The celebrated union between blockchain and gaming has encountered several hurdles that have left many wondering if the new sector of crypto and gaming will ever live up to its potential.
In the fifth episode of the Hashing It Out podcast, Cointelegraph’s Elisha Owusu Akyaw and Animoca Brands CEO, Robby Yung, discuss how the blockchain gaming industry is striving forward regardless of the challenges.
Robby Yung believes that there are issues on both sides. Regarding blockchain developers, Yung argues that the industry has not been able to educate the masses on the benefits of blockchain technology. According to Yung, people need to understand that owning their digital property is groundbreaking technology.
On the flip side, Yung highlights that the gaming industry has a conservative streak, where gamers have been reluctant to change. Yung recalled the backlash mobile gamers and free-to-play games experienced as prime examples of the conservative culture among gamers.
Yung recalled how mobile gamers were disliked by the personal computer (PC) and console game communities, who felt that mobile phones could not provide an authentic gaming experience. He also cited the pushback free-to-play games received for introducing the concept of playing for free and paying for in-game items. Yung believes that the value of blockchain technology will eventually convince traditional gamers.
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Some analysts argue that blockchain games are not fun and monetary rewards alone may not be enough to attract adoption. The Animoca Brands’ CEO believes such criticism is unfair for an infant industry barely three years old. According to Yung, decent games take time to make. He referenced the mobile gaming industry, where the majority of games that launched before Angry Birds are not memorable and development can be slow in the gaming industry.
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In the episode, Elisha and Yung also discuss:
- How game developers can raise capital
- Tokenomics for blockchain games
- The dynamics of free-to-play gaming with tokenized assets.
For the complete picture of the gaming industry, listen to episode five of Hashing It Out on the new Cointelegraph Podcasts page or Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or TuneIn.