Poll of the Day > Ubisoft: Gamers 'don't get' that NFTs will benefit them

(+) Yeah! (+)

https://www.finder.com.au/ubisoft-interview-nfts

Here's a small portion of the interview:

Interviewer: Well, let's talk about making sense of it. What do you think is the big positive that gamers are missing about what NFTs like Digits can offer them?

Nicolas Pouard, VP at Ubisoft's Strategic Innovations Lab: I think gamers don't get what a digital secondary market can bring to them. For now, because of the current situation and context of NFTs, gamers really believe it's first destroying the planet, and second just a tool for speculation. But what we [at Ubisoft] are seeing first is the end game. The end game is about giving players the opportunity to resell their items once they're finished with them or they're finished playing the game itself.

So, it's really, for them. It's really beneficial. But they don't get it for now.

Also, this is part of a paradigm shift in gaming. Moving from one economic system to another is not easy to handle. There are a lot of habits you need to go against and a lot of your ingrained mindset you have to shift. It takes time. We know that.

"You'll all come around. You're just too simple-minded to fully grasp what we're doing."

Why don't they explain it so I can understand then?
I'm a Software Engineer with around 10 years of experience writing enterprise level software, I think if they explained it I'd be able to understand.
If it's about making money playing video games, I don't give a fuck. Video games are a hobby, not a career.

Mad_Max posted...

The end game is about giving players the opportunity to resell their items once they're finished with them or they're finished playing the game itself.

But you can do that already... without NFTs.

lmao, nfts are just a way for them to sell even less effort cosmetics except whatever platform they're on can't take their small cut

that's it

that's the only reason publishers want them in games, because it will make them more money for even less effort all the while fucking over the environment

"gamers really believe it's first destroying the planet, [...] But what we [at Ubisoft] are seeing first is the end game. The end game is about giving players the opportunity to resell their items once they're finished with them or they're finished playing the game itself."

Gamers believe it's destroying the planet but who cares about that? You might make money!

Edit: They do go a little more into it in there but mostly about they went with whoever 'cause it's the least bad for the environment. Also:

It's not just the environment, I fear. A lot of the feedback I read suggests that gamers view, or fear, NFTs being the new microtransactions or the new loot boxes; that Digits are going to make gaming with Ubisoft more expensive. Are they right or wrong?
NP: Well, first players are always right. Because they are our players, and we love them. And so, they're always right. But your observation is correct.

The most cynical feedback I've read from gamers has pointed to this all being a ploy to line Ubisoft's pockets with more money. But you see it being about creating a deeper player engagement experience?
NP: Yes. The model of play to earn is about allowing players to make their own money by adding value to the whole ecosystem. So, it's not just about Ubisoft, actually.

...I hate this whole interview.

I hear people saying NFTs, but I dont know what they are

if you're in the nft game, you're either the grifter or the mark

and if you don't know which one you are, you're the mark.

Theres an entire industry of people who do this in world of Warcraft without NFTs. Almost as if NFTs are superfluous.

LinkPizza posted...

I hear people saying NFTs, but I dont know what they are

NFTs are the things companies want you to buy so they can legally steal money from you.

The reason that I don't want NFTs is because I understand them.

They are so full of shit.

helIy posted...

if you're in the nft game, you're either the grifter or the mark

and if you don't know which one you are, you're the mark.

And if you think you're the grifter, you're probably still the mark.

Like with most scams, the biggest rubes are the ones who think they're in control and are subverting the system.

"Sure, the odds are in favor of the house, but I've got a system." Says the person who's going to lose the most at the casino.

All my Tom Clancy's gone!

Judgmenl posted...

Why don't they explain it so I can understand then?
I'm a Software Engineer with around 10 years of experience writing enterprise level software, I think if they explained it I'd be able to understand.
If it's about making money playing video games, I don't give a fuck. Video games are a hobby, not a career.

Didn't we graduate the same year? How are you at 10 years of experience when I'm not even at 7?

AwesomeTurtwig posted...

Didn't we graduate the same year? How are you at 10 years of experience when I'm not even at 7?

I'm at 8.
I rounded to 10 to make myself look good.

It's officially-sanctioned RMT with a greater degree of publisher control. It's nothing new on the player's end, it's just easier for the studio to capitalize on it. Official RMT is relatively new in the AAA space, though (Diablo 3's attempt was quite some time ago, TF2, DotA 2, and CS:GO are largely unknown to the console gamers that drive so much of the AAA market, and those are all of the high-profile examples I can think of), so they're able to attach the popular buzzword that is "NFT" to it and convince people that it's something revolutionary that will definitely benefit them and totally won't just result in a clearly inferior game experience for those that don't want to spend more than $70 on their game.

I especially like the "Sell stuff when you're finished playing the game" claim. That guy knows damn well they'll be designing these games to keep as many players as possible playing them until they release another one and jettison the old version (and the value of their "earnings" along with it).

https://www.ebay.com/itm/165296783715?epid=13015138777&hash=item267c74c163:g:TUQAAOSw0pth7SLc
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/1/6/0/AAKxI1AAC3JQ.jpg

Things like this are why publishers want NFTs. For context this controller comes with a DLC code for exclusive in game items; because that code is limited it's worth a lot in resale, as there's only so many codes out there. It cost the devs nothing to make and was meant to incentivize the controller, but instead it became the object of value.

