Tron Announces Plans to Join the Blockchain Bandwagon
Of the many sectors blockchain has been upturning this decade, the least surprising entry to the list is probably the online gaming industry. Technology is basically the backbone of video games, and production studios are perennially in a race to outdo their competition when it comes to adopting new tech innovations. It was therefore only a matter of time before we saw the integration of blockchain in the world of virtual gameplay.
What was once seen as an experiment taken up by just new-age game developers, integrating DLT or distributed ledger technology to existing gaming platforms is something veteran companies such as Tron is opting for as well. Tron was manufactured and distributed by Bally Midway, starting out as a coin-operated arcade video game in 1982. The gaming company is now taking extensive steps to stay ahead of its competitors and has already released its first blockchain game, Magic Academy. Recently, it has expressed its intent to explore blockchain in gaming further by announcing that it would invest $100 million to a blockchain game fund. Tron Arcade, as it has been named, will receive the funds over the next three years.
Benefits of Blockchain to Gaming:
Humans as a people possess a tendency to distrust new technology, and perhaps for obvious reasons. Gamers have been conned into making hidden payments and sharing their personal details such as credit card numbers without knowing the security protocols of the gaming platforms. Basically, online gaming forms a controversial sector because of some inherent issues which include unprotected data, high fees, and fraudulent activities
Blockchain presents a solution to a majority of the issues afflicting online gaming.
Consider the following ways, for starters:
1. Greater security for gamers’ personal information — This is largely because the transactions made on a blockchain platform are executed using cryptocurrency. This nullifies the need for a gamer to share credit card and bank account details online which could have been misused.
2. No chance of fraud — A transaction made by cryptocurrency on a blockchain network is highly traceable. Since every cryptocurrency is marked with a unique hash code, it is impossible to misappropriate it. A payment can be made only with the authorization of the owner of the virtual money, and a record of it is permanently stored in the decentralized ledger. Neither can this ledger be altered without the consensus of a majority of the network participants.
3. Low processing fee — Traditional methods of payments such as credit cards levy a high transactional fee, mainly due to the involvement of a bank in processing it. A blockchain network eliminates the need of a trusted third party to verify the transaction. Since blockchain is a peer-to-peer network, the payment is made directly to the gaming company, that too in a fraction of the time normally taken for it. The transactions are verified by the automated computer protocol called smart contracts.
4. Reduced price of gaming items — Blockchain enables micro-transaction benefits which serve as an incentive for gamers to purchase original in-game items and increases the customer base for developers. There is a demand for stolen or duplicated virtual items used in video games, which in turn increases the instances of system hacks. Blockchain allows developers to sell their power-ups at lower prices without compromising on profits.
How can Blockchain be Incorporated into Online Gaming?
Blockchain companies like HashCash Consultants are increasingly collaborating with gaming companies to provide them with blockchain platforms to merge with their existing gaming platforms. In cases where a gaming company chooses not to create a separate digital coin asset, the one that is already in use in the video can be adapted to function as a cryptocurrency in a blockchain network.
The blockchain companies also provide ICO services for gaming companies, and after due diligence, help list the coin on cryptocurrency trading exchange.
Since a blockchain is a decentralized distributed ledger in which the shared database is reconciled in real-time across every node in the network, it is possible for the stored data to be utilized by multiple gaming platforms. The result could be interoperability of digital assets and products to create a multiverse for enhanced player immersion.
Online gaming is a booming industry and is worth a fortune. It covers social gaming, mobile gaming, free-to-play as well as pay-to-play games, and MMO gaming. The combined revenue of just the last two segments totaled to roughly 19.9 billion U.S. dollars in 2016, and going by the projected growth of the data volume of global online gaming traffic alone (petabytes in 2020), online gaming is here to stay.
