Do you want to be rewarded properly for your time in gaming? According to the co-founder of reddit, this could become an important factor for the future of gaming.
Who is speaking? Alexis Ohanian co-founded the social network reddit in 2005 together with Steve Huffman and Aaron Swartz. He also established an investment fund that invests in various startups. He has since published a book and appears on talk shows where he discusses the internet.
This is what he says: On Twitter, he stated that blockchain could have a significant impact on gaming. And the implications are much greater than the first multiplayer matches that you could play via a modem.
In several tweets, he explained that 2021 is a “crucial” moment for gaming. Ohanian writes:
You all can actually make it happen – and it is a truly global movement – I just can’t believe that I/we have a front row seat to experience it all. I was too young to witness the birth of deathmatch with Doom over a modem when it happened. Gaming x Blockchain is 100x bigger.
He adds that blockchain technology in the gaming space “provides players with real value for their time and money… and also for their taste… all on a global scale.”
What does he mean? Games could give their users unique rewards that also hold real asset value. This would create an incentive to invest time and money into their game.
Games could create a system where you earn money or items. You could then transfer these in the real world as money and use them again in another game.
Our title image comes from the YouTube video by Talks at Google (via YouTube.com).
Blockchain is a type of accounting system and is already playing a role in gaming
What is blockchain? Essentially, it is an expandable list of records. What is particularly special about it is that later additions always build on previous entries and confirm them as correct.
This way, the entries are considered particularly secure, as you cannot manipulate or delete content or items without destroying other changes (transactions).
Who uses blockchain? As the technology is considered quite secure, it is used in cryptocurrencies and already in some games. Because the transactions can be stored on many computers simultaneously and are also secure against counterfeiting. Cryptocurrencies have been criticized for some time and there are even considerations in some countries to ban cryptocurrencies:
Some games are already relying on blockchain
How is blockchain used in games? In blockchain games, blockchain has a similar function. It can store the abilities and possessions of a game character once acquired.
This goes so far that your abilities or items remain even if a developer shuts down their game.
Games like CryptoKitties or Sorare are already relying on blockchain. You can create or win certain items and then sell them to other players. Thanks to blockchain, all items are unique objects.
Are there also disadvantages? Yes, there are indeed. The crypto developer Jonathan Sterling explains that such items stored in the blockchain could become a problem for the game (via t3n.de).
A secondary market could develop where these items can be traded. And how much fun is a video game in which all items can be purchased directly? Many users would smell pay-to-win here.
And pay-to-win is always a big issue in online games. We at MeinMMO also asked our readers what pay-to-win means to them.
What do you think about it? Do you believe blockchain could be a technology that might change gaming? Or do you think it will never happen? Tell us in the comments or discuss it with other users.
