Redefining Ownership in Gaming: The Potential of Blockchain Technology in the Virtual World
Summary:
The article discusses the issues gamers face with in-game purchases, highlighting a study showing they spend over $6,000 on average on virtual goods that they don't truly own. It discusses how blockchain games aim to rectify this by allowing players ownership and the capacity to resell virtual assets. However, adoption of blockchain games is low due to lack of awareness and previous disappointments in the sector. The piece argues that blockchain games are improving and will soon challenge traditional gaming.
Presently, avid gamers have invested substantial amounts — often exceeding thousands — in virtual objects perceived to be their own. However, truth be told, they seldom receive anything of lasting value for their money. Current research illustrates the grim reality of this situation. A study, sponsored by Unstoppable Games and conducted by OnePoll.com, indicates that in their adulthood, gamers will splurge $6,425.13 on virtual goods, yet will have nothing tangible to demonstrate for it. The study surveyed 2,000 gaming enthusiasts and revealed that an average gamer would shell out roughly $104.90 annually, or $8.74 monthly, on three purchases on average. The most frequently purchased items were character skins, weapons, and extra lives figures.
Consequences of such facts are gamers feeling cheated or worse, gullible. It’s reasonable to charge for entertainment and experiences, but if you’re acquiring something virtually like a blade, skin, tunic, or anything similar, it should correspond to a real item in a physical game where you can manipulate it freely.
Games and their virtual assets should be ours to keep. It's been delightful to see the resurgence of Pokemon. A lot of families I know have children playing with physical Pokemon cards that their parents owned when the game first launched 27 years ago. It’s heartening. Yet, in today’s era, games are mostly digital, and there's a need for suitable methods to preserve the collections we build. Unstoppable Games is scheduled to launch a new game, Influence, on June 27.
Blockchain gaming isn't merely a gimmick; it aims to rectify actual problems encountered by regular gaming enthusiasts. Previous attempts by several blockchain games to address these issues have failed as blockchains faltered to accommodate the data requirements of superior games. Presently though, the expansion of the blockchain's bandwidth is happening rapidly, offering a viable option for both entertainment and finance sectors.
In the face of players desiring to acquire new virtual items, 35% confessed feeling like their money was squandered since they get nothing to show for it. Moreover, more than half (51%) feel disappointed that they cannot hand over or resell items they procured in games.
Blockchain technology introduces an interoperability feature wherein these blockchain assets can be rendered accessible across different games or even used to invent new games. This could open an entire universe of prospects for creators who might traditionally struggle to compete against significant game studios.
Indubitably, it's the early stages for interoperability, but it has been achieved on Axie Infinity, Realms, and several other games. The study's data revealed that 65% would support the right to gift or resell in-game acquisitions later. What we need to do is better educate gamers about the integral tenets of blockchain games.
Of those surveyed, a significant majority of gamers (84%) were yet to hear about or play a blockchain game. However, if a gaming brand decided to pack up everything, 63% believed they should offer refunds for previous purchases, and 34% supported introducing a voting system. These are the attributes that are currently under development in blockchain games, so why aren’t people giving them a try? The main reason is most initial blockchain games were underwhelming. I found several of them lacking during the last crypto bull run. They failed to offer an enjoyable experience, and their outdated graphics didn't help.
However, there's rapid evolution in the world of blockchain games. I can see that their capacity is increasing and that they are competing well with their Web 2 counterparts, and soon Web3 games will do so. Blockchain games are prudently seeking public opinion and are set to challenge the traditional gaming industry, both in terms of enjoyment and monetary value.
Eli Ben-Sasson, CEO and co-founder of StarkWare, has had a long association with blockchain, his interest sparked by theoretical computer science. Since acquiring his Phd in Theoretical Computer Science from the Hebrew University in 2001, he's been consistently exploring cryptographic and zero knowledge proofs, which currently power blockchain scaling protocols. He is a co-creator of STARK, FRI, and Zerocash protocols and was a founding scientist at Zcash Company. He held research positions at the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton, Harvard, MIT, and formerly served as a computer science professor at Technion in Israel.
The purpose of this article is purely informational and must not be perceived as legal or financial advice. The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed remain solely the author's and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.
Published At
5/29/2024 3:50:32 AM
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