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Did you miss a session from the Future of Work Summit? Head over to our\u00a0Future of Work Summit on-demand library<\/a>\u00a0to stream.<\/em><\/p>\n Gamers are feeling some kind of way about blockchain technology. They came out in furious force when major game studios like Square Enix, Zynga, and Ubisoft announced plans to incorporate NFTs into new titles<\/a>. The argument is that these cryptocurrencies and blockchain assets are Ponzi schemes for the digital world, and still actually haven\u2019t proven they\u2019ve got legs.<\/p>\n But there\u2019s simply a lot of misconception and misunderstanding about what the value of an NFT is, which is why sales pitches aren\u2019t sitting well with gamers, said Mike Wagner, CEO of Star Atlas, during a GamesBeat and Facebook Gaming Summit.<\/p>\n \u201cA lot of people are perceiving this right now as essentially a cash grab, a way to create some quick revenue with no follow-up, which just isn\u2019t reality,\u201d he said. \u201cWhat it\u2019s going to take is a lot more education and understanding from the community.\u201d<\/p>\n Wagner was joined by Miko Matsumura, general partner at gumi Cryptos Capital, to talk about blockchain and what\u2019s really in it for gamers, the ways blockchain and NFTs are rocking the gaming world, and what we can expect for the future of blockchain games like Star Atlas, and the metaverse.<\/p>\n Three top investment pros open up about what it takes to get your video game funded.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Matsumura pointed out that much of the crypto world is still the wild west, filled with weird crypto projects that don\u2019t represent the kind of innovations that developers and investors are trying to launch.<\/p>\n \u201cLet\u2019s separate the builders and the people delivering triple-A quality gaming and things from people who really are just setting up a shop and doing some money laundering or whatever it is they\u2019re doing, whatever unsavory activities,\u201d he said. \u201cIn order for us to be answering to this community, it\u2019s important for us to acknowledge that yeah, there\u2019s a lot of bad crypto out there. It doesn\u2019t mean that there isn\u2019t any good crypto. That\u2019s what I want to underline.\u201d<\/p>\n Right now, we\u2019re starting to see the emergence of these crypto-native IP franchises that are evergreen, community-driven, and gamer-centric, Matsumura said. It\u2019s becoming part of celebrity and influencer culture, and brands are getting on board, and the crypto world is slowly demystifying.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re starting to see this merger between popular culture and blockchain, crypto, and most importantly gamer culture,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n In fact, we\u2019re living in a world now where Eminem has changed his Twitter profile picture to his Bored Ape Yacht Club NTF purchase<\/a>. He spent 123.45 in etherium, or $461,868.42 in real dollars. Bored Ape Yacht Club, an NFT project, similar to Cryptopunks, the OG NFT project that was launched in late 2017<\/a>, recently announced they were teaming up with Animoca<\/a> to get into the play-to-earn video game space, launching in Q2 of 2022.<\/p>\n \u201cWe saw mainstream artists, musicians, composers, all coming into the space to create some new concept and sell some new product,\u201d Wagner said. \u201cIt\u2019s a representation of self across social media, which in its own right is a nascent version of what the metaverse will ultimately become.\u201d<\/p>\n With Star Atlas, a triple-A-quality video game with both traditional core game and blockchain mechanics, Wagner and co is trying to change the narrative around blockchain and NFTs for gamers, arguing that blockchain is ultimately about gamer-centricity, and putting gamers in the driver\u2019s seat. They heavily focus on utility-driven NFTs, or assets you can purchase that are not only collectible, but offer in-game benefits and also true monetization potential, Wagner said. Players can earn one of two native digital currencies \u2014 ATLAS, the medium of exchange across the entire economy, or POLIS tokens \u2014 which give players a stake in the Star Atlas DAO.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat\u2019s critical for us is forming a robust and sustainable circular economy,\u201d Wagner said. \u201cIt can\u2019t be purely extractive-based. It can\u2019t be just these emissions of tokens through play-to-earn that ultimately have no utility, nowhere to go. How do we create experiences that other people want to participate in that we as a team don\u2019t have to develop? That\u2019s what we\u2019re focused on, building this tool set, building this platform, and enabling people all over the world to create within this new universe.