With the NFT platform Quartz, Ubisoft has not had much success so far. Gamers from all over the world have expressed themselves extremely negatively about the idea of acquiring NFTs in the game and then reselling them. However, according to two senior managers at Ubisoft, there are many prejudices and misunderstandings regarding NFTs. Players just haven’t understood how useful NFTs could be for them.
What is Quartz and what does it have to do with NFTs? Quartz is a platform that allows players to manage NFTs from Ubisoft games. NFTs are digital items that are globally unique due to blockchain technology and can be traded for real money.
However, the announcement of Quartz led to a shitstorm and players seemed to hate the idea of NFTs in games. The feedback was so bad that Ubisoft ended up “hiding” the video about it.
So what are the insights that Ubisoft draws from this? The Australian site Finder interviewed the two managers Nicolas Pouard (Vice President of the Strategic Innovations Lab) and Didier Genevois (Blockchain Technical Director).
According to Ubisoft, players have not yet realized how valuable NFTs can be for them
What is the opinion of the managers on the Quartz flop? Interestingly, the negative reactions were partly already expected at Ubisoft. Nicolas Pouard states right at the beginning of the interview:
Well, we expected this reaction. We know that the concept is not easy to understand. But Quartz is really just a first step that is supposed to lead to something bigger. Something that our players will understand more easily. That is how we think about it and why we will continue to experiment. We will continue to release features and services around this initial initiative. And we believe that the puzzle will be revealed piece by piece and understood by our players. We hope that they will better understand the value we offer them.
Nicolas Pouard (Vice President of the Strategic Innovations Lab)
So this is supposed to be a good thing: According to Ubisoft, the problem is that players have not yet understood what benefits NFTs and blockchain technologies could bring to gamers. He explains further:
I believe that players do not understand what a digital secondary market can mean for them. At the moment, players really believe, due to the current situation and context of NFTs, that, first of all, they are destroying the planet, and secondly, that they are only a tool for speculation. But what we are seeing first is the endgame. The endgame consists of giving players the opportunity to resell their items when they no longer need them or do not want to play the game anymore.
It [the NFT technology] is really a gain for them [the players]. It is really beneficial. But they do not understand it at the moment.
Moreover, this is part of a paradigm shift in gaming. Transitioning from one economic system to another is not easy to handle. There are many habits to deal with and many deep-rooted ways of thinking that need to change. That takes time. We know that.
Nicolas Pouard (Vice President of the Strategic Innovations Lab)
At Ubisoft, they are therefore still convinced that NFTs are something good and represent the future in gaming. It just hasn’t reached the players yet. Also, the environmental concerns are seen as unnecessary since they rely on the energy-efficient blockchain Tezos.
It remains to be seen whether Ubisoft’s top managers will be proven right or if NFTs will continue to be a red flag for many gamers.
A similar positive view on NFTs is also shared by MeinMMO editor Maik Schneider. He says: „The harsh criticism of NFTs in gaming is unfair – They are more than micro-transactions“
What is your opinion on the statements made by the Ubisoft managers? Are NFTs simply ahead of their time, or do you see it as a concerning development? Let us know in the comments!
