Over the past year, the gaming community has voiced their disapproval of NFT and blockchain technology. Popular publishers like Electronic Arts (EA) and Ubisoft have faced backlash – from gamers, employees, as well as other game developers – when announcing the NFT venture.
As such, there doesn’t seem to be much overlap between the user bases of traditional games and blockchain games. This may be because the latter is often built to serve a different goal. They are often referred to as games for money, emphasizing the possibility of making electronic money rather than games or entertainment value.
This also means that their popularity is directly related to the state of the cryptocurrency market.
For example, Axie Infinity is one of the most popular blockchain games in 2021, allowing users to earn Smooth Love Potion (SLP) crypto tokens as rewards for playing. During the course of the bear market, the value of the SLP dropped significantly. Today, it’s 98% below its all-time high of around $0.40.
Challenges of blockchain games
As the blockchain gaming industry grew, it began to address such flaws. Companies are now looking at more sustainable business models.
Daiki Moriyama, director at blockchain game company Oasys, explained: “To drive popular adoption, the user experience must first be good. “This is where many projects fail.”
It’s hard for them to maintain their user base as cash payments slow down.
One hard point to solve revolves around the actual gaming experience and whether it can fun. If the game for money isn’t fun, it won’t be successful in the long term in the industry.
– Daiki Moriyama, director of Oasys
Moriyama believes this is largely due to the limitation of the current blockchain architecture. “No one wants to pay high gas fees to perform actions in the gaming metaverse or wait up to five minutes for a transaction to be confirmed.”
Since most blockchains are heavily geared towards decentralization and privacy, it can often come at the expense of factors like speed, performance, and cost. “For blockchain-based solutions to be attractive, they need to be highly scalable with fast transaction speeds and low or zero gas fees for users.”
Security is another big concern in the space. In March, Axie Infinity reported more than $600 million in losses due to the hack. “Scams, hacks and misleading projects are rampant and discredit the good work being done to upgrade the game infrastructure,” Moriyama said.
Changing business model
Headquartered in Singapore and Japan, Oasys was founded to help improve the blockchain gaming experience. The company is working to increase the mainstream adoption of the game-and– learn how to play games, in partnership with publishers like SEGA and Bandai Namco.
As opposed to playing games for money, this is a model that uses blockchain technology without having it as its sole focus. “The misconception is that blockchain games are focused on earn moneybut really, what it offers is value — for both players and game developers,” said Moriyama.
“The blockchain architecture, which is decentralized, gives players and token holders the opportunity to participate in governance and make decisions fairly and equally,” he added.
It also has important implications for in-game content ownership and user data.
In the past, all of this was held by a centralized game publisher, and there were often strict user agreements that forbade the sale or monetization of such content. What blockchain games do is transfer the value of these assets from publishers focused on the hands of players.
In addition to earning tangible income, this really changes the way we approach a recreational activity/hobby such as gaming.
– Daiki Moriyama, director of Oasys
How will blockchain games evolve?
Moriyama believes that mass adoption of blockchain games is expected to happen within the next 5 years. “What we see now is more and more people buying from traditional game developers and game companies.”
Although they have faced backlash in the past, traditional game companies are looking for ways to break into this space without alienating their existing fan bases.
“Companies see the value of engaging users beyond traditional gamers. Bandai Namco recently launched its new medium-term plan, which emphasizes the pivot of the gaming industry from product (games, toys, art, etc.) to a community. “
Blockchain technology offers a pathway through which users can become more involved in the success and ownership of their favorite games. “It allows game developers to program incentives that match the interests of players.”
Oasys is working with multiple Web2 and Web3 partners to make this pivot a reality. This July, the company raised US$20 million in a private token sale, with participation from companies like Crypto.com, Huobi, and Jump Crypto.
The company operates a blockchain specifically designed for gaming. It takes into account the aforementioned issues of transaction time and gas fees. “We are working with some interesting game developers to build on our blockchain, as well as working on a concrete plan to list our tokens on exchanges. best cryptocurrency.”
Although the future looks promising, there is still a lot of work to be done. “For many established game publishers, they will have to manage their reputation, as well as protect their intellectual property. Moriyama says:
As time resolves these issues, it seems the aim is not for the blockchain game to take over, but to coexist with its traditional counterpart.
It is clear that for the blockchain game to be successful, it cannot do so alone. Instead, it must acknowledge its limitations and embrace the value and expertise that traditional gaming franchises can offer.
– Daiki Moriyama, director of Oasys
Featured Image Credits: Oasys
