Jan 2, 2019
Blockchain in the gaming industry: Significance and Scope
As the world is gradually finding new ways to adopt Blockchain technology in every segment, the gaming industry to has not been left behind. But, unlike most of the people, we first need to understand that by Blockchain, one does not always mean digital tokens, trading or acts like these. There is much more to this disruptive technology than what meets a direct eye.
Adding to this rise, the use of Blockchain will have a further and a massive impact on almost every aspect of the gaming world. Things like tokenization of virtual goods, improving betting, and also making provisions to enhance the payments are nothing but only some of a large number of benefits that expected through this transformation of the online gaming industry via the usage of Blockchain technology.
With the further improvement and revelations of this segment, Blockchain will be responsible for even further betterment of the target industry. Expectedly, it will result in enhancing the player security, privacy and several other player aspects in the game along with those which have already been mentioned above. Therefore, tokenization is not the only thing that Blockchain is capable of doing specifically in the online gaming industry that we have been talking about.
How will Blockchain disrupt the gaming industry?
Giving rewards and virtual credits have been on the rise nowadays in almost all the games. One of the best elements that make a game addictive and motivates a player to play further is this rewarding nature of the game that we are talking about. It is not just us giving a theory. Even science supports the fact that endorphin is released when a player is anticipating a reward. Think about a situation wherein you can use that reward for various things in a single game.
One of the significant imbalances in the industry is to invest in a game; a player makes use of their actual time and money. This implies that real assets invested in procuring virtual assets. On the other hand, the rewards or assets obtained in a game cannot be used to invest in a real-time space of a player, that is, one cannot use virtual rewards actually to go in the market and buy something. This means that investment works in only a single way and not the other way round.
This problem gave rise to a segment called the secondary markets wherein players exchange virtual goods amongst each other for cash. But, these secondary markets have their own inherent issues. They deal in inflated prices and the consecutive scams. This is where Blockchain comes to the rescue.
Blockchain technology can play these cards well. What it does is very simply transform the in-game items into real assets like digital tokens, which can be used in the “real time” world. This prompt emphasis on the word ‘real’ makes it believable that the digital tokens are real-life objects which can be owned by an individual having a real identity.
Not just the ownership of rewards, there are other factors too which appeal to the authentic players of an online game. For example, Blockchain technology ensures player transparency, thereby making it difficult for anyone to fake or replicate the scores or other achievements. It also allows an individual player to send either loans or gifts to any other player, without actually exiting the virtual game environment.
How Blockchain will transform the gaming industry are explained in further detail below:
Introducing parallel gaming universes: Blockchain will allow a player to use characters and items across different and several games. For examples, the rewards from one game can be used to purchase assets in another. This is possible as Blockchain’s distributed ledger will provide each player a better storage option wherein the players will store all their data that is to be used across several platforms.
Increase in value of the gaming elements: It is essential for every passionate game to have specific in-game items, no matter if he or she has to pay for them in real cash. It is proven that gamers spend more time in farming for these items than actually playing the game. Blockchain, on the other hand, will enhance this procuring experience by increasing the value of these in-game items by improving their use both in a game and out of it, creating platforms where a player is allowed to sell virtual items for cash and creating a space where virtual trading can take place.
Storage made secure: implementing Blockchain technology in the gaming industry will ensure the safe and secure storage of a player’s gaming items. As long as a player’s data is stored in Blockchain ledgers, no hacker can tamper with any of the items in it. Thus, Blockchain ensures the safety of the game items.
Reduction in fraud: One of the setbacks in the online gaming industry or any online industry for that matter is the revenue lost due to fraud. Blockchain will here come into the picture as fraud will be reduced due to its decentralised nature, saving the gaming industry billions in revenue generation.
Low costs incurred in payment processing: To pay for any game, Blockchain will allow a user to use digital tokens in place of banking debit or credit cards which come along their payment processing costs as banks become the mediators. The blockchain-based system will allow one to process that payment, no matter how small, effortlessly and securely. It also reduces the risk of market manipulation.
In-game transactions: Blockchain based games make it easier for players to buy in-app items very easily and quickly at affordable prices. In this way, players can monetise their game well.
Democratise the gaming industry: Last but not least, voting features are quite popular within the online gaming community and gaming servers. It is useful in ranking games, teams and many other items. The current scenario of corruption and manipulation of votes results in unreliable feedback from the voting system. Blockchain technology can be applied as a decentralised smart contract that makes it difficult to tamper with the voting system. Blockchain’s public nature makes manipulating votes quite difficult and also acts as an impeccable shield against corruption. Democratising voting in games would be able to create another level of gameplay that was previously seen as an impossible task.
Conclusion
When other industries like agriculture, music, art, etc. have adopted this technology, then online gaming too should not and has not lagged behind. This industry has joined the bandwagon unsuspectingly with various projects coming up in line. With an approximate number of two billion users and an expected revenue generation of $128 billion every year until 2020, the online gaming industry is in real terms on the rise.
There is no doubt; many developments are coming soon in the gaming industry. But, Blockchain is not just development but a transformation altogether. The significance of Blockchain may not be measured right now, but the fact that it will have a profound impact on the online gaming industry cannot be negated. Blockchain thus will enhance the gaming experience altogether.
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