NFTs and NFT Content in Gaming Megathread

[Valhoven]

NFTs aren't going anywhere and their growing prevalence in gaming news – and soon content, is something we can get ahead of by having a megathread to host anything and everything NFT, to include our own thoughts, complaints, and forward-looking on the matter. Talk freely, to say.

What are NFTs?

NFT stands for Non-Fungible Token and in my best nuts-and-bolts of it within the space, it's a technology that allows for the authenticated ownership outside any copyright and subsequent arbitrary monetisation of a digital asset. If anyone more in the know thinks this an unfair take, please let me know.

Widespread suspicion at this point within the gaming community and for some even outright contempt? Check. An example from Konami's recent foray into the technology:

Spoiler: Konami announcement and reaction

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Gaming seems admittedly a natural fit for the technology – but concerns over its in-game implementation and the resulting predatory opportunities (I liken what's coming to an MTX Disneyland but here Mickey, a deft pickpocket) have been in step with NFTs since they appeared on the scene.

Sega just today is the first I've seen to hit the pause button on their own NFTs, but this being nothing more than a speed bump is likely, I'd hazard:

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Even the most OG of all protags, Mario, is not safe from the reach of NFTs:

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And to hand over the convo on a rather ominous note, the father of bad-faith practices from forgoing QA to rampant asset and animation flipping amongst portfolio entries, Ubisoft of course is already well in the mix with Digits, which is explained by Ars Technica as:

Ubisoft became the first big-name game publisher to jump on the non-fungible token bandwagon Tuesday. After teasing its interest in the space last month, the company is officially rolling out Quartz, a system of in-game cosmetic items powered by a new kind of NFT, called "Digits."

By using a decentralized NFT blockchain, Ubisoft promises its Quartz system will "grant players more control than ever" and "more autonomy and agency" in order to "genuinely make players stakeholders of our games."
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They go on to determine this a questionable if not terrible idea in their article Ubisoft's first NFT plans make no sense.

 

[jojoRed]

NFTs are the future.....in theory. Its gonna be the basis to a Ready Player one type of metaverse, where you could have the same character across multiple games and trade unique one of one items. Its gonna give meaning to competition and prizes/rewards. Leaderboards wont be filled with cheaters etc. These concepts sound goddamn amazing to me.

Itll be a while till we get there, but the first will not be great. Its the second iterations that will be game changing. Change equivalent to Yahoo to Google or MySpace to Facebook.

Dont worry, shit will be peddled by the shit companies first but theyll die off eventually. People will be put off, but eventually come to understand.

 

[Winston Wolf]

Sorry, I don't really see the point of NFTs, even in gaming. What are they, glorified, single-issue skins/avatars? Maybe I just don't grasp the concept.

I'm in the "it's just a fad" camp. It will be severely and greedily exploited by companies like Konami and Ubisoft, but I expect them to die out by the end of the year, and not having a lasting impact on the industry.

 

[milliniar]

Unless nft is universal makes no sense and universal is not going to happen. I doubt Ubisoft, EA, Square, etc would even have them work between games. Nintendo could as an extension of Amibo

 

[KaNesDeath]

NFT's are bullshit. All these developers/publishers see is an additional revenue stream that involves a new demographic. This new demographic are wannabe day traders who thrive on pumping an dumping in the crypto space. Both willing actors dont care for its potential a brand new billion dollar industry with zero regulation.

 

[Law Talkin’ Guy]

NFT = No Fucking Thanks

Voting literally Satan for this shit.

P.S. I don’t even understand what the fuck they are or how they’d factor into gaming but they can get fucked.

 

[jojoRed]

I doubt Ubisoft, EA, Square, etc would even have them work between games. Nintendo could as an extension of Amibo

Oh they sure will, since every trade will pay royalties back to the original publisher. Not only that but it skins can act as advertisements for their games. Itll be like smash but in a metaverse or someshit. They will first begin within their own metaverse and games but eventually there will be a universal metaverse etc.


They care about money and thats where this will go eventually. Maybe games will be using the same engines to facilitate this....possibilities are fascinating.

 

[THEfightsAREfixed]

it will eventually be common practice, its just a way to onboard itemization onto the blockchain, think of it as the same items but now on a public ledger and existing on some blockchain, it will be a boon long term its mostly gimmicky right now like any new tech its initial use cases are limited so right now we are seeing art community but it should expand, some of the limitations are technical, and will advance with time like internet and online gaming

the NFT art pieces are the first initial use case to get good public adoption and make waves but its just one of many, pretty huge ceiling imho

 

[NoSmilez]

I honestly have no idea what they are. My gf's little sister got paid almost 2000 for some sort of monkey art.

 

[Roxxo]

Oh they sure will, since every trade will pay royalties back to the original publisher. Not only that but it skins can act as advertisements for their games. Itll be like smash but in a metaverse or someshit. They will first begin within their own metaverse and games but eventually there will be a universal metaverse etc.


They care about money and thats where this will go eventually. Maybe games will be using the same engines to facilitate this....possibilities are fascinating.

They wouldn't necessarily have to use the same engines, though that would likely make it easier. They would need to define a standard and then actually follow it. If there was a standard for the tokens, devs would be able to implement a means to represent any token, or any subset of supported tokens, in their game. Even if the games have wildly different art styles it could still work.

