This post is inspired by numerous discussion in discord endlessly debating this topic.
Is 
To explore this question, we need to go back to the beginning.
Splinterlands is a digital collectible cards game where the assets (the cards) are owned by you the player. This is in stark contrast to many other famous digital card games like Hearthstone.
Much of the debate from my perspective hinges on when an individual player entered the game and where they came from. Newer players ( players that have been here for less than a year) have a certain perspective based on where the game had been developed up to their entry point.
I tend to think these players are more on the “its a game” side.
Of course, those of us who have been here since the beginning have a significantly different point of view because quite literally, there WAS NO GAME to start with.
Future players could only purchase packs and open them.
We didn’t even know what the game would look like at that point, if it would be fun, what the cards stats or abilities would do, we didn’t even know if there even ever WOULD be a game.
It was back in the glory days of crypto and Steemit and people would live stream pack openings and later spend entire nights breathlessly watching the explorer for GFL.
Things were so different back then its hard to even compare the game of today both on a visual and interactive level.
Even without knowing where this project was headed, folks would spend hundreds or even thousands of dollars in crypto ‘investing’ in cards. These funds provided money for the developers to advance the game much like investment dollars allow young companies to grow.
People were buying into the game and taking extraordinary risk with their capital with zero guarantee of any type of return... fun or monetary.
When investors take on risk by deploying their funds into an unproven project, they are doing it because they believe they will generate some sort of return, usually in financial form. There is a large chance that by taking this risk they will lose most or all of their money. By taking this risk, they helped make the service or product you enjoy today. For this it’s pretty reasonable to assume that those initial investors are going to want a return on their past at risk capital.
Normally a publicly traded company has a fiduciary responsibility to steward investor capital in the most responsible way possible, less they face an upset shareholder based that in extreme cases might take some sort of action to unseat management.
I do NOT think that term applies here.
Only I am responsible for my actions and when its comes to the Wild West of crypto and the even wilder west of crypto gaming, I think its a bit absurd to pin responsibility to the founders of the game should our cards values depreciate in volatile market conditions.
Plus I really believe and trust this guy:
@yabapmattI will say that there was a certain way that the game (before it was a game) was framed that created expectations (lots of lambo talk and very little UPOD principle) that this was more towards the investment mindset, and that has left a legacy that is still persuasive today. I also see no problem with that as individuals again are responsible for their own actions even if they are led in a certain direction.
I surely wouldn’t have spent the money I have on
There is no doubt that the game had to be fun (it is) and had to have a player base that was passionate enough to tell other about it (they did) in order for the game to grow. Thanks to the early investors, 
I think they have done a damn good job.
This is still very much a start up company and often there is a huge misperception about what those actually look like. I have personally been a part of several such companies and I can tell you that it can be a lot more chaotic behind the scenes that you might think (perhaps we have seen recent examples of this).
Despite some massive hurdles and literal forks (both hard and soft) the game development continues and improves. The game is bigger than any 1 investor or player and keeps rolling along and getting better.
Just like I am not interested in anyone telling me how I should interact with a certain blockchain, whether that be STEEM, HIVE, or anywhere else, I am not interested in anyone telling me what this game is to me, nor do I want to tell you what the game means to you.
It can be a game.
It can be an investment.
It can be both.
It can be neither.
My personal view is that Splinterlands is an investment that I can play with. This is a unique animal and I don’t have any other investments like it.
This makes Splinterlands special to me and as a very early investor I don’t expect anything extra, but would like newer players to at least acknowledge to themselves that everyone has their own perspective of what this project is and it might not be the same as yours.
I’m also not sure that constantly bashing the game or repeatedly making points against either group makes a lot of sense either. People work very hard for their money and time and when they choose put these two commodities into something, whether its a game or an investment, they will in fact take in personal when they feel like their position is being attacked.
So lets play, lets invest, and lets be a little nicer to each other.
We have bigger things to worry about right now.
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