Play on Mac to suck less
Is Apple's reign as the worst gaming platform coming to an end?
Amid all the buzz about its long-rumored VR/AR headset slated to launch in early 2024 (lines outside the Apple Store start in October), it's not the only sign Apple is it might finally be sorting out its lackluster gaming offering. It is also releasing software that will make it easier to play Windows games on Mac.
Gaming on a Mac really sucks. Many games, especially indie and early release games, are not supported. Keyboard mapping can be funky. To this day, I haven't been able to place special tackles on my fishing rod (no, that's not a hint) in the Mac edition of Stardew Valley.
With virtual reality games, it's even worse. If you want to spend hours watching YouTube videos, you can get most VR headsets to work with a Mac. But right now the only one that's officially supported seems to be the HTC Vive.
The downside to a native Apple product is that it comes with an Apple price tag: $3,499. It's hard to justify spending so much money to explore the slow, empty metaverse when you could spend a few months traveling and seeing some of the coolest places in the real world for the same price.
The endless legal disputes over in-game virtual assets
The Sandbox, Decentraland, and Axie Infinity tokens (SAND, MANA, and AXS, respectively) made a cameo appearance in the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) complaint against Binance, which was filed on June 5.
He complaint against the crypto exchange contains 13 charges, including that Binance sold unregistered securities. The SEC counted SAND, MANA, and AXS among those securities, meaning it considers them to be investment types, not currencies.
Speaking at the Non Fungible Conference (NFC) in Lisbon, Portugal on June 7, The Sandbox COO Sebastien Borget said his team was aware of the litigation, but they themselves are not subject to any.
"We don't necessarily agree with the characterization that's been put in that litigation, including the rating of SAND as a security there," he said, adding that it wouldn't change the company's day-to-day business.
Since the announcement, eToro has said that delist multiple tokensincluding MANA, for US-based customers.
Making in-game coin values โโis a new twist on the mess that is bridging the gap between virtual game currencies and real life money.
It is not something new. The debate over the legal status of in-game currencies even predates the invention of Bitcoin. Second Life got its first millionaire in 2006 and the question of who owes what to whom has continued, exacerbated by the fact that many developers and creators already feel they are paying large "taxes" to the platforms.
However, previous conversations have mainly focused on making sure those who sell virtual assets or games from developers on platforms pay tax correctly, not on investment and probably because Web2 virtual currencies act more like currencies.
At last check, the US IRS doesn't seem to be too concerned about virtual currencies if they don't quit a game.
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Avalanche wants to help Web2 game leaders move to Web3
Blockchain's quest to turn game companies to the dark side continues with Ava Labs' launch of Arcad3, a program to help Web2 gaming giants "launch powerful blockchain implementations ".
Ava Labs, which has supported game companies in building more than ten gaming subnets on Avalanche and more than 100 Web3 games, will work with teams on game monetization, marketing, user acquisition, and risk management.
Among the first companies to participate are Tokyo-based companies Gumi and GREE (not to be confused with Chinese air conditioning giant GREE Electrics), as well as Shrapnel, DeFi Kingdoms and Gunz Chain by Gunzilla.
GREE, Metaverse's board of directors and senior vice president, Eiji Araki, said he believed the program would help the company stay ahead of the curve in Web3 gaming and develop relationships with studios that are experimenting and building the space. He is currently working on his first Web3 game, Project INCURSION.
"I can't share any details other than the code of the project yet, but it will be an innovative title that successfully combines our almost 20 years of knowledge in mobile game development with the new essence of Web3," he added in a statement.
GameStop CEO is replaced by billionaire who trades memestock
See you later, Matt Furlong.
The GameStop CEO and former Amazon executive was fired on June 7 following the end of his 24-month contract with the games retailer. During that time, he oversaw GameStop's transition from a primarily brick-and-mortar retailer to a more Internet-focused company.
Ryan Cohen will replace Furlong. Cohen made his fortune by founding online pet supply retailer Chewy, but he is perhaps best known for his involvement in memestocks. He got people to invest in companies like Bed, Bath and Beyond and GameStop, causing prices to skyrocket. Critics say he's pumping and dumping.
He joined GameStop's board in January 2021, became Chairman of the Board that same year, and owns about 12% of the company.
It seems that much of GameStop's subsequent forays into crypto came from Cohen. In February of this year, he signed a deal with Immutable to build GameStop's NFT marketplace. It is scheduled to debut later this year.
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Hot Take: Crypto-Themed Games on Steam
Given the lack of interesting Web3 games that have landed on my desk in recent weeks, let's talk about non-blockchain based games that deal with cryptography.
Steam may not allow crypto gaming, but it can do little about trading sims and Bitcoin mining tycoon RPGs. None are hits. Most seem to be joking.
Take Coin Invaders, for example, which tells players that they must save Bitcoin by destroying altcoins. It's basically Space Invaders with extra steps, one reviewer notes.
Or maybe you enjoy Crypto is Dead, in which an attack has brought the world economy to a standstill and physical currency has returned. It is up to you to determine which banknotes are genuine and which are counterfeit. Captivating things.
You can then choose from half a dozen mining tycoon simulators that require you to build mining rigs and businesses to profit from cryptocurrency in varying degrees of complexity. One version even has a simplified edition for children.
But perhaps the most fun non-crypto game award goes to CryptoZoo, which went live this February. I know what you're thinking and the answer is no: Logan Paul still hasn't kept his promise to reviving the zombie project that earned him an entire series on crypto sleuth Coffeezilla's YouTube channel.
Instead, the task of creating a CryptoZoo game was taken over by Rye Bread Games, who describes himself on Steam as a merchant who makes games for fun.
According to their deck, CryptoZoo is "...the best CryptoZoo on the market...the best of its kind...the best there will ever be..."
It may not involve NFT, but at least players have the long-awaited opportunity to breed animals in scientifically impossible pairs.
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Other things
โ Heroes of Mavia will launch the first phase of its Beta game for Land NFT owners on June 30. The community at large will be able to play the game in the second phase from September 1 to October 31.
โ Amazon Prime Gaming partnerships with Web3 companies continue. It's gearing up for another deal with Mythical Games' Blankos Block Party, in which Prime members will be able to claim exclusive packs to use in the game.
โ Ahead of the highly anticipated release of Otherside: Legends of the Mara this summer, Yuga Labs is ramping up the merchandising machine with KodaPendants for holders of Otherside Kodas and Vessels. The pendants are the first "relic" of the Otherside Relics by Gucci collection.
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