Asia GameFi opportunity is huge as players don’t hate NFTs
Animoca Brands co-founder Yat Siu believes that GameFi has the biggest opportunity for growth in Asia, as players there do not have the same vitriol against nonfungible tokens (NFTs) as they do in the West.
Siu sat down with Cointelegraph during Asia Crypto Week and argued that Asia generally has a more welcoming culture for gaming and advancements in technology such as NFTs, digital real estate and Play-to-Earn (P2E).
“I think Asia has the potential to really lead in blockchain gaming, at least in the short term. And there are a couple of reasons why I think that’s the case. Not just because, you know, there are the most players in this region of the world. […] but it’s also because players in Asia are accepting NFTs.”
“Gaming companies in the West have to deal with consumer resistance that gaming companies in Asia don’t,” he added.
The Animoca co-founder attributed this acceptance of NFTs to a broader Asian view of capitalism, which he suggested is viewed more favorably in the region – excluding China – than in the US, as people see it as a way out of poverty.
He pointed to examples such as South Korea, which “only four decades ago” had the same size economy as North Korea, but has quickly climbed the global rankings through innovation, “creativity, legal frameworks and property rights” despite for lack of natural resources.
“The consumer in Asia sees capitalism as an online good fight. In other words, okay, there is inequality. There is a guy who has made a lot of money, but [people] think ‘I can get there too, or I have an opportunity,’” he said.
Siu drew a contrast with the US, highlighting that capitalism paints a more demonized view of some people there, and rightly so, as many people have not seen capitalism “work for them”.
He argued that this kind of thinking eventually bleeds into players pushing back on NFTs, as people worry about being priced out of the market with expensive NFTs being seen as a “rich man’s tool.”
“When the headline news isn’t a $5 or $10 in-game NFT item, but a $300,000 Bored Ape, then you know it’s a bit like saying the entire automotive industry is just Lamborghini. That’s not true either. But that’s what we see. And so the rejection in the West comes from that lens.”
Expanding on the Asian context, Siu also emphasized that blockchain gaming opens up access to Silicon Valley venture capital that hasn’t really been tapped before, especially in the context of countries like the Philippines where P2E gaming guilds have become quite popular.
Related: Players want fun, not a party for tokens – Animoca’s subsidiary
He highlighted again that this is due to a vibrant ecosystem growing in Asia as many players adopt the technology while many projects are actively innovating in the space.
“Now you have companies like a16z, not only ourselves investing, but also Silicon Valley money moving into Vietnam and the Philippines. I think that’s unheard of. So that’s kind of exciting as well. I think Asia points to a future for net-three blockchain games Mostly, he said.
