Yat Siu, co-founder of Animoka Brands, thinks GameFi has a huge growth opportunity in Asia, because players there don’t have the same vitriol against non-vulnerable tokens (NFTs) as they do in the West.
Sitting down with Cointelegraph during Asia Crypto Week, Siu argued that Asia in general has a more welcoming culture for gaming and technology development such as NFTs, digital assets and e-commerce (P2E).
“I think Asia has the potential to lead the blockchain game, at least in the short term. And there are two reasons why I think so. You know, not only because there are more players in this region of the world, but also because Asian players accept NFTs.
“Game companies in the West have to deal with consumer resistance that game companies in Asia don’t,” he added.
Animoca’s co-founder explains that this adoption of NFTs is a broader Asian view of capitalism, as people see it as a way out of poverty in the region — barring China — rather than in the United States.
He points to examples such as South Korea, which “four decades ago” had an economy similar to North Korea’s but, despite lacking natural resources, has rapidly risen to the global stage in innovation, “innovation, legal frameworks and patent rights”.
“The consumer in Asia sees capitalism as a pure good fight. In other words, OK, there’s unfairness. There’s someone who’s made a lot of money, but people think, ‘I can get there too, or have a chance.’
Drawing a comparison with the US, Siu rightly notes that capitalism attracts a more demonized view from some people and that many people do not see capitalism as “working for them”.
He argues that this kind of thinking will eventually push players into NFTs, as people worry about being priced out of the market by expensive NFTs seen as “tools for the rich.”
“If the news isn’t a $5 or $10 in-game NFT item, but a $300,000 Bored Monkey, well, you know the whole auto industry looks a little bit more like Lamborghinis. And that is not true. But that’s what we see. And the rejection in the West comes from that lens.
Expanding on the Asian context, Siu also emphasized that the blockchain game is opening access to venture capital from Silicon Valley, which has really been untouched before, especially in the context of countries like the Philippines, where P2E game associations have become very popular.
Related: Players want to have fun, not party for tokens – Animoka subsidiary
This is due to the growing vibrant ecosystem in Asia, he said, adding that many players are embracing the technology and many projects are actively innovating in the space.
“Now you have companies like a16z, not just ourselves, but Silicon Valley money moving into Vietnam and the Philippines. I think that’s unheard of. So that’s also exciting. I think Asia is pointing to the future of the Web3 blockchain game. It’s very broad,” he said.