President of leading video game development company Square Enix, Yosuke Matsuda, revealed the next steps that the company has planned regarding blockchain-based technologies. Matsuda published a new year’s letter on the official Square Enix website. He explained that these up-and-rising technologies such as the metaverse and NFTs had a significant rise in 2021 and that they will most likely transform into something more actionable in 2022.
The president of multi-billion-dollar franchises like Final Fantasy noted that these new technologies would significantly impact Square Enix’s overall business strategy. Matsuda reveals that the company is making extensive research and development (R&D) and investments in artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain gaming.
The Benefits of Blockchain Gaming
Matsuda differentiates traditional gaming (Play-for-Fun) and the latest blockchain gaming (Play-to-Earn or P2E). The latter allows players to gain a token through various in-game actions as an incentive. Undoubtedly, this is one of the significant differences between centralized vs. decentralized gaming.
Centralized gaming deals with unidirectional data flow (from the creators to consumers) to create exciting and immersive stories. On the other hand, decentralized gaming allows players to become more involved, thanks to token incentives.
Modders will also benefit a lot from this system. Instead of working on the sideline as a third-party modifying and improving games, they can end up earning their fair share instead of being just a contributor.
However, not all gamers are happy with the inclusion of these new elements in traditional gaming. There has been quite a backlash. GSC Game World, a comparatively smaller company than Square Enix, recently abandoned its plans to incorporate NFT elements in the upcoming game Stalker 2 after receiving adverse reactions from gamers.
Another famous game development company, Ubisoft also experienced a similar backlash from fans when it announced its NFT Marketplace called Quartz. The reactions regarding the announcement were 95% negative.
