NFTs are the future of Gaming? EA thinks so

EA's stance on NFTs

EA, Electronic Arts has reportedly told investors that NFTs, will play an important part in their industry’s future. NFTs, also known as Non Fungible Tokens have soared in popularity within the last recent months of 2021. EA, the developer of the football game series, FIFA, uses "card packs" to "collect" players in its Ultimate Team mode. EA’s Chief executive Andrew Wilson told investors FIFA players want to see NFTs in their franchise and they want it now.

What is an NFT?

Defined as “A non-fungible token is a unique and non-interchangeable unit of data stored on a digital ledger. NFTs can be used to represent easily-reproducible items such as photos, videos, audio, and other types of digital files as unique items, and use blockchain technology to establish a verified and public proof of ownership”.

Andrew Wilson continued to say "Players want more modalities at play inside the game, which go beyond just straight 11-on-11 football," he explained during an earnings call. "They want more digital experiences outside the game - esports, NFTs, broader sports consumption and they want us to move really, really quickly."

However, he did also note that NFT ideas were "still really, really early" and included elements of hype, and continuing with the comment "It's still early to kind of figure out how that's going to work". NFT’s have elements of gambling, with a stock market approach mixed with the element of exclusivity, which I would define as an incredible recipe for unpredictability and volatility.

NFTs moving into the gaming industry could also be viewed as "play to earn", based on the logic that if you receive a pricy rare NFT or multiple NFT’s of value, you are essentially “Playing to earn”. The company PC Gamer, self-titled “The Global Authority on PC Games” reported that a recent job listing included references to NFTs and the technology behind them. We could possibly see a future where an 11-year-old kid playing a video game receives an NFT worth $50,000aud.

However, nothing game-changing doesn’t also come with its controversies, the behemoth computer game platform, Steam, banned NFT-based video games. Epic Games, the direct rival to steam, has allowed NFT-Based games to continue on their gaming platform. Ubisoft, another game developer has opened embraced the inclusion of NFTs.

Piers Harding-Rolls, a games industry analyst said NFT and blockchain games "are new disruptive forces within the games sector, then continuing with “all major publishers would be looking at the potential of these formats to make money” - and "EA is no exception". What do you think of the future where children could be earning more money than working adults? Or playing video games will become a form of work due to NFTs without the need to stream? Let me know your thoughts.

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