Dialogue with the Vice President of Ubisoft's Strategic Innovation Lab: The negative feedback from players regarding NFTs is exactly what we expected
Original Title: 《Interview: Ubisoft responds to angry NFT Digits and Quartz reaction》
Original Source: Finder
Original Compilation: WeChat Official Account: 老雅痞
Recently, we spoke with Nicolas Pouard, Vice President of Ubisoft's Strategic Innovation Lab, about the launch of Ubisoft Quartz and Digits NFTs.
On December 7, 2021, Ubisoft became the first major game developer to publicly enter the NFT space. The launch of Ubisoft Digits and the Quartz platform for NFTs did not go smoothly. Player feedback was overwhelmingly negative, even to the point of being aggressive. Notable figures in gaming media were lukewarm in their analyses. Regardless, this is a milestone moment in the gaming industry.
I can understand why players are so cautious. But I personally do not share this anger. In fact, I am excited about the launch of Quartz and Digits, albeit with an asterisk.
Having worked in gaming media for over 20 years, what I value most is the experience. I play for fun. I am not interested in investing or making money from games. However, over the past four years, I have also closely followed blockchain and NFT games, and I can see the potential of this technology to provide players with greater freedom. If products like Ubisoft Quartz and Digits (which you can believe will have more products coming) are handled well, players can reap many benefits.
What we truly own is not just a product, but the gaming ecosystem we create through games and communities, which, if handled properly and promises are kept, has a positive potential future.
Will Ubisoft do well? Or will Quartz and Digits become the demon spawn that devours our beloved hobby?
I shared my concerns with Nicolas Pouard, Vice President of Ubisoft's Strategic Innovation Lab and head of Quartz and Digits, to see how he would respond to the dissatisfaction his products have generated. With the help of Ubisoft's Blockchain Technology Director Didier Genevois, he said the following.
Player feedback on the release of Ubisoft Quartz and Digits has generally been negative. What do these responses tell you about the prospects for mainstream NFT success?
Nicolas Pouard: This is the reaction we expected. We know this is not an easy concept to understand. But Quartz is just the first step toward greater achievements. This way, our players can understand it better. This is how we think about the issue, and it’s why we keep trying. We will continue to release features and services around this initiative. Our belief is that the puzzle will be revealed and understood by our players piece by piece. We hope they can better understand the value we offer them.
You mentioned in your speech about improving relationships with players. If this is your goal with Quartz, it must be frustrating to see the feedback you received.
NP: I think this is part of the process. This is a reaction we are used to. I think it’s great because it shows the immersion of players and their passion for their hobbies and games. Seeing this, I think it’s somewhat reassuring. It indicates that our players love our work and appreciate Ubisoft's ability to provide great games. So that’s good.
However, we are obviously a bit frustrated. But I think overall, it’s good and something we can truly understand. We firmly believe that what we are doing (with Quartz and Digits) is moving in the right direction. Therefore, we will continue to integrate. Clearly, as we move forward, we need to listen to what our fans are telling us and how they are telling us so we can adjust what we are doing and the direction we are moving in. So that’s the next step. To ensure that what we are doing makes more sense to players.
Well, let’s talk about its significance. What do you think players are overlooking as the biggest positive factor that NFTs like Digits can offer them?
NP: I think players do not understand what the digital secondary market can bring them. Currently, due to the state and background of NFTs, players indeed think it is primarily damaging the planet and secondly just a speculative tool. But what we (Ubisoft) see first is the outcome for games. Ultimately, games provide players with the opportunity to resell their items after they have used them up or finished the game.
So, this is really beneficial for them. But they don’t understand it yet.
At the same time, this is part of the shift in gaming models. Transitioning from one economic system to another is not easy. There are many habits you need to change, many entrenched mindsets you need to alter. It takes time. We know this.
Do you think it would have been better to launch Quartz without mentioning NFTs or blockchain? If you had just launched a new platform that offered something new to gamers without showing them its potential mechanisms?
NP: In fact, we have tried to some extent, which is why we named them Digits. We considered not talking about the technology, but we understand our players. They would know that Digits are NFTs. So, we think it’s not very wise to try to hide it. Our principle is to create a safe place and environment with Quartz. Therefore, we need to be transparent about what we are doing.
Didier Genevois: If I may add a little opinion on this matter. As Nicholas said, we know that if we don’t mention the technology, players will notice. When blockchain is mentioned, players are primarily concerned about its environmental impact and the energy it consumes. Therefore, for us, it’s crucial to be able to show that we are aware of these concerns and that we are actively choosing to use Tezos.
This (communication) aligns with our responsibilities as a company. Our research has a strong participatory aspect regarding environmental and related issues. For us, being proactive in discussions allows players to know that we are taking the right steps to protect the environment.
I fear it’s not just an environmental issue. Many of the feedback I’ve read indicates that players believe or worry that NFTs are the new microtransactions or new loot boxes; that Digits will make Ubisoft games more expensive. Are they right or wrong?
NP: Well, first of all, players are always right. Because they are our players, and we love them. So, they are always right. But your observation is correct. The first point I want to make is that Digits are completely optional. This is content we create outside of the game economy. So, you can use Quartz or choose not to use it. It’s really a matter of personal choice.
At no point will we force players to use Quartz and Digits. We are simply telling them that there is a new system that can provide them with greater value than the existing system. That’s the first point.
