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EA CEO says FIFA players want NFTs, which are “part of the future of our industry"“Play to earn” again came up on investor call
“Play to earn” again came up on investor call
In fairness, he also used the phrase “on a go-forward basis” four times during the call, and who’s to say which is worse.
FIFA 22 | Official Reveal TrailerWatch on YouTube
FIFA 22 | Official Reveal Trailer
Wilson initially mentioned NFTs unbidden, as one of many things players supposedly want from FIFA. “They want more modalities at play inside the game, which go beyond just straight 11 on 11 football. They want more digital experiences outside the game - esports, NFTs, broader sports consumption - and they want us to move really, really quickly.”
Move fast and break things, as they say, and what is the planet if not the biggest thing?
Later inthe call, Wilson is asked directly what he thinks about “play to earn opportunities” within videogames.
“I think the play to earn or the NFT conversation is still really, really early, and there’s a lot of conversation. And there’s at some level, a lot of hype about it,” said Wilson. “I do think it will be an important part of the future of our industry on a go-forward basis. But it’s still early to kind of figure out how that’s going to work. I feel good about our position with respect to that. As a company, we have been leaders in the creation of digital content that has real collectible value in the embedding of that content as part of live services.”
EA already make billions from such loot boxes, but that revenue is increasingly under threat from regulation. FIFA21 now includes the ability to peek inside card packs, and makes public the odds of receiving certain kinds of card inside. NFTs presumably seems like a possible new source for profit. Perhaps FIFA22 could reveal the odds that any of our children will inherit a habitable planet.
While EA haven’t yet released any NFTs, unlike Ubisoft, recentjob postings for roles at EAdo mention them, noting for example that the “Strategic Growth Brand team” “set the course for EA’s investment in subscriptions, PC marketplace, competitive gaming, and new business opportunities like fantasy sports, blockchain and NFTs, and more.”
NFTs areterrible for the environment, facillitate scams and money laundering, are a dumb and tacky Ponzi scheme, and will skew game design towards being less fun. Games which feature themhave already been banned from Steam. Investors are excited about NFTs, however, because investors think they can invent diamonds, own the only diamond mine, and then get players to work in the mines for just long enough that the investors get rich before everyone realises that they’re actually just holding fucking glass.
