NFT Gaming Debate puts Enjin Coin (ENJ-USD) in the spotlight

The debate about NFTs for video games is heating up – and it has thrown a rising NFT platform into the spotlight: Engine (ENJ-USD). Let’s see why … and where three major franchises now fall in the debate.

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Minecraft Publisher Says “No” to NFTs

Tell me if you’ve heard this argument against NFTs:

“Digital art can be copied, moved or even deleted.” NFTs are “speculative” and “not reliable”, even “scams”.

These were all trotted out on Wednesday in a press release from Mojang Studios, the creator of Minecraft which Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) acquired in 2014.

These are certainly problems in the NFT art world: Artists have seen their work appear on NFT marketplaces – and the proceeds go to someone else. Scams happen, with anonymous gatherings promising that their NFTs will make you members of an exclusive (and lucrative) club… that never really materialize.

But I would argue that video game platforms are structured to avoid a lot of this:

Create assets like character skins, worlds and “persona elements”, distribute them directly in-game, with blockchain integration… And how would a thief even find them before they are already marked as NFTs – officially recognized by the game ? In addition, there are not many pie-in-the-sky promises to be made here. Your NFT funds either make the game more fun… or they don’t. If they do – they will be very valuable!

Minecraft knows this, on some level. It will also appear in the press release! The biggest reason they give for not supporting NFTs is this:

NFT collectibles and rewards “create digital ownership based on scarcity and exclusion … The speculative price … encourages profit-making,” which is “inconsistent with the Minecraft values ​​of creative inclusion and playing together.”

It’s nice to be idealistic – but this attitude has two basic reasons, in my view.

First: It fits where players are right now with NFTs. In its “Metaverse Awareness Survey” conducted in May, Globally (SNEEZE:GLOBE) asked US players about NFTs, crypto and play-to-earn models in general:

• 45% of respondents were not interested in crypto, 34% were interested, and 20% were “unsure” about crypto.
• “Nearly 40% want a mix of both playing and earning in metaverse games”…
• But 81% of them have not bought NFTs.

Most importantly, saying “no” to NFTs fits with the Minecraft/Microsoft business model.

MSFT makes most of its Minecraft revenue by selling console and mobile versions of the game to a fairly young audience. But in just four years, “Minecraft Marketplace” has become a big business too! “Creators have earned over $350 million from more than one billion downloads of Minecraft mods, add-ons, and other experiences,” Microsoft boasted in its April 2021 earnings call.

However, Microsoft takes a significant cut of those millions. At Minecraft Marketplace, “we have a model that allows us to give more than 50 percent of revenue to creators,” Minecraft’s executive producer said at the launch.

If you’re wondering why this is worded so generously… That’s pretty standard (if not low!) too Web 2.0 platforms. Roblox (SNEEZE:RBLX), for example, usually takes 72% of the sale! But if this happened on the blockchain: OpenSea only takes 2.5% of the sale; Magic Eden takes a 2% cut – or you can keep it directly on the network everyone the earnings by trading NFTs for your games.

Rival publisher Epic Games has a different business model. Although it is best known for creating Fortnite, the zombie game with an equally young audience … Epic Games made its name in the industry with its Unreal Engine.

And to remain a major player (so to speak) in video game development, Epic Games leaves the door open to the metaverse and NFTs.

Unreal Engine + Metaverse = Watch out, Steam

Unreal Engine 5 is “the world’s most open and advanced tool for real-time 3D creation.” NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA), for example, was quick to integrate it with its new Omniverse platform… And NVIDIA and Epic take the stage at game developer conferences to show off the latest graphics products together.

In April, Sony (SNEEZE:SONY) invested $1 billion in Epic Games…with another 1 billion dollars invested by KIRKBI (the family business behind the Lego Group)! All this was supposed to “accelerate [Epic’s] working to build the metaverse” for “new digital fan experiences.”

Blockchain technology was not explicitly mentioned…

But when Minecraft’s statement sparked the NFT debate on Twitter last week, Epic Games founder and CEO Tim Sweeney said he fine with NFTs:

“Developers should be free to decide how to build their games, and you should be free to decide whether you want to play them. I believe that stores and operating system manufacturers should not interfere by forcing their views on others. We definitely don’t want that.”

Again, Epic Games has a different business model than a pure game studio. It also lays out best-in-class tools for other developers – and as they build on the blockchain, Unreal Engine will be there.

Square Enix brings Millennial Nostalgia to Enjin

Did you know that Final Fantasy VII – the most popular installment of this classic Japanese franchise – is celebrating its 25th anniversary?

Thirty- and forty-somethings can relive it all with memorable action figures and trading cards. Final Fantasy’s publisher, Square Enix (OTCMKTS:SQNNY), will also provide an NFT for each collectible… So you can show off your fandom in your crypto wallet (or cash!)

“In case you didn’t know, Square Enix has been around since the mid-1970s and is responsible for creating some of the most iconic video games and video game franchises ever,” Luke Lango and Charlie Shrem write for Saturday’s update to our Ultimate Crypto subscribers. Besides Final Fantasy, there’s Dragon Quest and Kingdom Hearts, to name a few.

“Square Enix did their due diligence after researching blockchains and decided that Enjin would be the best place to launch a set of NFTs to celebrate the 25th anniversary of one of their games.” This could also be an early step towards Square Enix’s “medium-term goals” of developing games on the blockchain.

Why Enjin Network?

Previously featured Luke and Charlie Enjin coin (ENJ-USD) as “Emerging Play on NFTs” for their report on 5 mass adoption icons that will change the world (exclusively in Ultimate Crypto).

Built on Ethereum (ETH-USD), the leading NFT blockchain, “Enjin has created the hyper-scalable and widely used infrastructure that underpins the NFT market,” the investor report said. “To date, Enjin has installed nearly 2 million blockchain wallets, created over a billion tokenized assets (including NFTs), and sold nearly a billion of those assets.”

These wallets and assets all use Enjin Coin for trades. And the EnjinX Marketplace has some “unique technology that allows NFTs to be transferred via QR code scanning.” Luke and Charlie see ENJ as the “epicenter” of a market estimated to be “north of $100 billion a day.”

Enjin Coin has been a +278% winner in Ultimate Crypto portfolio since April 2020. Besides, everything 5 mass adoption signsyou can get the latest investor report: The fuel coin with 10X potential. See our free briefing now on how to put “Brenn Code” to work for you today.

As of the date of publication, Ashley Cassell did not hold (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, subject to InvestorPlace.com Guidelines for publication. To get more news from The New Digital World delivered to your inbox, click here to sign up for the newsletter.