Non-Fungible Tokens ‘NFTs’ are the most current internet obsession. The term itself may lead people to think that they’re just people with money buying things out of ego but, that’s not true…
Some are throwing NFTs into the same category as joke-cryptocurrency like Elon Musk’s Dogecoin or the GameStop meme trading spike. However, NFTs are more than just a fad, they have important applications and could change the future of digital assets in the gaming world and how items/objects are uniquely identified, verified, owned and trusted.
In a simple sentence, an NFT is a virtual deed that shows ownership of digital assets. Similar to cryptocurrency, NFTs use a blockchain platform to identify and prove the existence and keep a record of transactions.
The Wall Street Journal explains, there is a major key difference between NFTs and crypto “While every bitcoin created can be exchanged for one another, these cannot,”. Tokens are non-fungible and uniquely uploaded to a digital ledger.
If this still sounds a little confusing, think about it this way. There are millions of replicas of Leonardo Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa but, there’s only one original which is stored at the Lourve Museum. Let’s say for argument’s sake Da Vinci was alive today, he could create the Mona Lisa digitally and attach an NFT to ‘uniquely identify’ the art and himself as the artist. Could people still replicate it digitally and post it everywhere? Yes of course but this is no different to replicating the masterpiece in real life and hanging it on your wall.
The real-life copies however would be worthless in comparison to the real thing much like the digital copies wouldn’t have the same value as an NFT verified art piece.
Another way NFTs can be used in gaming using GTA as an example. You make in-game purchases and all of the money goes to Rockstar. However, if NFTs were introduced for virtual properties the owner would be able to buy that property for X amount of cryptocurrency and also sell it for x amount of cryptocurrency which then can be exchanged into real cash. Thus creating an in-game online economy that can be transformed into real cash. However, there can be only one owner per property.
A more in-depth look into NFTs in gaming
The possibilities are quite literally endless within the online gaming world as NFTs can be used to transfer ownership of digital assets. There’s been a substantial increase of free to play games including shooters like Warzone, MOBA’s like League of Legends and other online genres. Unsurprisingly, player bases have begun to take off. However, they have to make money somehow which is where in-game purchases like weapon skins, visual enhancements, outfits and more. As the game is free players are more likely to spend a premium for these customisations. This is one of the main reasons Roblox has become so successful as they allow for an incredible amount of ways players can customise their identity.
Take Minecraft for example, they provide you with an insane out of tools to create and customise the map making it your own. But, what if you could sell their map and the authorship or rights to it to someone else. NFTs can make this possible.
Hopefully, this has spread a little light on NFTs and how they can reshape the gaming world.
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