Then there’s the way we built the platform regarding eligibility criteria. We’ve made it a bit difficult to enter. You have to purchase the game. You must play for at least two hours. So, for pure speculators, it’s a bit complicated to go there and invest and inflate the market. It’s not that complicated, but there are many other options for speculators to enter and disrupt. We believe Quartz is primarily for our players, and our initial data confirms our expectations. That’s what we see when looking at the data.
Remember, this is still an experiment. We will adjust the number of versions we are about to release so that there won’t be too much inflation. Our main focus is to ensure that even in the secondary market, game prices won’t be too high, allowing regular players to participate.
So, to clarify, the skin NFTs released for Ghost Recon: Breakpoint can also be purchased through the game economy—even earned in-game—and only become unique NFTs through Quartz?
NP: No, those skins are exclusive to Quartz. You cannot obtain them in-game without going through Quartz.
An important belief related to blockchain is decentralization. Transferring power from large companies to consumers. From an outsider's perspective, I immediately question the value of decentralization for a company like Ubisoft. What benefits does decentralization bring to Ubisoft?
NP: So this question is actually about player engagement and how to share the ecosystem with them. When you look at the valuation of Ubisoft as a company, I think it exceeds $3 billion. But the value of the entire ecosystem (of Ubisoft products) exceeds $15 billion. Therefore, the ecosystem is far more complex than just one company. This ecosystem consists not only of companies but also of players and the various roles players play within this ecosystem.
Thus, for a centralized company like Ubisoft, the benefits of decentralization lie in opening the doors to our games and making them larger by sharing (equity) with players. Building new experiences based on every game so far. This is a new way of looking at games.
I don’t want to enumerate, but today, having a large ecosystem may be more interesting than just owning a game. I apologize because I know it’s hard to understand right now, as this idea hasn’t really existed (in gaming) yet. But we see that in creating value for everyone, a game’s ecosystem can be much larger than today’s games.
The most cynical feedback I’ve read from players points out that all of this is a strategy for Ubisoft to make more money. But do you think this is about creating a deeper player engagement experience?
NP: Yes. The profitable game model is for players to earn by increasing the value of the entire ecosystem. So, it’s not just about Ubisoft.
Considering that Ubisoft is trying to lead this emerging field, how do you feel when you see what happened with the Stalker 2 team—they announced NFT integration but then backed out after facing strong opposition? What’s your reaction?
NP: Unfortunately, there is still some resistance based on misunderstandings. But I’m not sure we can compare Stalker 2 with the goals of Quartz. What I want to say is that this is a different use case for players.
I know Quartz has only been out for a few weeks, but so far, what valuable experiences have you gained from the launch of Digits?
DG: What we’ve learned is that the barriers we set for eligibility criteria have worked. Of the 2,500 tokens ordered in the first two weeks of the game, the vast majority came from players of Ghost Recon: Breakpoint. They were not starting to play when we launched Quartz on December 7. They had been playing the game for a long time before that. It’s great to see this because for us, it was the biggest risk. The market could be taken over by speculators. That’s absolutely something we didn’t want to see.
NP: Perhaps from a technical perspective, we are pleased that everything has gone as we wished. It hasn’t been easy because we are building on Tezos, which is not an obvious choice when you build NFTs. But we wanted to commit to this environmentally friendly choice. We are very satisfied with that. Additionally, I think from a user experience perspective, using the Quartz platform is easy to get started with.
Do you think players will own their games in the future? Will these games be NFTs?
NP: This is part of the use cases we can explore, but it’s not the focus today.
Do you think most Ubisoft games (if not all) will be integrated with Quartz and Digits in some way in the future?
NP: In fact, we are already a very decentralized company. We let the teams of each project decide whether they want to have Digits or use the Quartz platform itself. So, it’s open.
But clearly, the Tom Clancy games will be the first touchpoint?
NP: (laughs) It’s possible.
From the start of the game, in your speech about Quartz and Digits, you mentioned the potential acquisition of decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) in the future. What do you mean by that? Did I mishear?
NP: (I was referring to) the future of user acquisition. When you talk to members of DAOs like Yield Guild Games, they do see themselves as new tools for user acquisition in games. Because if you create great gaming experiences, these guilds will appear in your game and drive the development of your ecosystem, and the end result is that you need to integrate into the whole economy and community. So, it’s not just about your marketing costs for acquiring new players, but how you build games in a way that can attract guilds.
Attracting guilds specifically talks about the monetization space of games. Is this something you are interested in? If so, is it through a new IP, or would you consider applying P2E to existing IPs?
NP: Yes, we are interested in game revenue. For us, it follows the same logic as what we are doing today. So, we try to view Ubisoft games as a place that provides the maximum value for your experience. This means that as you play the game, there are different kinds of value.
Of course, there’s fun. The enjoyment you get from playing games. In fact, you can learn things. For example, in Assassin's Creed, players can learn history, and we experiment with old games to let players learn new soft skills. So, games can encompass a lot and provide a lot for players. Adding real-world value rewards on top of all the value games already provide could be the next addition.
So, Quartz is just a continuation of what we are already doing, but I want to say that it needs to be handled well. That’s why it doesn’t make sense to use existing games with existing economies and try to shift them into the game economy. It really needs to start from scratch. Because this is a very different way of thinking about game economies and monetization.
Have you already discussed cross-using Ubisoft characters with other NFT games? Like the axie that looks like a Rabbid in Axie Infinity? Are you exploring similar things and trying to promote the Ubisoft brand within the existing NFT space?
DG: In the past, we joined Cryptokitties and did some experiments with Rabbids. So, cross-brand experiments like this are definitely possible. As of now, nothing is being output. But yes, internally, it’s possible at certain points because that’s what the technology ultimately provides.