NFTs have been in and out of the news cycle for the last two years, but interest seems to have peaked early in 2022 in the face of a growing number of scams and increased criticism. Despite this, NFT shills are continuing to push blockchain games to their audiences. Most recently, streamer 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Dr Disrespect doubled down, despite backlash from fans. He would do this, considering he’s launched a triple-A gaming stu🌼dio primarily focused on creating online multiplayer games with blockchain integration.
It’s not hard to understand why Dr Disrespect’s audience were so quick to poke fun at his plans, considering how most blockchain projects have crashed and burned in very public ways. One of the biggest scandals in the blockchain games-sphere was when controversial influencer Logan Paul was 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:sued over his NFT game CryptoZoo, which many consider to be a 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:blatant scam, since it has never been playable, despite users spending up to $500,000 in-game. And despite putting so much money in,🥃 nobody was able to get anything back out, and the refund Paul offered only compensated some people and was significantly less than what was actu🤡ally lost.
Another event that attracted backlash was when someone in GameStop’s NFT marketplace was found to be selling NFTs of indie games withou⛎t permission. There was also the time an unofficial NFT game claimed t♚o be partne🦹red with The Pokemon Company when it wasn’t and subsequently got sued. Yet another example, and one of the most disturbing, was when a company wanted to turn people in developing countries into in-game NPCs 🃏so ric⛄h people could have more fun… I could go on, but it’s getting too depressing. Let’s just say there are plenty of reasons n🃏ot to dive into NFT games, and the public is wising up, but somehow🌺 people are still pushing the idea.
Bizarrely, big publishers have gotten in on the NFT market as well, despite the numerous red flags it’s raised already. Ubisoft tried and failed with Quartz which allowed players to earn, buy and sell cosmetic items with unique serial numbers for its 2019 live-service game 168澳洲幸运ꦯ5开奖网:Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Breakpoint – they have sold pitifully few of these. Nintendo and EA have expressed qualified inte🐻rest in get𝄹ting into the industry, but have either not taken steps towards it or backtracked.
168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Square Enix, in particular, has been a loud proponent of NFT games. About half of former CEO Yosuke Matsuda’s New Year’s letter was abou𒁃t the blockchain, presumably 🎃not because the company actually wants to make better games with the technology, but because they want to find a way to squeeze more money out ofplayers. On Friday, Square Enix announced that Matsuda would be replaced by Takashi Kiryu, saying, ‘Under the rapid change of 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 on the creativity of the Company’s group in order to deliver even greater entertainm🔜ent to its customers around the world.’
I’d like to believe that Matsuda’s departure spells death for Square Enix’s NFT efforts, but the statement seems to indicate otherwise – perhaps they’re just swapping in someone who’ll be better at shilling for a dying industry that so far, has done little but harm. At this point, all I can do is wonder wh♉at the straw that breaks the camel’s back will be. NFT’s growing unpopularity hasn’t been enough to dissuade the game industry away from it, so what will?