Ubisoft attracted significant controversy in December when it introduced the beta for Quartz, a new platform that enables players to delve into the seemingly lucrative world of NFTs, but all of the pushback and complaints that the initiative has prompted thus far has stemmed merely from ignorance.
That’s according to Nicolas Pouard, VP at Ubisoft’s Strategic Innovations Lab, who gave his thoughts on the controversy in an interview with price comparison site Finder.com this week and suggested that gamers simply “don’t get” NFTs.
In Pouard’s view, it’s just a matter of time before gamers look past all of the FUD and realize that these digital receipts enable plenty of new opportunities, such as the ability for players to invest in limited-edition items and auction them off for profit once they get tired of seeing them.
“I think gamers don’t get what a digital secondary market can bring to them,” Pouard said after being asked what gamers were missing in their reception to Digits, Ubisoft’s first NFTs in playable triple-A games.
“For now, because of the current situation and context of NFTs, gamers really believe it’s first destroying the planet, and second just a tool for speculation. But what we [at Ubisoft] are seeing first is the end game. The end game is about giving players the opportunity to resell their items once they’re finished with them or they’re finished playing the game itself.”
“So, it’s really, for them. It’s really beneficial. But they don’t get it for now.”
Pouard goes on to defend Ubisoft later in the interview from gamers who are convinced that the company’s foray into NFTs is just another money-making scheme. Again, the executive insists that it has gamers’ best interests in mind.
“The model of play to earn is about allowing players to make their own money by adding value to the whole ecosystem,” Pouard said. “So, it’s not just about Ubisoft, actually.”
Source: Finder