by: Jeffrey Tiefenthaler (Tief)
It’s no secret that Minecraft has banned NFTs from its network of Minecraft servers and clients. The end-user license agreement has made it clear for a while that you can’t own any content created within Minecraft. So on July 20, 2022 when Minecraft published an article clarifying its stance on NFTs and blockchain it came as no surprise.
The problem with monolithic companies like Microsoft is that they get so big it nearly becomes impossible for them to innovate. Rather than taking big risks and being forward thinking they double down on a policy that lacks innovation. This stems from a fundamental lack of understanding when it comes to blockchain technology.
Take this sentence from the article in reference to NFTs, “Yet, with any digital file, that file can be copied, moved, or even deleted.” Let’s take a look at this statement to see if Minecraft really knows what they are talking about shall we.
A. NFTs can be copied. NFTs possess unique identifiers or tokenIDs that explicitly make clear which copy is the true one and only original. It’s similar to a certificate of authentication received when purchasing a physical piece of artwork. Just like some rando can paint a near perfect copy of the Mona Lisa, people can right click, copy and save NFTs. The fact that it can be copied is irrelevant because there is only one authenticated copy of the NFT recorded on the blockchain. With decentralized blockchains anyone can verify whether your NFT is real or fake. If it’s a copy then it is fake and it will have zero value. Somehow Minecraft fails to make this connection in the article.
B. NFTs can be moved. It’s not clear what Minecraft means by moved. Do they mean moving on and off the blockchain? Most NFTs don’t move, they stay on the native blockchain they minted on unless they were designed to interoperate between different blockchains (which is rare at this time). It’s more likely that Minecraft means the transfer of property rights. Transferring ownership of digital goods is a benefit, not a hindrance, as it can increase the value and utility of that NFT in the game. From what I know Minecraft players want the option to move rare items to a blockchain. Take Netherite diamond armor for example. For anyone not familiar with Minecraft, Netherite is an incredibly rare and difficult material to get. Finding it is a big accomplishment and can take a lot of time and energy to achieve. However, if a player dies they may lose their Netherite armor or have it stolen. This is why gamers want to be able to secure, share and transfer their valuable items on a decentralized blockchain. Minecraft doesn’t agree and it will be to their detriment.
C. NFTs can be deleted. This is wrong. NFTs that exist on a decentralized blockchain ledger do not randomly disappear and can’t be deleted. The entire blockchain would have to disappear for this to happen. Only on centralized servers does this often occur. Perhaps in the future Minecraft will allow NFTs but only on a centralized blockchain so they can delete the NFTs of those who oppose them!
Clearly Minecraft hasn’t done their homework on blockchain use cases but they aren’t the only major centralized gaming company denouncing NFTs. From a recent article in The Washington Post a Sony company representative stated this regarding a new loyalty program rolled out by PlayStation, “It’s definitely not NFTs. Definitely not. You can’t trade them or sell them. It is not leveraging any blockchain technologies and definitely not NFTs”.
Going back to the Minecraft article it states, “The speculative pricing and investment mentality around NFTs takes the focus away from playing the game and encourages profiteering, which we think is inconsistent with the long-term joy and success of our players”. Really! I almost fell out of my chair laughing at that statement. Minecraft totally misses the mark on this. Billions of people around the world are joyful when they shop. Especially when it comes to purchasing something rare that they’ve been wanting and waiting to have. This same joy will be experienced in the metaverse through NFTs and crypto.
Take it from someone who worked at Xbox between 2013 and 2021 (me). This article by Minecraft is a tactic deployed when an incumbent is threatened by better, more innovative technology like blockchain. They hide behind a pretense of “inclusiveness” while at the same time chopping the head off an entire industry that provides real jobs and opportunities for people to better themselves.
Give Minecraft credit though. They are not backing themselves into a corner and have used some language that implies there may be a chance of implementing NFTs and Blockchain. Mojang says that “integrations of NFTs with Minecraft are generally not something we will support or allow.” They also add that they will be “paying close attention to how blockchain technology evolves over time”.
District 53 is a solution to this killjoy
For months the community at Solar Network has been busy building a proof of concept metaverse called District 53. The open beta is currently available and can be downloaded here. There has been a lot of interest in District 53 from Minecraft developers, creators and gamers lately as talent always moves towards innovation.
District 53 is built on Minetest which is an open source voxel gaming engine and uses an easy-to-use API programming language called Lua. Minetest is open source and does not fall under the Minecraft end-user-license agreement. District 53 gets funding and support from the Solar Network Foundation which also maintains and secures the SXP blockchain. The SXP blockchain will be the backbone of District 53 and we have added P2E mods, and mods for other servers and projects who want to join our metaverse. The consensus is out and developers want NFTs, blockchain and crypto in the metaverse. District 53 embraces this disruption and innovation and is benefiting as top talent come into our community.
If you have been affected by the Minecraft ban on NFTs and would like migrate to District 53 please contact Tief@Solar.org
For those interested in joining the District 53 community please visit our Telegram and Discord.
Cheers,
Tief | On Twitter @jeffreytief
Tief has a unique background in gaming and FinTech and oversaw multiple product and game launches working on projects with Activision, Minecraft, Electronic Arts and other major game studios. He has 15 years of experience building professional networks, leading growth initiatives, nurturing strategic partnerships, and is now part of Solar as a Senior Brand Ambassador.
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