Games should be fun, and projects should make money, but do Web3 games only have one option?

"We do not stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing."

I have always liked video games.

We are fortunate to live in an era where video games are no longer just a form of entertainment for children, but have gradually become a legitimate form of entertainment that adults can also enjoy with confidence. Elon Musk is a good example.

There is a little-known fact that I always like to bring up: the entire gaming industry is twice the size of the film industry, and the film industry is twice the size of the music industry.

Gaming is not just mainstream, but a super-sized mainstream.

Over the past few years, the quality of video game content has unknowingly soared. Now, any AAA title typically has 60 to 100 hours of gameplay content, with at least 10 to 30 hours dedicated to narrative content. In other words, the story is almost equivalent to the length of The Lord of the Rings trilogy. If a work has sequels or is made into a series, its narrative duration may already be approaching that of the entire Game of Thrones.

Take a look at Hideo Kojima's "Death Stranding" (I haven't played the sequel yet, so no spoilers in the comments), it's basically an interactive movie; "Yakuza" tells the life story of Kazuma Kiryu; "The Elder Scrolls" has built a complete fantasy world; "Cyberpunk 2077," "Fallout," "The Last of Us" have all developed their own TV series; "Red Dead Redemption," "Final Fantasy," "The Legend of Zelda," "The Witcher," "God of War"... I could go on if I had more space.

So for someone like me who is both in the crypto world and loves gaming, it is quite heartbreaking to see that Web3 games are still struggling to make progress.

Many people do not understand where Web3 games are really stuck. They think that Web3 games are just experiencing a temporary cooldown like other sectors, and that as long as the cycle comes back and the track shifts again, they will eventually make a comeback.

I am not that optimistic because Web3 games still haven't resolved their most fundamental contradictions.

Web3 games are, after all, still games. People who like a particular game ultimately have to spend time truly playing it and enjoying it.

**However, at the same time, Web3 games are also an investment project. Most projects have their own tokens and economic models. Those who like this "project" will invest funds in hopes of getting a return.

So, unlike other fields: if you want to support a Web3 game project, you must "double invest" - both time and money.

And this contradiction goes beyond that. As a game, you certainly want players to play for a long time, to stick around, and not give up after just two or three hours. Ideally, players should be able to play for several months, or even years.

But as a project, the team and investors certainly hope that the token takes off as quickly as possible. The ideal situation is to reach the moon within a few weeks, or even a few days after going live.

So these two goals are always pulling against each other on the timeline, presenting a fundamental contradiction. The development team often ends up making compromises: either compressing the game content and making it shorter, or creating a low-efficiency experience filled with task grinding to extend retention time and forcefully "nurture the community."

This is really difficult—and there are so many better alternatives in reality. Whether it's games or investments.

You want me to spend 200 hours playing "Elden Ring" (a game that is universally acknowledged as a top-tier work), then I certainly can't spend time playing other games; if I have to spend 200 dollars to buy a token for a Web3 game and rely on "play-to-earn" to earn that money back, I might as well use that 200 dollars to buy other coins.

This is just one of the issues, but it is the most fundamental and the hardest to solve.

Of course, the problems faced by Web3 Gaming are not entirely due to Web3 itself. The changes in the traditional gaming market over the years have also affected Web3: for instance, after COVID, most people have spent less time playing games; gaming companies are increasingly relying on existing brands to stabilize their base (the top six games at the 2023 TGA Game Awards are all sequels or remakes); the early foreign advocacy for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) content has now shifted politically, and many games have had to repackage themselves...

All these internal and external troubles have contributed to the current state of Web3 Gaming.

But that being said - there's no need to be too pessimistic.

Truly excellent Web3 games will definitely emerge; it just requires a bit more time, a bit more patience, and even a bit more courage to "let go of industry obsessions" and refocus on making great games.

I am still waiting for the appearance of that game, and I believe it will come one day.

#GateSquare# #Gate4Life#