Slow Burn
Play Stupid Games, Win Mainstream Users
If you've ever taken public transportation, you’re familiar with the ubiquity of mindless games like Candy Crush. That these simple games are incredibly addictive, despite their basic graphics and straightforward gameplay, is not a novel observation. And yet crypto has not leveraged them in its quest for the ever-elusive “mainstream adoption.”
Many Layer-1 foundations, the non-dilutive benefactors of developer ecosystems, are currently pursuing an enterprise sales approach that attracts Triple-A-quality games. However, this strategy does not drive immediate user adoption; best-in-class games are expensive and typically have a 3-5 year lead time (in fact, studios like Infinity Ward and Treyarch alternate production of Call of Duty). They also have significant downside risk because they often rely on new, crypto-enabled mechanics that aren’t guaranteed to spur user acquisition, increase engagement, or support sustainable in-game economies. Further, these new entrants must compete with the highly-refined, established platforms on major consoles, such as PlayStation, Xbox, and PC.
By contrast, simple games (think Flappy Bird) can be developed with much lower overhead. They have exceptional user acquisition characteristics, and are attractive to long-tail, independent developers—the backbone of any blockchain’s ecosystem. Low-barrier-to-entry games on mobile or web, with basic mechanics that demonstrate the potential for on-chain gaming, allow developers to experiment, iterate, and eventually find the right formula(s) for success.
AAA quality should eventually emerge on-chain, but large gaming studios can be understood as “the growth-stage investors” of the gaming world. Once outcomes are proven, they will begin to integrate the best mechanics from simple games into their expansive, monolithic platforms. In so doing, they will bring a new cohort of devoted gaming enthusiasts on-chain through their preferred medium.
About Slow Burn
Weekly explorations into emerging crypto trends and how to navigate 2023 from the Slow Crypto Team, Sam Lessin, Clay Robbins, and Caroline Cline.