The "problem" is publishers aren't seeing a penny of that resale, but if it were an NFT they could snag 5-20% from it for each and every resale. The main attraction of NFTs will be limited "play-to-earn" things from the likes of tournaments, ranking events, or lotteries that resell for a high value immediately and constantly, so they can snag that commission on it repeatedly. It's a continuous money generator for them at the expense of in-game speculators and FOMO gamers.

Veedrock- posted...

https://www.ebay.com/itm/165296783715?epid=13015138777&hash=item267c74c163:g:TUQAAOSw0pth7SLc

Things like this are why publishers want NFTs. For context this controller came with a DLC code for exclusive in game items; because that code is limited it's worth a lot in resale, as there's only so many codes out there. It cost the devs nothing to make and was meant to incentivize the controller, but instead became the object of value.

The "problem" is publishers aren't seeing a penny of that resale, but if it were an NFT they can snag 5-20% from it for each and every resale. The main attraction of NFTs will be limited "play-to-earn" things from the likes of tournaments, ranking events, or lotteries that resell for a high value immediately and constantly, so they can snag that commission on it every single time. It's a continuous money generator for them at the expense of in-game speculators and "gotta have it" gamers.

But that doesn't explain why it needs to be an NFT, since digital trades are inherently fungible... they have to be unless they're literally trading giagantic blockchains between players and not just a reference link

Im going to get into NFTs because of how much you guys are bitching and complaining about them. I remember years ago, most of you complaining about bitcoin and how big of a scam that is. Imagine if you actually bought some all those years ago lmao.

helIy posted...

if you're in the nft game, you're either the grifter or the mark

and if you don't know which one you are, you're the mark.

by the time youve heard about it youre already too late to get in early

NFTs are literally a scam.

MartianManchild posted...

Im going to get into NFTs because of how much you guys are bitching and complaining about them. I remember years ago, most of you complaining about bitcoin and how big of a scam that is. Imagine if you actually bought some all those years ago lmao.

Basically every other crypto coin is a scam.

Mad_Max posted...

The end game is about giving players the opportunity to resell their items once they're finished with them or they're finished playing the game itself.

...resell? Sorry devs, but I won't be purchasing in-game NFTs in the first place so it won't benefit me. Toots!

adjl posted...

I especially like the "Sell stuff when you're finished playing the game" claim. That guy knows damn well they'll be designing these games to keep as many players as possible playing them until they release another one and jettison the old version (and the value of their "earnings" along with it).

or

they make it so all the old or "legacy" stuff is useless in whatever current endgame they just did, which forces people to either grind new ones or buy new ones

y'know, sunsetting like what bungie did in destiny 2. which, their argument for it was fine (their implementation of it notwithstanding)

but now, the argument for it and the reason for it are going to be two different things, with the actual reason of "we want more money so we want to sell your thing again" behind it.

and, as what typically happens in RMT situations, is that the item(s) are going to be bound on use, so you cannot ever sell it like they claim you could

MartianManchild posted...

Im going to get into NFTs because of how much you guys are bitching and complaining about them. I remember years ago, most of you complaining about bitcoin and how big of a scam that is. Imagine if you actually bought some all those years ago lmao.

Generally speaking, "I'm going to invest in this just because my peers think it's a stupid idea" is a very, very bad investment strategy.

helIy posted...

and, as what typically happens in RMT situations, is that the item(s) are going to be bound on use, so you cannot ever sell it like they claim you could

Ultimately, they want sales to happen so they can take a cut of them, so I don't know how much bind-on-use there's going to be. If they're hoping for people to resell stuff they've bought, binding would be counterproductive to that goal, so what I think is more likely is that high-demand items will only be available for a short period of time. If they drop forever and aren't consumed, the supply will eventually outstrip the demand and their value will drop, but if they can only be sold once, that limits their potential profit. Instead, artificially capping the supply keeps demand high while still allowing indefinite resale.

In practice, I expect what will happen is that gameplay items will drop normally but bind on use, with gradual power creep to keep people grinding and buying new stuff, while cosmetics will be infinitely tradeable but only available for a limited time. The cosmetic market is probably where most of the money is anyway, if TF2 is anything to go by.

helIy posted...

and, as what typically happens in RMT situations, is that the item(s) are going to be bound on use, so you cannot ever sell it like they claim you could

It'll probably be like how Kingdom of Loathing used to handle limited-time items.

Namely, you acquire them in-game and can trade or sell them as much as you want, and they can change hands dozens of times. But you can't actually use them. The moment someone uses the item, it binds to their account and is theirs forever.

Sort of like the idea of people buying, selling, or trading factory sealed action figures, but the moment you open the packaging it loses all resell value. Except in this case it would be like if you became physically incapable of ever reselling it.