NFTs Could Revolutionise The Gaming And Fashion Industry
The NFTs refer to non-fungible tokens built using the same programming language as bitcoin and ethereum, but that is exactly where the similarity between NFTs and cryptocurrencies ends. Physical money and all cryptocurrencies are fungible which means they can be traded or exchanged for another. But NFTs are unique and can only be owned by a specific person who reserves all exclusive ownership rights. Why is there so much hype around NFTs? What potential do they hold in transforming the gaming and fashion industry?
How NFTs Transform Gaming and Fashion
The NFT seems to have exploded up the ether in 2020 and is gaining even more momentum in 2021. From art to music, these digital assets are selling like the 17th-century exotic tulips — some for thousands of dollars. But are NFTs worth the money and hype? What potential do they have in revolutionizing gaming and fashion?
At its basic level, an NFT is a digital asset representing real-world objects like art, music, in-game videos, and in-game items. The NFTs are bought and sold online most frequently together with cryptocurrencies, but they are encoded with special programming features that make them unique and non-transferrable. Although they have been around the block since 2014, NFTs are gaining notoriety because they offer new ways to buy and sell digital artwork. Since November 2017, a staggering $174 million has been spent on NFTs.
Value Through Scarcity
NFTs are generally one of a kind. Or put it simply, NFTs are at least one of a limited run featuring unique identifying codes. Mr. Arry Yu, the Chairman of the Washington Technology Industry Association, stated that NFTs create digital scarcity — which stands in stark contrast to most digital creations that are almost always infinite. Hypothetically, assuming that a product or service is in demand, an oversupply will reduce the demand and cost. But most NFTs, especially these days, have been creations that existed in some other form elsewhere, like iconic FIFA video clips or NBA clips. In addition, NFTs could represent securitized versions of digital art that is already flowing on Instagram.
For instance, the famous digital artist known as Beeple designed a composite of 5000 daily drawings to create perhaps the most famous non-fungible token known as Everyday: The First 5000 Days that sold for a record-breaking $69 million. It is important to note that with NFTs, everyone can see the entire image or a collage of the image online for free.
The question is: why are people willing to spend millions online on something they can screenshot and download?
The answer is simple: the NFT allows the buyer to own the image, and it contains in-built authentication that serves as proof for ownership. Collectors of NFTs value the bragging rights more than the NFT itself, which means that NFTs are finding other diverse applications in areas like fashion and gaming due to their unique identifier features.
Applications of NFTs in Gaming
NFTs came into prominence in 2017 following a game called CryptoKitties, which enabled players to buy and breed limited-edition virtual cats — after the success of CryptoKitties, developers adopted NFTs to allow developers to win in-game items such as swords, digital shields, and similar prizes. The tokenization of gaming assets has proved to be a real game-changer because it provides capabilities to transfer tokens via NFT specialized blockchain marketplaces. Therefore, looking at the application of NFTs in gaming, we can see that the NFTs had a central role in defining the gaming landscape and signaled the adoption of tokenization by developers.
The market for digital real estate has been bolstered recently by the pandemic-accelerated shift to electronic games and investor excitement around NFTs and crypto. Many people see NFT-enabled games as a boom for the multi-million-dollar gaming industry. Gamers have for years spent huge budgets on gears — armors, weapons, and tools to strengthen their characters in games such as Minecraft, Fortnite, and World of Warcraft.
Luckily, with the emergency of NFTs comes a corresponding emergence of NFT-enabled games that allow gamers to exchange digital gaming assets with cryptocurrency. Immediately exchanged, the coins can be converted into dollars when gamers switch to a new adventure.
In some games, players can buy digital deeds for virtual real estate properties in the form of an NFT to prove the authenticity of a particular plot in a game. The real estate sector will appreciate as people join the industry and as scarce land is sold to new players who require the plots for certain missions and certain tasks. Players can rent out their land to other games, sell, or charge others for using it. There is no limit to how much gamers and developers can monetize on gaming plots through NFTs.
Application of NFTs in Fashion
Fashion brands are using NFT identifiers to enhance their customer experiences, increase touch, and improve leads in fashion sales. One of the main reasons non-fungible tokens are essential to brands is because they can represent digital files, video, and audio. The NFTs are also versatile in that they can represent other forms of creative works such as virtual worlds, virtual real estate, fashion, and many more — to increase brand awareness.
Fashion is not always about utility. It’s also a way of self-expression and a way of communicating status and identity. With lots of shoppers seeking new ways to signal impressions of identity and status in the digital world similar to the physical world, this shift in consumer behavior has created an opportunity for fashion to go virtual. Some of the top-leading brands are ready, and one market they are likely to break is the NFT marketplace. NFTs represent exciting developments for fashion brands because they are blockchain-based, unique digital assets that could offer fashion products unique identifiers, ownership, and ultimate status.
At a conference on technology and fashion hosted by Vogue Business in March 2021, Robert Triefus, the Gucci Executive Vice-President, said it was inevitable that brands would begin designing NFTs. While Gucci is yet to delve into the market itself, it has recently experimented with virtual spaces creating digital environments with games such as Zepeto and The Sims. Recently, Gucci introduced a $12 pair of digital sneakers that users can purchase through its application and wear in virtual worlds like Roblox, an online gaming platform.
While these digital sneakers are not NFTs, it’s not hard to imagine Gucci and other leading brands releasing NFTs for digital versions of physical goods that buyers have already purchased. By designing digital versions of physical goods, it will allow fashion brands to take real-world items in games like Warcraft, Fortnite, and Minecraft. Therefore, looking at NFTs, we can see tokenization taking over fashion and gaming. This tokenization ushers in the transferability of ownership and rights, alongside reconciling competing gaming and fashion needs.
Digital Fashion NFT Platforms
The emergence of digital fashion brands and platforms is evidence of the accelerating adoption of NFTs in fashion and gaming. Digitalax is a pioneering digital fashion brand that revolutionizes gaming and fashion through its esports platform, NFTs, Web3, and other open-source applications. Digitalax works closely with fashion-forward influencers and leaders to traverse the metaverse. The goal of platforms like Digitalax is to create an NFT marketplace for fashion designers, developers, and creatives to change how consumers view fashion and gaming.
In gaming, users will be able to use NFTs as payment currencies for digital avatars and to pay for avatar customizations. NFTs are essentially digital assets that enable players to purchase avatars, skins, and games, and to access customized gaming features. The NFTs can be converted to dollars and withdrawn as cash. In fashion, Digitalax is enabling fashion designers to earn from tokenizations through their unique creations and developments.
Therefore, looking at the future of NFTs, we can tell that tokenization will transform the gaming and fashion industry — mainly as platforms like Digitalax jump to facilitate this dynamic shift through exciting developments in esports, web3, and NFTs.
NFTs Will Most Definitely Change Gaming and Fashion
To understand how NFTs will revolutionize gaming and fashion, it is important to reflect on Ian Rogers, the Chief Digital Officer at LVMH, “There is no reason that today you couldn’t buy a bag and get an NFT.” NFTs will replace traditional fashion as consumers become aware of NFTs — and how these NFTs transform their online image and status.
