The next webinar in “The Fintech Times Presents” series honed in our GameTech focus, exploring some of the latest technologies in the gaming and gametech worlds, as well as looking at what makes this tech so popular, and what the future holds for the industry.
This February, The Fintech Times is taking a deep dive into the world of gametech. Grab your headsets and controllers and tune in to hear about the latest tech and celebrities influencing the market to the development of eSports and much more.
In today’s webinar, host Polly Jean Harrison, The Fintech Times’ Features Editor, was joined by Cordel Robbin-Coker, co-founder and CEO of Carry1st and Ping Wang, Co-founder and VP of Marketing at AviaGames Inc.
With the global gaming industry expected to reach a valuation of 314.40 billion USD by 2026, the gametech sector is rising alongside it, constantly innovating to create new and exciting technologies. As blockchain, cloud and VR bring the metaverse to life, gametech is experiencing a huge boom in popularity that shows no signs of slowing down, as well as in-game tokens such as in skins, loot boxes and now NFTs causing a global stir, the possibilities seem endless, with many wondering – what could be next?
This webinar kicked off with the panellists discussing the latest technologies in the sector. Robbin-Coker said, “What people are most excited about right now are blockchain in gaming, and AR/VR technology. Both of these opened up a really wide range of new applications and different ways for people to engage.”
Giving an example, he continued, “In 2021 we witnessed the explosion of NFTs. In a free to play game, oftentimes a user will have the ability to buy different things in games like skins, but in the traditional world, a user couldn’t genuinely own or transfer any of these items. If you tokenise them using blockchain, the user now has verifiable ownership.”
Further expanding on the benefits of blockchain technology in gaming, Wang said, “It [blockchain tech] has brought greater innovation to the gaming industry. It is secure as it is decentralised and distributed, making it harder to corrupt. This has greatly improved the security of players’ games, especially the security of their in-game assets.”
Discussing how companies must capitalise on regional success, Wang spoke about APAC and the growing number of crypto users. “Worldwide, 70 per cent of 21 – 38-year-old gamers own crypto and they want more opportunities to use it in games. Among those gamers who own crypto, 23 million users are in the APAC region, meaning there are huge opportunities in the region. There are 3.3 million users in North America by comparison, so we think more creative payment methods could help us enter into different markets.”
“Nowadays more than ever, we value individualism; we value personalisation.” Said Wang when discussing the reason for NFTs’ popularity, “The vanity system/skin system is always the game as this is what everyone cares about. Research from Super Data found there was over $90billion spent on microtransactions last year and most of this money went on new costumes or weapon skins.
“There is no doubt the vanity system has always been popular and now tokens like NFTs allow players to buy exclusive merchandise under their name with the game, allowing them to own the item. Web 3.0 allows communities to use tokens to create digital platforms and ecosystems, where they can trade with each other.” Concluded Wang.
To view the full webinar, click here.
