Blockchain Games vs Traditional Games: Pros and Cons

Blockchain games have made a lot of noise over the past years with millions of player inflows, but how do they compare to traditional games?

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Introduction of blockchain technology had an immense impact on almost all industries in many ways, starting with entertainment and ending with banking. One of the noteworthy industries, where blockchain is widely used is gaming. Compared to the traditional gaming market, the blockchain gaming market has a long way to go in terms of numbers, gameplay, functionality, etc., however, it also possesses distinct features that open novel opportunities for players. Let’s take a look at what blockchain gaming is, how it’s different from traditional games and explore their pros and cons.

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What is Blockchain Gaming in short?

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As the name blockchain games suggests, these are the games that's built on blockchain network. Almost all of the blockchain games allow players to earn while playing the game. The rewards can come in the form of cryptocurrencies and NFTs. With the help of blockchain technology, players can get rewarded with assets that can then be converted into real money. This is a new phenomenon, as in the traditional games, players could only earn in-game currency or assets as they progressed through the game, but those earned rewards stayed in-game only and couldn’t be traded outside the game or converted into real money, up until the recolutionary blockchain gaming concept was introduced. 

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Main Differences between blockchain games and traditional games

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Main differences between blockchain games and traditional games consist of possibilities that are exclusive to each type by design. Blockchain games games have been on the rise for a while now and one of the main features that constitutes this success is a real-world value bearing rewards system. As mentioned above, by playing those games, players can get awarded with various assets that represent real-world value. This is considered as the main driving force behind the success of blockchain games by many and at the current state of the blockchain gaming market, it’s hard to argue about that.

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Almost all of the existing blockchain games are lagging behind traditional games in terms of gameplay, sufficient functionalities and just playability in general. Traditional games have had the same game functionalities, graphics and game features that current top ranking blockchain games have for decades now. Thus, when it comes to gameplay and all the other related aspects, blockchain games have a lot of room to grow. 

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Another notable distinction between blockchain games and traditional games is that in former, players are able to truly own the in-game assets. Majority of the tradable and ownable assets in blockchain games come in the form of NFTs (non-fungible tokens). These assets may vary depending on the game, but for the sake of simplicity, let’s take an example of Axie Infinity’s Axies (digital Pokemon-like creatures) and Fortnite’s player skins. 

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In case of Axies, any Axie that’s owned by the players is verified and stored on the Ronin blockchain (Axie Infinity’s native blockchain). So if a player owns a specific Axie (which comes in the form of an NFT), it will be shown on the Ronin blockchain and everyone who wishes to see who owns that Axie can do so by browsing the Ronin Block Explorer. Those NFTs can then be transferred from one wallet to another and eventually traded in various marketplaces outside the Axie Infinity ecosystem.

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When it comes to Fortnite however, skins that players buy stay in-game only. Players can’t take them out of the game, trade them with other players, etc. In the big picture, although players have paid money to buy those skins, they are still technically owned by the game developers. There’s no way to verify that you are the one who truly owns the skins, as opposed to Axie Infinity and other blockchain games’ case.

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Earning a cryptocurrency by playing the games is another striking and most popular feature of the blockchain games. In traditional games, as one progresses through the game he earns that game’s soft currency. By making in-app purchases (spending real money), players get hard currency, usually, hard currencies can’t be obtained by simply playing the game, they can only be acquired by spending real money. Both soft and hard currencies are locked within that specific game and can’t be taken out of there to make further transactions such as trading and conversion into fiat money.

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In the case of blockchain games, however, things are a lot more open and transparent. In blockchain games, as players complete certain tasks, win battles, unlock achievements, etc., they get rewarded with that game’s crypto currency. Similar to the aforementioned case of NFTs, just like any other crypto currency, one can freely take out their rewards from the game, transfer them from one wallet to another and eventually trade or sell them on exchanges, thus converting their winnings to fiat.

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What does the future hold for the gaming industry?

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It’s clear that most blockchain games’ players are somewhat blinded by the incentives that these games provide and are only playing to make money, so the question arises; In which direction will the gaming industry evolve? Traditional games still capture a gigantic portion of the gaming market and blockchain is nowhere near as of time of writing. However, it is crucial to take into account the fact that blockchain gaming is still in its infancy and there are a lot of limitations on the technical and blockchain side of things as well, that prevent these games from having a similar gaming experience to traditional games.

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Millions, if not billions of dollars are being invested into the blockchain gaming market, incentivizing the gaming studios to develop blockchain games that could compete with traditional games in regards to all aspects. So it is just a matter of time before we see those trailblazing games in the gaming sector overtaking traditional games. Being one of the blockchain gaming pioneers, Parea Labs is also working on developing new groundbreaking games that would have it all; sustainable game economy, enjoyable gaming experience and high-quality build.

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Disclaimer: All information provided in the content is for informational purposes only and should not be perceived as investment, financial, or trading advice. Any investment decisions you make should be based on your personal preferences, financial expertise, and market research.

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About

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Parea Labs is a Web3 Gaming company that is driven by visionary ideas to provide various blockchain solutions and the excitement to build a user-focused, adaptive, and innovative gaming experience for all.

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