Gamer's and developers have been anticipating the rise of a universal gaming currency for many years. In my research into GameCredits (GAME) my goal was to see if they have what it takes to become that legendary gamer coin so many gamer's and developers have been waiting for. There is so much to explore with a project as mature as GameCredits, but I will try to stick to the most important points.
As a gamer and a parent I absolutely hate that I can't transfer special currencies (gold, gems, etc) between games in the Google Play store. It has been something I have complained about for years. If I buy a special currency for a game my 7 year old likes (be it gold, diamonds, gems, or what ever else), I want to be able to transfer it to another game next week when he gets bored of the current game and wants a new one. It drives me crazy that there are so many games and apps where I have spent money for special in game 'play money' that I can't ever use again outside that game! GameCredits was created to address this problem and many others.
GameCredits (GAME) Basics:
- 63,433,704 GameCredits in circulation
- 100,000,000 Max number of GameCredits
- 7.5 - 8.3% Annual inflation
- Mineable currency
- $153,474,675 Total market capitalization
- September, 2014 Official Market launch date
GameCredits in 5 minutes
We all know about the growth potential in mobile gaming. The use of smart mobile devices is growing every year and the market is BOOMING! If you are not already familiar with GameCredits and what they are offering, I invite you to watch this quick 2 minute introduction video below. Otherwise read on!
In their promotional video the company paints a great picture of what so many nerds and gamer's have been dreaming about:
- World first real attempt to create a decentralized Universal Gaming Coin.
- The ability to take your game currency and transfer it to another game within minutes.
- New ways to take your hard earned gaming rewards and turn them into cash, merchandise, and other games.
- Opportunities to make money in competitive tournaments.
- Take out your money from any game, anytime you want, and turn it back into cash, Bitcoin, or other cryptocurrencies.
- And best of all, never lose money because it is stuck in a game!
This has been the dream for years and many companies have tried to do what the GameCredits development team is trying to achieve with little to show for it in the end. There are some very large companies offering you to use their company based coins across multiple games (like NCSoft), but the common limitation is being restricted to only that company's games. There is no blockchain transparency or protection, no way out of the currency once you buy in, and no way to work with other game companies.
Leadership and Development
The GameCredits website is surprisingly brief about their development team. Only some of the top company officers are listed and no actual developers. Their blog is more marketing focused and does not give much insight into their development process, current progress, or upcoming features and changes. I am still trying to get an invitation to their Slack channel in hopes of chatting with the actual developers, but their auto invite bot is experiencing difficulties at the moment.
Sergey Sholom is the Vice President of Business Development and appears to be the face of the company. He is often featured in their videos, social media, and company interviews. Sholom is a very charismatic and intelligent young businessman with a PhD in mathematical modeling from the Moscow Aviation Institute. Not only does he play a major role at GameCredits and is leading the MobileGo team, he is also the founder and CEO of Datcroft Games. His experience and success with his game company appears to be a great benefit for GameCredits.
Sholom's experience with his own game development company seems to have taught him a lot about the legalities of international business and the monumental impact of good marketing. His dedication and passion for this project is self evident and his enthusiasm is contagious. Having watched a few interviews with Sholom, I think he has the makings of a great leader in the crypto world and GameCredits is lucky to have such a strong entrepreneur on their team. I do not wish to take anything away from the rest of their management team because they all appear intelligent and very competent, but every company picks a point man to represent them and for GameCredits it's clearly Sergey Sholom.
GameCredits Store
To attract developers and game publishing companies, GameCredits has special offers. They are offering a very attractive 90% share of the profits for developers and publishers instead of the 70% offered by Apple and Google. Payouts are faster and more efficient and for those willing to hold their earnings, there are opportunities to earn interest while the currency grows in value.
GameCredits is also offering PC games like Mass Effect Andromeda in their online wallet. Users are encouraged to use GameCredits to buy games and merchandise with special deals and even a 10% cash back rewards program. More promotions and special offers will be available in the future to attract new users to the platform after the full release.
The GameCredits app store is now out for Android and I have had a chance to test it out. The layout is very familiar to those used to the Google Play store. It is unique in its own ways and game selection at this time is still very limited. There are over 300 games available now, but the game store is growing quickly.
Currently the store is still in beta testing and it is very likely to change several more times before their official release. However, it is very polished already. I tried two different games and both downloaded quickly and installed properly. All the app permissions were asked and the games play as if I got them on Google Play. The GameCredits integration into the apps themselves is almost flawless and I am very impressed at how seamless the it is.
The only issues I have detected from my very brief experience with this new app market is the lack of reviews and ratings. This cannot be avoided during beta testing and will likely be remedied closer to the official launch.
