing the mp3s on Winamp. Many children of the early 2000s spent much of their free time on popular virtual gaming platforms such as Neopets and Habbo Hotel, where they could interact with people from all over the world.

As technologies progress over the decades, more innovative music streaming platforms and virtual games have entered the market. With the advent of Web3, Y2K platforms such as LimeWire, Napster, Winamp, Neopets and Habbo Hotel were left behind, but NFTs have given them a new lease of life. Obviously, these platforms aren’t what they used to be, but their comeback still evokes childhood nostalgia for those who grew up using them.

LimeWire is relaunched as a music-focused NFT platform

Originally released in 2000 as a free peer-to-peer file sharing client for Windows, MacOS, Linux and Solaris, specifically for pirated music, LimeWire was estimated to be downloaded on one third of all computers globally by 2007. In 2010, the US federal District Court Judge Kimba Wood ordered LimeWire LLC to prevent “searching, downloading, uploading, file trading and/or file distribution functionality and/or all functionality” of the software and to compensate $105 million in damages to affected record labels.

This year, the brand name was resurrected, thanks to NFTs. LimeWire made its comeback in May as a music-focused NFT platform after raising $10.4 million in April. It has also entered into an agreement with Universal Music Group for content licensing. Travis Barker, the drummer for American rock band Blink-182, dropped his first-ever NFT compilation on the platform in July while American R&B singer Brandy teamed up with Probably Nothing to launch her spoken word and Photosynthesis Flower NFT on Limewire.

Napster pivots to Web3

Originally launched as a peer-to-peer file-sharing software in 1999, Napster ceased operations in 2001 after losing a copyright infringement lawsuit. It re-emerged as an online music store after being acquired by American software company Roxio. Best Buy later bought the store and merged it with the music streaming service, Rhapsody, now renamed Napster. While Napster has fallen out of favor with Millennials, it surprisingly had more than 5 million users and $8 million in monthly revenue in 2021, according to Music Ally.

The platform also secured a total funding of $40 million and hired former Warner Music chief Emmy Lovell as chief strategy officer last year. In May of this year, New York-based crypto-focused investment firm Hivemind and Algorand acquired the music streaming service. It is reportedly planning to launch an ecosystem token and NFTs in its pivot to Web3.

Winamp supports music NFTs

The first version of Winamp was released in 1997. More than two decades later, the latest Windows desktop version of the media player will support music and video NFTs on Polygon and Ethereum, the company announced on Tuesday. Users can simply connect the Metamask wallet via Brave, Chrome or Firefox to Winamp to play the music NFTs, making it the first standalone media player to support the latest music format.

Winamp re-entered the consciousness of Web2 and Web3 users when they put their original 1997 up for auction as an NFT over the summer, bringing back nostalgic memories for those who used Winamp extensively to play audio files in the 2000s the number. Proceeds from the auction will go to the Winamp Foundation, which will redistribute the funds to charity projects that support music and musicians.

Habbo launches NFT-based hotel

Founded in 2000 by the Finnish social entertainment and video company Sulake, Habbo and Hotel Hideaway games were popular online hangouts for teenagers in the early 2000s. Before metaverse social gaming platforms like Roblox, Fortnite, Decentraland, and The Sandbox, there was Habbo, a virtual hotel and multiplayer experience where players—represented by personal avatars—can design rooms, roleplay in organizations, and even buy and sell decorations known as ” furniture” and other objects.

The last hotel, Habbo Turkey, was launched in 2012 for Turkish speakers. But Habbo is coming back with an upcoming Web3 game called Habbo X, with Alpha 1 launching this month for Habbo Avatars and room owners. Habbo X focuses on community building, interoperability and play-and-earn mechanics, allowing players to create their own games to earn games. At Alpha 3 scheduled for Q3 2023, Habbo X will serve as a place for the Habbo and NFT communities to socialize.

Launched in 1999, Neopets was a virtual pet website where users could own, feed and care for their virtual pets and purchase virtual items for them using virtual currencies called Neopoints and Neocash. Neopets could also be customized with clothes, brushes and accessories. There were even message boards where users can chat and interact with others in the community. By Christmas 1999, Neopets was registering 600,000 page views daily.

With features like virtual currencies, digital clothing, and community interactions becoming hallmarks of Web3 projects, it was no surprise that Neopet made its comeback in metaverse form. Last September, Neopets Metaverse Collection NFT was revealed in collaboration with JumpStart, Cherrypicks and Moonvault. Neopets Meta claims to be a “community-driven, web3 free-to-play game built for generations of Neopets players.” Still in the Alpha stage, Neopets Meta has been condemned by the Neopets community for tarnishing childhood nostalgia. There was also some confusion about the project as Neopet’s social media team was initially unaware of it.

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