Square Enix and Crypto

[Ezzeloharr]

As someone actually in Cyber Security, and one who understands crypto more than the masses that demonize it. I'm all for NFTs.

I'd love to know why you're all for crypto, and what about your "Cyber Security" experience suggests it worth supporting in any capacity.

[GrizzlyTank]

Ah... Artificial scarcity... The most infuriating thing to see in games and other digital content.

[SnowVix]

As someone actually in Cyber Security, and one who understands crypto more than the masses that demonize it. I'm all for NFTs.

I'm sure that's why Ethereum allows literal Wallet Inspector scams to go off with no recourse for the scammed.

Edited to add a tweet from a crypto guy who fell for the most blatant scam ever about it, because quite frankly, falling for "Spotify Wrapped but for your financial transactions" is hilarious: https://twitter.com/cat5749/status/1476813266462539779

[FrogDog]

In his letter, Matsuda writes: I realize that some people who “play to have fun” and who currently form the majority of players have voiced their reservations toward these new trends, and understandably so. However, I believe that there will be a certain number of people whose motivation is to “play to contribute,” by which I mean to help make the game more exciting. Traditional gaming has offered no explicit incentive to this latter group of people, who were motivated strictly by such inconsistent personal feelings as goodwill and volunteer spirit.

I'm getting some major FinDom vibes from this. Traditional gaming hasn't incentivized pay piggies enough.

[Exosapien]

"...who were motivated strictly by such inconsistent personal feelings as goodwill and volunteer spirit."

... volunteer spirit to... make large corporations richer?

Who tf are these people? Elon Musk simps?

Like I think everyone played games for fun? I have backed indy games before, because I liked their ideas and wanted it to become something I could play... for fun. I (editlmao) DONT pay a FFXIV sub to give SE's CEO a bonus chub, I do it to play the game I enjoy.

[Conundrum]

The minute that garbage comes to FFXIV is the day I go to my account page and close it.

[OtakuSempai]

I was extremely disappointed to read this morning that Square Enix is embracing NFTs and other crypto-related schemes (as seen in this letter from the President of Square Enix, Yosuke Matsuda).

Much has already been said about environmental harms caused by existing approaches to crypto mining, notwithstanding potential (and, as-of-yet, largely unproven) ostensibly less-harmful alternatives. It is also plain for anyone with eyes to see that the crypto world is chock-full of scam artists, Ponzi schemes, and various other frauds. Beyond this, however, the continued financialization of gaming is a troubling development. Games have already seen the advent of paid downloadable content (some of which is fine!), microtransactions, extortive battle-pass type systems, not to mention lootboxes and the like. The last thing we need is yet another avenue for game publishers to extract revenue from their players.

In his letter, Matsuda writes:



Couching further financialization of gaming as catering to a heretofore purportedly underserved market of people who "play to contribute" is laughable at best. Games are not some new medium; I find it hard to fathom that there is some large market waiting to be served games which they care not to play, but instead to "contribute" to in some way. Frankly, it's hard for me to imagine what is even meant by this. Is tossing a Raise to a fallen adventurer in Bozja not contributing to the game?

On a personal level, this is a very disappointing development. I've been playing FFXIV since the second or third ARR beta, and truly love the work that YoshiP and the FFXIV team have done. However, I am loathe to contribute to the financial success of a company seeking to further financialize gaming, again notwithstanding the other rampant issues with crypto-related technologies.

Gonna have to think hard about whether to continue my subscription in light of this development.

This clown is the reason I've been suspecting for a long time that the incompetent leadership over at SE (not CB3, the developer of FFXIV) are actively making the game worse.

Fewer armor sets this xpac, homogenization of jobs, fewer side content. I think leadership is actively pulling resources away from CB3 (the only money making studio this publisher has left) to help fund other garbage projects like what he's talking about here. We have less nice things because suits like this guy are running the show and are completely out of touch.

[Sclair0]

One of the reasons I came online today, I also think it would be terrible in XIV.

[Iscah]

... volunteer spirit to... make large corporations richer?

Who tf are these people? Elon Musk simps?

Like I think everyone played games for fun? I have backed indy games before, because I liked their ideas and wanted it to become something I could play... for fun. I pay a FFXIV sub to give SE's CEO a bonus chub, I do it to play the game I enjoy.

To me it sounds like they're trying to put people who buy their NFTs on an equal "contributing to the game" pedestal with the people who volunteer their time to organise hunt trains or in-game events or make tutorials.

[Exosapien]

To me it sounds like they're trying to put people who buy their NFTs on an equal "contributing to the game" pedestal with the people who volunteer their time to organise hunt trains or in-game events or make tutorials.

Those are all just people playing for fun. This statement is obviously purely from a financial point of view, CEO's don't care about hunt trains lmao