Square-Enix is the publisher of some amazing video games such as the Final Fantasy franchise, Kingdom Hearts, Tomb Raider, and more.
January 1, 2021 the President of Square-Enix dropped some hot takes about the company’s future goals relating to NFT gaming and the Multiverse. I think that the comments and sentiments in the letter (linked to here) were rational and future focused. And as a long time fan of Square-Enix’s games, I also found these plans to be exciting.
But not every fan and not every gamer agreed with me.
There’s clearly a large portion of gamers that know nothing about NFTs and yet have formed (or been spoonfed) opinions about them that are not friendly. Any time a big company mentions blockchain, or NFT, or Metaverse, they rally on Twitter to scream about it.
Maybe they think that all it’s going to take is one NFT in a major game to finally push the planet over the edge of environmental catastrophe…
Maybe they’re afraid of being nickel and dimed to death with microtransactions… Spoiler alert, gamer; you already are.
Maybe they’re afraid of getting sucked into some kind of scam… This is a valid concern, but one that is mitigated by allowing oneself to become educated.
And maybe they’re just afraid of the unknown, and lacking the imagination necessary to see the big positives on the horizon.
I think that last one is the most egregious. And it seems particularly rampant among small, independent developers.
Maybe they’re afraid of being left behind? If so, that’s valid. But they should also know that the big things happening in the space right now are literally being driven by small companies and independent developers. They have an opportunity right now, if they’re bold enough to seize it.
But enough about gamer Twitter having their panties in a twist. That’s what twitter’s all about anyway, isn’t it? Let’s talk about Square Enix.
An Optimistic and Realistic Outlook
I think that Matsuda was balanced in his outlook when he acknowledged that there was a lot of speculation surrounding NFTs, and that was not a good thing.
“we do observe examples here and there of overheated trading in NFT-based digital goods with somewhat speculative overtones, regardless of the observed value of the content provided”
But I think he’s correct with the long term outlook being one that accurately reflects value, as he stated:
“but I expect to see an eventual right-sizing in digital goods deals as they become more commonplace among the general public,”
You’re reading this on HIVE, so you already know the power of NFTs in the gaming space. I don’t have to tell you that yes, there are plenty of overpriced and valueless NFT projects. But also, there is immense value in owning your own gaming assets. This will become popular knowledge in time.
The other exciting thing mentioned in the letter is the acknowledgement of the value blockchain brings to players making fan created content.
Players are already making mods for games. They are already making videos and other forms of user generated content around the games they love. And they aren’t compensated at all for it.
Blockchain offers opportunities for players to actually take part in the ownership of the games they love, and to be fairly compensated for the value they add to the games they love. This is exciting as fuck.
What About The Metaverse?
Finally, we have one more large company with a powerful messaging team talking about the Metaverse. This is a good thing.
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While I feel like the metaverse at large can evolve into something far more wonderful and imaginative than a niche, profits-focused corporation can imagine, it is still good to have more companies talking about it.
The worst thing that can happen is for any one major tech company to dominate the discussion of what the metaverse is as it emerges. Imagine the millions of people only now learning the term, and only viewing it through the lens that Zuckerburg provides? Nightmarish. The more ideas seeping into public consciousness, the better.
If you’re a fan of Square-Enix, give the letter a read and share your thoughts. And if you’re not a fan, what do you think are the pros and cons of major AAA game studios pushing for blockchain adoption?