\u201d<\/p>\n There\u2019s an idea of history and durability built into blockchain, and that\u2019s a value proposition for gamers, Matsumura said. The thing that\u2019s so interesting about the creation of durable IP franchises owned and controlled by the players is that the blockchain is a consensus history recording device, he said. Players can essentially become legendary parts of the history of a game, and it can be commemorated in an indelible way.<\/p>\n \u201cTo me, the idea of player centricity is enhanced by blockchain,\u201d he said. \u201cThe NFT as a historical artifact. It\u2019s part of the legend of both the player, the entire environment, and the game itself. Those are the types of things that blockchain can uniquely add that I think gamers should think about.\u201d<\/p>\n For Wagner, the core value proposition remains true asset ownership, or the sharing economy, which includes the gamer in the value creation.<\/p>\n \u201cTo me, NFTs have a tremendous amount of value,\u201d he said. \u201cPlayers can then take that asset, sell it later, sell it peer-to-peer, trade it with someone else, barter with it, that\u2019s all value. Being able to monetize the time you spend in a game, that\u2019s something that\u2019s never been possible before. I\u2019ve spent thousands of hours in MMOs I played over time, and what I got out of it was the entertainment value. That was really enjoyable at the time I was spending it, but if you can add that additional benefit of being able to also capture some value, capture some income, that\u2019s fantastic.\u201d<\/p>\n The revenue models of traditional studios are extraction-based \u2014 it\u2019s a unidirectional flow of capital. But blockchain creates open economies that players can participate in, in many different capacities, he said.<\/p>\n \u201cTo me one of the greatest advantages is being able to tap into this new financial ecosystem that is crypto, and bringing people in through gaming, is one of the most expeditious approaches to getting people exposed to crypto in general,\u201d he said. \u201cObviously we\u2019re heavily focused on gaming as the primary application in the Star Atlas metaverse, and I do believe this will bring people in. They\u2019ll start to get informed. They\u2019ll educate themselves on the benefit of this new financial ecosystem. I don\u2019t think there\u2019s any turning back once they get exposed to it. It\u2019s the red pill. Once you\u2019re in, you\u2019re in.\u201d<\/p>\n The game is basically democratizing the economic metagame of participation and turning players into owners, Matsumura said.<\/p>\n \u201cThat feels gamer-centric,\u201d he said. \u201cThat feels like a real desirable aspiration. Maybe it\u2019s not for everyone, but I feel like there\u2019s nothing wrong with wanting that for players.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cTo me, one of the biggest sales points of the emergence of blockchain, NFT, and in fact this financialization of gaming is the idea that the gamers can have a revenge of the nerds,\u201d Matsumura said. \u201cAnd what I mean to say by this is, what becomes so important is that the fiscal and monetary power that\u2019s given to the gamer is really part of how we win.\u201d<\/p>\n The story of creator versus corporation is prevalent in NFTs and in blockchain gaming, Wagner added, but creators are now able to bypass all these middlemen that they\u2019ve typically had to operate through to be able to sell things, like their art for example. Now that they\u2019re able to sell their product directly, they\u2019re capturing the revenue that used to get siphoned off. <\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re more focused on being the creator,\u201d he said. \u201cYes, we\u2019re a corporate organization as well, but ultimately it\u2019s being a creator and then turning that over to the people who are participating.\u201d<\/p>\n GamesBeat’s creed<\/strong> when covering the game industry is “where passion meets business.” What does this mean? We want to tell you how the news matters to you — not just as a decision-maker at a game studio, but also as a fan of games. Whether you read our articles, listen to our podcasts, or watch our videos, GamesBeat will help you learn about the industry and enjoy engaging with it. Learn More<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \t\t\t\t<\/div>\n
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\n Watch On Demand <\/a>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nEvil crypto vs. crypto for good<\/h2>\n
How blockchain cements player centricity<\/h2>\n
The core value prop for gamers<\/h2>\n
The revenge of the nerds<\/h2>\n