Yat Siu, co-founder of Animoca Brands, thinks that Asia is the best place for GameFi to grow, because gamers there don’t hate nonfungible tokens (NFTs) as much as they do in the West.
Siu told Asian Trade during Asia Crypto Week that the culture in Asia is more open to gaming and technological advances like NFTs, digital property, and Play-to-Earn (P2E).
“I think that, at least in the short term, blockchain gaming could really take off in Asia. I think that’s the case for a few different reasons. “Not just because there are the most gamers in this part of the world, but also because Asian gamers are open to NFTs.”
“Gaming companies in the West have to deal with resistance from customers that Asian gaming companies don’t have to deal with,” he said.
Related: Xbox’s CEO is “apprehensive” of pay-to-win games.
The co-founder of Animoca said that this acceptance of NFTs was due to a broader Asian view of capitalism. He said that, with the exception of China, people in the region like capitalism more than in the U.S. because they see it as a way to get out of poverty.
He used South Korea as an example. “Four decades ago,” he said, South Korea’s economy was the same size as North Korea’s, but it has quickly moved up the global rankings through innovation, “creativity, legal frameworks, and property rights,” even though it doesn’t have many natural resources.
“The Asian consumer sees capitalism as a net good. In other words, yes, things aren’t fair. He said, “There’s a guy who made a lot of money, but people think, ‘I can get there too, or I have a chance.’
Siu pointed out that in the United States, some people have a more negative view of capitalism, which is fair because many people haven’t seen it “work for them.”
He said that this way of thinking eventually leads to gamers being against NFTs because they worry about being priced out of the market by expensive NFTs that are seen as “rich man’s tools.”
“When the biggest story isn’t about a $5 or $10 in-game NFT item, but about a $300,000 bored ape, then you know it’s kind of like saying that all cars are Lamborghinis. That’s also not true. That’s what we see, though. “So, the West’s rejection comes from that point of view.”
Siu also said that blockchain gaming is giving countries like the Philippines, where P2E gaming guilds have become very popular, access to venture capital from Silicon Valley that hasn’t really been used before.
He said again that this is because Asia has a strong ecosystem that is growing because more gamers are using the technology and more projects are coming up with new ideas in the space.
Related: A Revolutionary New Way to Earn Money While Playing Video Games is on the Horizon.
“Now you have companies like A16Z investing in Vietnam and the Philippines, and we’re not the only ones. “Money from Silicon Valley is also moving there.” I’ve never heard of that before. So that’s also kind of cool. I do think that Asia points to a future of gaming on the web and blockchain. “On the whole,” he said.
