| “We don’t need to understand it or for it to make sense to us to profit from the craziness we see in the NFT & Metaverse Worlds” We need to just understand enough to profit. It is happening and happening quickly. |
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| A big video game company enters the metaverse |
| Square Enix is behind some huge video game franchises, including “Final Fantasy,” “Dragon Quest,” “Tomb Raider,” and “Kingdom Hearts.”Recently, Square Enix president Yosuke Matsuda wrote a letter revealing the company’s metaverse aspirations to incentivize people to “play to contribute.”“Play to earn” is a current crypto gaming trend…… in which people play games to earn crypto or NFTs, instead of just playing for fun. For example, “Axie Infinity” is a game with ~2m daily players who collect and battle Axies (creatures that look like axolotls). Each Axie is an NFT and you need 3 to start, which could cost you $1k+, per Forbes.But to recoup costs, players can earn crypto through gameplay and by selling Axies and items.“Play to contribute” relies on user-generated contentUGC is already a thing on platforms like Roblox, but Matsuda writes that there isn’t as much of it across gaming as he’d expect because there’s no incentive to make it.Square Enix wants to build “token economies” in games to motivate users. The company might also release its own token in the future.This vision – “decentralized gaming” – is a departure from the typical business of studios making games and players buying and playing them.Something similar is already happening with “Loot,” a nonexistent game built around nondescript NFTs. People are buying items for an NFT game that doesn’t exist. Why? Vine co-founder Don Hofmann launched Loot, an NFT game that currently only consists of text descriptions…but has gone totally viral.  These lists of words cost tens of thousands of dollars. Why not? (Source: Robe Market) The Fetid Sprinkler and Handguards of Perdition sound pretty intense. They’re also examples of the armor, weapons, potions, and other helpful items — AKA “loot” — fantasy RPG characters find on their quests. Paying real money for in-game loot is already a big business, and some game studios have jumped on selling NFT items, which players — not studios — would own indefinitely. But… what if there is no game Last month, Vine co-founder Dom Hofmann announced Loot, “randomized adventurer gear” generated and stored on the blockchain. For no fee, aside from gas, people could score “bags” of items like: Divine Hood Necklace of Enlightenment Grimoire of Titans Looters snatched up the available ~8k bags immediately, per The Verge. Within 5 days, Loot bags had generated $46m in resales. Wild NFT sales in the millions happen… … but here’s why people love Loot Because items came with only a simple text description, the newfound Loot community came out with art, songs, stories, and merchandise. A host of derivative projects have sprung up for Loot holders, including maps, monsters to fight, art, and quests. It’s essentially an open-source playground. Creators build on top of it and are responsible for deciding its value. Creators can also choose to accept Hofmann’s update, Synthetic Loot, which allows players to participate without spending $$$ on the OG drops. Because who can afford a Divine Robe when the floor price is ~$50k? Maybe the next hot gig is… “custom video game quest maker”? |