How many times are kids scolded to stop playing video games and go outside and play? I know this is something that I heard as a kid.
This might be something that is coming to an end if the course of gaming takes a turn that many are expecting.
Perhaps it is time for parents to look into having their kids play video games for a living. According to one knowledgeable individual, this could be a very smart move.
Hironao Kunimitsu is the founder of the social game Gumi. He believes the addition of NFTs to gaming will create an economy that is "more valuable than Japan's entire economy".
In 2019, that amounted to more than $5 trillion dollars.
Many have asked what solution cryptocurrency provides. In other words, is there a real world problem that it actually addresses?
It is often cited that the immutability of blockchain is highly valuable. During a time where we see opinions being censored, this is needed. However, this does not seem to strike the masses in a way we could think it would. It appears few care about this until they are the ones being censored. Up to that point, it means little.
Gaming is a different story. There are hundreds of millions of people who are spending money and building out in-game assets on a daily basis. These people spend their time creating something within the confines of individual games. However, the challenge is that other than showing people what they did, there is little financial benefit. Most of what is created disappears as soon as the game is turned off.
NFTs (non-fungible tokens) alter this completely. By coupling a game with blockchain, ownership of digital assets can be established. In fact, through the open transfer of tokens, we can follow the entire history of an asset as it is swapped, traded, or sold. This opens up an entirely new aspect to gaming.
Japan is a country of 126 million people. In contrast, a game such as Fortnight has an active user base of 150 million. It is easy to see how the gaming economy can grow rather large very quickly.
We have another technology that is finally appearing to be just around the corner. Blockchain is hastening the progress with virtual reality. This not only will take gaming to an entirely different level but radically alter the way society interacts.
One of the areas I foresee a change is in the area of business. We will see an entire virtual world that is an extension of the physical. Thus, industries will be established where people operate just like they do in the "real world". This will likely be more expansive than what we are accustomed to, generating a great deal more wealth.
In the physical world, resources are limited. When we enter the virtual realm, bandwidth and computing power seem to be the only limitation.
This is what Kunimitsu sees.
“If blockchain guarantees that ‘this house is the only one existing in the world’, there will be someone who wants to pay to get it. If the number of particular furniture available is ten, if the number of clothes for aviators made by Gucci is limited to one hundred, if the supply of lands, buildings, etc. are also limited, they become valuable”.
Isn't this something that we are already seeing to a degree? Splinterlands is consistently rated as one of the top DApps in the entire crypto space. While its user base is small compared to the established games, it was able to quickly ascend the ladder in the blockchain world. I believe this is a sign of things to come.
Many asked what is the future of a blockchain like Hive? Here again, while the focus tends to be upon content, gaming is a much bigger realm. When comparing the number of bloggers to gamers, it is not even close.
We are seeing, fortunately, a number of games appearing on this blockchain. This is a major opportunity for individuals as they start to move out of beta. Splinterlands and Holybread made the switch over to Hive. EXODE and Cryptobrewmaster are progressing to the release of full games. DCity appears to be getting more popular by the day.
The list keeps growing.
If anyone has a full list of the games on Hive, please post it in the comments.
Here we are seeing the ability to generate trillions of dollars out of thin air. What is novel about blockchain gaming is that individuals have the ability to garner an income and build some wealth. This is a marked difference from a centralized system where only a few share in the wealth generated.
Hive offers a unique opportunity. Through the reward system, people have the ability to earn some tokens through content creation. In addition to HIVE, there are a number of other tokens on Hive Engine that also can be claimed. Some, or all, of these can be used to acquire in game assets. Depending upon the success of the game over time, this could put one in a very healthy financial position.
Imagine being part of a $5 trillion dollar industry. I know it sounds ludicrous but there are a few people out there who believe it is possible. The transformation to network based economies can get enormous.
Gaming is just one example of how big things can get.
Certainly this provides a lot of food for thought.
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