Square-Enix has made no bones about its excitement to throw good money after bad on the pyre of NFT and crypto gaming, with its highlighted foray being Symbiogenesis, which readers will recall was announced last November. That game has now officially launched its website, and the whole thing reads just as tone-deaf as the company’s former president.
The section that details Symbiogenesis talks up its 10,000 character NFTs, its gameplay mechanics involving finding items hidden around a floating continent, and the various benefits of holding NFTs such as earning points, member ranks, and completing story objectives. Peppered throughout are some eyebrow-raising statements and design decisions, such as the game calling itself “narrative-unlocked NFT entertainment,” confirmation that only three players will be allowed to see the game’s final mission, and an attempted spin of player trading mechanics as an examination of the differences in principles between Web2 and Web3.
“Can Web2 and Web3 live together in symbiosis? Or will the two approaches necessarily conflict? What kind of interesting aspects can this decentralized approach bring? By playing through Symbiogenesis, perhaps you will reach this answer,” reads the site. We’re willing to bank on what the answer might be considering remarks on the game’s trailer.
Perfect Ten: MMOs that have fallen to the dark side of cryptocurrency
Lawful Neutral: How is an NFT MMO even supposed to work?
Vague Patch Notes: NFTs in gaming are a bad, dumb idea
Vague Patch Notes: Why play-to-earn is a garbage idea
Vague Patch Notes: The metaverse doesn’t exist and isn’t a good idea either
GDC 2022: Control, revenue, scarcity, ethics, and the human challenges of the gaming ‘metaverse’
Vague Patch Notes: No, Little Orbit has not solved the MMO blockchain problem
