Removing the stigma from NFTs
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Crypto and blockchain are quite unpopular in the gaming space. When a company mentions that it is exploring NFTs in its games, it is usually met with immediate negative feedback. With today’s trends and sentiments, crypto apparently has a long way to go before it is widely accepted. In the “How to talk about NFTs without getting everyone mad at you” discussion at this year’s GamesBeat Summit Next 2022, panelists discuss how to navigate the path to acceptance.
Moderator Mattie Fairchild, Senior Director of Crypto Marketing and Developer Relations at Manticore Games, asks “How do you navigate that path? Brooks, you talked about breaking down power structures, it sounds threatening, it sounds like people are really angry with you.”
“Well, it is,” replied Brooks Brown, CEO of Consortium9. “That’s one of the reasons why I think a lot of the plays so far in crypto haven’t been primarily about using it as it is, but instead finding ways to hyper-monetize an audience in a very small group – monetize on them as much. as possible. The funny thing about it is that I’m on stage here talking about crypto and NFTs. Dean, who invited me to come and speak, the first time he heard me talk about it, I was the who asked why sarcastically and sardonically and gave a ton of people shit.”
“That shift in me has been about understanding the technology underneath, breaking it down and moving,” Brown continued. “And when we start talking about where we can move with it, the power we can give players and how we can set it up, the important part is also understanding how these things sit in the machine we’re building. Crypto is not a things that build a whole machine. Crypto is part of a bigger machine.”
Value does not have to be monetary
Players have mostly rejected all NFT additions to popular games. As mentioned earlier by Brooks Brown, many current NFT offerings are there to make money off of a group of players. Similar to owning a collectible, the hope is that your NFT will increase in value financially. But outside of the crypto world, players aren’t too interested in a fancy bauble. Players want something they can use.
“Brooks and I are in the same boat here,” said James Wing, business development principal at NC Partners. “Where NCSoft is in this process right now is figuring out what exactly is possible. Just like we’ve done with all the other technology like AI, free to play, a lot of other things, and then figuring out how this returns value to the player . If you take a fun thing and then just make it about money, it’s not necessarily going to be a better experience for the player. I mean, there are some games that talk about that, and that can be a separate conversation. But right now, us at the blockchain stage to figure out, okay, how exactly is this going to work, and why, and how will it change and enhance the emotional response that a player has with the content?”
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