Fiat Gateways
The fiat gateways built into the platform will have safeguards built in to prevent bank fraud such as temporary transfer holds on GameCredits purchased directly with credit/debit cards while the banks settle the transactions. This is a wise decision because it helps GameCredits comply with banking transfer standards and offers some consumer protection from fraud.
If you buy GameCredits with a debit or a credit card, you will not be able to transfer out your GameCredits outside their platform (to like an exchange or alternative wallets) until the charge back period is over. This period appears to be set at 14 days right now, but this may change in the future. Using GameCredits to purchase items, services, and games within the GameCredit environment will not be restricted.
These limitations will not exist with Bitcoin or other alt coin purchases because cryptocurrencies do not allow for charge backs. The payment gateways are disabled at this time because they app is still beta testing and the GameCredits legal department is working on obtaining all the necessary financial licences.
MobileGo
MobileGo is the official marketing and promotion arm of the GameCredits platform and raised over $26 million during its ICO run that ended in May, 2017. It has only been a little over a month and without even hitting any major exchanges it has managed to claw its way into the $60+ million club! This Wave's based token will continue to grow in price because as the tokens are bought back from users on exchanges by MobileGo, they will be burned (destroyed) to help maintain the token value. That means there will be less and less of them in the world every year. The advertisement budget for GameCredits will continue to grow and maintain its own value organically without a single sponsor or partner.
One of the many ways GameCredits and MobileGo plan to attract new users to the platform is by sponsoring gaming tournaments. Gaming tournaments are becoming big events in the world and many are now being televised for public broadcast. Some of the most popular video channels on Youtube have been cashing in on this for years now! In the very near future we will have entire cable channels dedicated to a variety of gaming type entertainment. MobileGo is one of many companies pioneering this new realm of digital entertainment.
It is just a matter of time before MobileGo will be approached by gaming and electronics manufacturing companies for joint advertisement deals and MobileGo backing for their products. In the end, any deals benefiting MobileGo will benefit GameCredits.
GameCredits Store India Release.
August, 2017
On July 4th, 2017, GameCredits released the beta version of their store and announced their official launch in India coming up some time in August, 2017. This is going to be a very big event for the company and they are looking to capitalize on the 1 million plus bitcoin adopters (since the country legalized Bitcoin a few weeks ago) and the millions of Indian gamer's alike. This is excellent news for anyone interested in short term gains in daily trades, but even better news for GameCredits investors. With billions of dollars to be made in the second most populated country on the planet, it may be the big event to kick the GameCredits engine into overdrive and start gaining millions of new users.
Final Verdict
I am very impressed with GameCredits. I may be still new to the cryptoverse, but I am diligent in my research and relentless in my search for answers. I have seen several other currencies trying to do what GameCredits is doing, but none of them have the same potential for success. This is the first digital currency I have ever seen that actually fits the description most gamer's and nerds cite as a prerequisite for being THE UNIVERSAL GAMER COIN: Fast, anonymous, versatile, and secure.
GameCredits is also the first company I have ever seen that seems to be actually capable of competing for the mobile gaming market share owned by Apple and Google. There are other alternative app markets out there, but this is the only one that seems to have what it takes to actually have a shot at success!
I will be looking to purchase GameCredits to add to my Long Term - Short Risk section of my crypto portfolio over the next week. Currently the Long Term hold section of my portfolio is only occupied by Waves and Steem, but I am more than happy to make some room for GameCredits too. I have no intention of actively trading this coin on the market and plan to hold it long term. However, if you are interested in day trading this coin, there are some great opportunities to make money while it recovers out of its current slump. Just be careful and don't get greedy!
For anyone looking to buy in, I am setting my buy orders on Bittrex around 81,000 satoshi's (0.00081000) and taking advantage of the low prices while they last. If you miss your buy in and the markets don't dip that low again, another good entry point could be around 92,000 satoshi's. This is MY plan and I may be wrong about my market entrance timing. If you like my thoughts about GameCredits, then please do some independent research to try and replicate my findings and confirm my observations. Then make YOUR own plan to enter the market for this coin.
Thank you for reading and please upvote, follow, and resteem if your enjoyed my article. I strive to be as thorough as I can be, but I am human and can make mistakes. I do my best not be overly biased in my reviews, but it is hard to avoid at times. Please feel free to point out anything I may have missed or overlooked in the comments below. I will always upvote any comment at no less than 50% if it contributes important information to the article I missed and 100% upvote if you catch a mistake I made in my research.
GameCredits Images: GameCredits.com and MobileGo.io
Crypt0.Critic Images: CleverCat
This blog is written for informational and entertainment purposes only. As the author, I can honestly say that I am in no way associated with any blockchain based company. My opinions are my own and are offered freely. My opinions and suggestions and are NOT INVESTMENT ADVICE! Please do your own research before considering any high risk investments.