Hi everyone, it’s Jason. This week, a look at the blockchain fad in gaming. But first…

This week’s top gaming news:

• Sony is cutting PS5 production expectations to about 15 million units from more than 16 million because of supply chain issues
• Valve has delayed the Steam Deck to next year, also citing supply chain issues 
• Netflix’s video game service has launched

Investor bait

The video game industry is obsessed with chasing trends. There was the battle royale obsession following the success of PUBG and Fortnite, and before that it was Pokémon Go, League of Legends and so on. 

Usually those trends follow a certain logical sense; a game makes a ton of money, so everyone tries to copy it. But the current big thing, blockchain, has attracted a mind-boggling amount of hype and money for no clear reason. Because many of the concepts that crypto-vangelists are pitching have already been possible in some video games for years.

Blockchain, a decentralized database that allows users to prove their ownership of virtual data, is being used in finance, art and many other industries. It has yet to lead to much success in the video game world, but not for lack of trying. 

Over the past three years, investors have thrown hundreds of millions of dollars at game companies promising to use blockchain in all sorts of ways. Nothing gets VCs salivating like the thought of decentralized databases, especially when paired with the acronym NFT (non-fungible token). In fact, not having your very own NFT strategy might cost you a potential payday in 2021.

Which was why this month, as big game publishers reported their quarterly earnings, many of them attempted to assure shareholders that they, too, were keeping up with the times. Electronic Arts Inc. Chief Executive Officer Andrew Wilson called NFTs “an important part of the future” of gaming. Then he added, “It’s still early to kind of figure out how that’s going to work.”

Ubisoft Entertainment SA’s Yves Guillemot said blockchain was a “revolution” and that he wants his company to be a key player in the space. Square Enix Holdings Co. and Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. said similar.

But these newsmakers have struggled to explain what blockchain can do that is in fact revolutionary. NFT enthusiasts theorize about a world in which players can buy unique items — say, outfits, or weapons — and then carry those items from game to …….

Source: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2021-11-12/crypto-in-video-games-is-all-the-rage-but-why