I’ve been an avid gamer since I can hold a controller with my hands. Starting on the NES with classics like Mario and Teenage Muntunat Ninja Turtles, to playing modern games like Tales of Arise and New World, gaming is core to my central identity. A habit that I picked up long ago was to do the GameFAQs Poll of the Day which cycles through various content such as “favorite type of multiplayer game” to “cats or dogs”. However, a recent poll caught my attention, and the results were shocking. “What do you think about companies announcing they'll be adding NFTs to games?” Around 2% were optimistic while 57% were disgusted. 21% had no idea what NFTs are and 18% were worried about where this is heading.
That 75% with a negative sentiment likely have seen stories such as Steam banning NFT games, Discord walking back NFT integration, or backlash against Ubisoft for using NFTs in Ghost Recon Breakpoint.
https://decrypt.co/88880/after-backlash-ubisoft-calls-gaming-nfts-a-major-change-that-will-take-time
The negative perception of NFTs as a “cash grab” and the vocal community of grifters plays into the 3 reasons that gamers are constantly shunning NFTs.
“The intent is to provide players with a sense of pride and accomplishment for unlocking different heroes.” - EACommunityTeam
The most downvoted comment in Reddit history highlights the anguish when game developers lock critical gameplay elements behind paywalls or time sinks. Microtransactions are in-game purchases that unlock specific features or give the user special abilities, characters, or content. When used correctly they can fund a free-to-play game without sacrificing core gameplay elements. Examples include League of Legends and Path of Exile. When it comes to games utilizing NFTs, the challenge is to understand what gameplay elements can be enhanced with an NFT without sacrificing the core gameplay mechanics. Games that require NFTs to play or emphasize a marketplace for buying and selling will be met with suspicion. These models empathize that you must keep gathering NFTs to enjoy the game, so you can feel a sense of pride and accomplishment. For gamers to embrace NFTs they must not be vital to the enjoyment of the game. NFTs must be optional for developers to earn trust with their community, this ideal dovetails nicely into the 2nd reason gamers don’t like NFTs.
“Get 3 Axies To Start Playing” - Axie Infinity Getting Started Guide
Gamers are used to three models of games. First, is the freemium model where the base game is free and you can buy microtransactions for optional content. Second, pay an upfront price and finally, pay a subscription to get access to the game. These models offer a predictable entry point and gamers understand what they are getting into. With games locked behind NFTs, this introduces a barrier to entry that gamers have not experienced before. This Reddit post highlights the shock of someone interested in wanting to try the popular Axie Infinity game only to realize that 300 dollars are needed to actually participate.
https://www.reddit.com/r/AxieInfinity/comments/na0har/300_minimum_to_start_playing/
This sticker shock helps to reinforce the idea that NTFS is just about cash grabs and adds no value to a game. For gamers to embrace NFTs they must not be required to play the game. Using NFTs to gatekeep the community prevents new participants from trying the game which is an anti-pattern for building a network that can sustain a game. Due to the communal nature, this brings up the 3rd reason gamers do not like NFTs.
"With over 100,000 members in our community, it’s quite impressive that the hacker only managed to dupe .3% of our community," Justin Kan cofounder - Fractal
Scams have always been a part of gaming culture. You’d be hard-pressed to find someone who wasn’t scammed in Diablo 2 from drophacks to switching items mid-trade. Gamers over the years have developed a muscle to sniff out fishy deals and err on the side of caution if something looks too good to be true.
When it comes to these new blockchain-based games the scammers are coming out in full force. When people get scammed in old games they lose digital items that only have value within the context of the game. When it comes to NFTs the economic effect could be disastrous. Recently the NFT marketplace Fractal’s discord was subject to a hack that resulted in $150,000 dollars being stolen.
https://www.protocol.com/bulletins/fractal-hack-discord
This was a discord filled with people wanting to be involved with NFTs, and they still fell victim to the hack. Combining financial and gaming assets in a single identity provides incentives for scammers to target gamers and introduce negative experiences for games relying on NFTs. For gamers to embrace NFTs game assets must not introduce attack vectors to financial information. With no central authority with wallets, gamers are left to their own devices if something goes wrong. I suspect a centralized solution will have to emerge that handles NFT wallets and allows access to games before gamers can truly embrace NFTs.
We’re still early in NFT gaming and experiments are being run. The gaming experience is critical if we want gamers to adopt NFTs. NFTs must not be about cash grabs, gatekeeping and, leaving gamer’s finances exposed. Instead, NFTs should focus on augmenting experiences of gaming while not focusing on buying and selling digital goods.