NFTs have been in and out of the news cycle for the past two years, but interest appears to have peaked in early 2022 in the face of a growing number of scams and increased criticism. Despite this, NFT shills continue to push blockchain games to the public. Most recently, streamer Dr Disrespect doubled down, despite fan backlash. He would do this, considering that he has launched a triple-A game studio primarily focused on creating online multiplayer games with blockchain integration.
It’s not hard to understand why Dr Disrespect’s audience was so quick to mock his plans, considering how most blockchain projects have crashed and burned in very public ways. One of the biggest scandals in the blockchain gaming sphere was when controversial influencer Logan Paul was sued for his NFT game CryptoZoo, which many consider to be an obvious scam, as it has never been playable, despite users using up to $500,000 in the game. . And despite putting in so much money, no one was able to get anything back, and the refund Paul offered compensated only a few people and was significantly less than what was actually lost.
Another incident that sparked backlash was when someone on GameStop’s NFT marketplace was found to be selling NFTs of indie games without permission. There was also the time an unofficial NFT game claimed to be the collaboration with The Pokemon Company when it wasn’t, and was subsequently sued. Another example, and one of the most disturbing, was when a company wanted to make people in developing countries NPCs in the game so that rich people could have more fun… I could go on, but it’s too depressing. Let’s just say there are plenty of reasons not to dive into NFT games, and the public is getting wiser, but somehow people are still pushing the idea.
Oddly enough, major publishers have also entered the NFT market, despite the many red flags it has already raised. Ubisoft tried and failed with Quartz allowing players to earn, buy and sell cosmetic items with unique serial numbers for its 2019 live-service game Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Breakpoint – they’ve sold pitifully few of these. Nintendo and EA have expressed qualified interest in entering the industry, but have either not taken steps toward it or backed out.
Square Enix in particular has been a vocal proponent of NFT games. About half of former CEO Yosuke Matsuda’s New Year’s letter was about the blockchain, presumably not because the company actually wants to make better games with the technology, but because it wants to find a way to squeeze more money out of players. On Friday, Square Enix announced that Matsuda would be replaced by Takashi Kiryu, saying: ‘Under the rapidly changing business environment surrounding the entertainment industry, the proposed change is intended to reshape the management team with the goal of adopting ever-evolving technological innovations and maximizing the creativity of the company’s group to deliver even better entertainment to its customers worldwide.’
I’d like to think that Matsuda’s departure spells the death knell for Square Enix’s NFT efforts, but the statement seems to indicate otherwise – perhaps they’re just trading in someone who will be better at shilling for a dying industry that has so far been doing it. little else but damage. At this point I can only wonder what the straw that breaks the camel’s back will be. NFT’s growing unpopularity hasn’t been enough to dissuade the gaming industry from it, so what will?
