Tech
To be successful, Web3 games need to focus on quality rather than tech hype, says Aphone CBO
William Paul Peckham, chief business officer of APhone, recently gave an exclusive interview to crypto.news, offering his thoughts on the intersection between Web3 and the mobile gaming industry.
Mobile gaming is booming. It’s a $98.74 billion market, which controls half of the global gaming industry. Since the industry’s main attraction is accessibility and convenience, it has become a dominant force in the entertainment industry.
But innovation never stops. Enter Web3, the revolutionary catchall phrase promising decentralization, security and true ownership of digital assets. With that comes the promise of empowering players, giving them control over their own in-game resources and creating new ones economic opportunities.
Yet, this revolution faces obstacles. Developers struggle with blockchain integration, and user adoption remains slow.
So what’s holding Web3 back from entering mobile gaming? Peckham believes the main obstacles are restrictive app store policies and hardware limitations that hinder wider accessibility.
What are the main barriers to entry for new users in Web3 games, and what steps are being taken to streamline the onboarding process for a broader audience?
The hardware is probably the biggest. We’re seeing a lot of AAA Web3 games released or ready for launch. These games require a certain level of GPU specifications to run, meaning they cater to a specific type of gamer. For mobile gamers, there is now a rise in mobile Web3 games, but they are accompanied by the misconception that you need the latest iPhone or Samsung to play these games. That’s not really true. APhone allows anyone to run Web3 games on even the most basic old smartphone for just $33 a year, significantly lowering the barriers.
What challenges do mobile game developers face when integrating blockchain technology to support live and dynamic Web3 gaming environments, and how can these challenges be mitigated?
Gamers are naturally drawn to the allure of immersive graphics and gaming experiences and seek the thrill of cutting-edge advancements. But these elements also represent a real problem when it comes to potentially limiting the market of available players. While many PCs can support these features, gamers, especially those in developing countries, simply don’t have the latest hardware. To ensure these players don’t miss out on the action, it’s important for developers to be aware of solutions that can use the decentralized cloud to manage CPU and graphics requirements so players can log in regardless of what hardware device they own.
Given the current mobile gaming landscape and its rapid growth, how can developers ensure that Web3 elements don’t compromise the accessibility and ease of use that mobile gamers are accustomed to?
I think the key thing is to focus on the quality of the game and make the Web3 elements secondary. Not many players choose games because of NFTs or because they prefer the Web3 wallet design. They choose games because they like the graphics, the premise seems interesting, the plot is well designed, and the gameplay is engaging. Additionally, if Web3 games require too much knowledge or too many setup steps, they will turn away less technical players who just want to jump straight into the game.
How do you envision Web3 technologies altering traditional revenue models in mobile gaming, particularly with the introduction of microtransactions and tokenization?
Incentives are key. Web3 has demonstrated that by designing an intelligent incentive system it is possible to attract users and retain them. This is the exact opposite of mobile games, which traditionally require users to pay to play, pay to unlock features, or essentially spend to go beyond the freemium version. If mobile games were to instead incentivize their users instead of looking for ways to exploit them financially, they could tap into an entirely new type of user and unlock a new wave of players. For any of this to be successful, however, we need to get past the Apple and Google app stores, which for the most part are not friendly to Web3 technologies.
How can Web3 mobile gaming platforms leverage blockchain technology to improve security and trust, particularly in peer-to-peer transactions and digital asset ownership?
Gatekeeping and censorship are huge problems that hinder many innovations, which is part of why we created APhone. The fact that app stores can delete apps or users that don’t align with arbitrary policies or some policy changes is a serious misstep. Web3 mobile games put the power of choice in the user’s hands. You’re human and you want to play a game. Why does it matter where you are from or whether you can earn tokens from the game? The new Internet is a more liberating place. I also think that the transparency of player interactions and the immutable nature of digital asset ownership will prove indispensable for players. Being able to store assets in your wallet on the blockchain means that even if something goes wrong with the game, such as bugs, lags, freezes or anything else, you still have the asset under your ownership and control.
How is APhone navigating these waters?
Unless Apple and Google change their policies on Web3 technology and cryptocurrencies in the next few years, I predict a battle between virtual cloud phones and Web3-enabled phones will take place. Our approach is to give developers greater incentive to distribute apps and users greater sovereignty over their data and abilities to access Web3 technology. APhone’s Web3 virtual cloud smartphone app is a more viable method to get players into Web3 games, as they don’t need to purchase a new device; they can simply use their smartphone and access APhone through that. They don’t have to worry about the hardware limitations of their smartphone: they can take advantage of RAM and GPU via the cloud.
Based on current trends, what are your predictions for the integration of Web3 technologies into mainstream mobile games over the next five years?
Mobile games have become increasingly popular. In 2024, the mobile gaming market is expected to generate revenue of $98.74 billion worldwide, and mobile gaming will constitute 50% of the global gaming market. By comparison, the entire Web3 gaming market, regardless of console or device, is worth approximately $23 billion. So, over the next five years, Web3 will absorb a large percentage of that, but for it to work in this growing space, I see the need to use existing hardware instead of requiring people to buy new devices.