 

[PEB]

NFT = No Fucking Thanks

Voting literally Satan for this shit.

P.S. I don’t even understand what the fuck they are or how they’d factor into gaming but they can get fucked.

Cash grab big time but it's going to be forced on everyone. Metaverse is being primed big time bring new virtual currency.

 

[rob mafia]

NFTs are the future.....in theory. Its gonna be the basis to a Ready Player one type of metaverse, where you could have the same character across multiple games and trade unique one of one items. Its gonna give meaning to competition and prizes/rewards. Leaderboards wont be filled with cheaters etc

lolwut

imagine believing this.

 

[jojoRed]

lolwut

imagine believing this.

Thats the potential. But tbh I cba gettin to it with the resident troll, and who ever is on the same page as you.

 

[rob mafia]

Thats the potential. But tbh I cba gettin to it with the resident troll, and who ever is on the same page as you.

...who the hell is on your page? NFTs are teh bestest, amirite?

edit: quite frankly, if 'you' (anyone) believe that NFTs are anything other than a sham/scam, congrats - you're a mark. i got a NFT of a bridge i can sell you...

 

[SwamiLeoni]

...who the hell is on your page? NFTs are teh bestest, amirite?

edit: quite frankly, if 'you' (anyone) believe that NFTs are anything other than a sham/scam, congrats - you're a mark. i got a NFT of a bridge i can sell you...

NFTs are digitized assets. You can’t just look at them strictly through the lens of jpgs being wash traded in an unregulated market. NFTs will be house deeds, insurance cards, health records, car titles etc. Things that can be digitized and prove ownership through a decentralized immutable ledger is the way things are moving.

Ive posted my thoughts in the PS thread so I’ll copy them here.

I think the NFT space has a long way to go. Blockchain for that matter does as well. We’ve still yet to see large scale implementation of the technology outside of a few pilot use cases. P2E games are still a far reach from things gamers would actually enjoy playing. Even if large studios wanted to dump money into their own systems, the community will and should view them with concern and critique. After all, these are the same companies who have hired psychologists and gaming experts to fine tune their monetization strategies. Surely not the most ethical use of their money.

Im still not sold 100% on NFTs personally. I think for legal documents (like deeds), medical records or certifications they’re a home run. For Art? Hmmm…It’s hard to justify a randomly generation picture is selling for as much as a Picasso.

Im long term bullish on blockchain and P2E games. I’ve been in the space for years now. It’s just been a really slow technology to implement. I could see large studios developing their own currencies you earn playing their games that will transfer to their other libraries. You don’t necessarily need blockchain to do that, however, it would make it safer and it could be streamlined to sell other products. But, I wouldn’t think they would be dumb enough to allow you to leave their ecosystem. Hence, the DeFi aftermarket! to allow you to leave their ecosystem. Hence, the DeFi aftermarket!

To add, NFTs are extremely versatile and the market is brand new. Will it be a fad? Impossible to tell really and anyone claiming they 100% will be doesn’t have a clue. Will they go the way of Pokémon and maintain their significance or will they die a quick death like pogs? Who knows. One thing, crypto and blockchain has some of the smartest people working in that field right now.

 

[rob mafia]

One thing, crypto and blockchain has some of the smartest people working in that field right now.

and it's still like 95% scams, shams, unicorn farts, and hopium.

...and 5% idealism.

 

[KaNesDeath]

Im still not sold 100% on NFTs personally. I think for legal documents (like deeds), medical records or certifications they’re a home run.

As someone who once worked in the medical field including DMR transition. Suggesting that DMR is a digital asset that can be traded/sold is disgustingly irresponsible.

 

[SwamiLeoni]

and it's still like 95% scams, shams, unicorn farts, and hopium.

...and 5% idealism.

Depends though. Who are we to say they’re worthless if other people see value in them? I don’t believe all of them are scams. Surely not 95% of them. There are strong communities and developers working on these things. To you and I, ya, they’re over priced. But they’re priced at what the market is willing to pay.

As someone who once worked in the medical field including DMR transition. Suggesting that DMR is a digital asset that can be traded/sold is disgustingly irresponsible.

I never said peoples medical records would be traded on a public blockchain. Of course that wouldn’t fly. What I was saying is that blockchain is immutable which means it’s much more safe to use than a centralized database. You can mint an NFT on Ethereum and the data you mint would be pretty impossible to change without a quantum computer. It’s the security and the verification of data that’s the selling point.

 

[KaNesDeath]

What I was saying is that blockchain is immutable which means it’s much more safe to use than a centralized database.

DMR's arent centralized.

 

[rob mafia]

Depends though. Who are we to say they’re worthless if other people see value in them? I don’t believe all of them are scams. Surely not 95% of them. There are strong communities and developers working on these things. To you and I, ya, they’re over priced. But they’re priced at what the market is willing to pay.

being a voluntary ponzi scheme may remove the fraud/etc, but it doesn't make it not a ponzi scheme.

MLMs still exist and many people are stoked to join one. but they're still MLMs and objectively a combination of scam, sham and hopium. btw, you're focusing on price for some reason. i don't know why.

i'll all ears to hear how NFTs mean no one can cheat in a video game.