REACTION - NFT’s need to stop being a thing, especially in gaming

Big ol’ eye roll.

By Jonathan Garrett
15/11/22

It might be fashionable to hate on the “new thing”, either because said distaste is influenced by a lack of fundamental understanding, or because it represents a tendency for controversy to be a fast track to any kind of attention, positive or otherwise. In many ways, NFT’s are easily dismissed into either category, but within the games industry, they become even more problematic.

At a time when game preservation and our rights to maintaining software ownership are a regular point of discussion, NFT’s and the nature of digital products add fuel to that fire. Without something tangible, and their inherent value consistently in flux, how can one safely buy in to the concept when there’s a real possibility you might lose access to everything upon a whim?

We’ve seen publishers disable server access to legacy titles, and even de-list games entirely; when digital storefronts can be shut down, negating the ability to even buy certain games, it generates an unavoidable air of uncertainty. So with that in mind, it becomes easier to be sceptical when folks like Square Enix and Sony are “experimenting with the blockchain”, when really, they’re simply workshopping new ways to monetise an industry already replete with ways to make money.

It feels exploitative and crass, and as far as I’m concerned, the sooner the value of NFT’s depreciate to the point of no return, the better.