My Adventure Island
That summer, the sound of cicadas still echoed in my dreams.
I suddenly recalled how when I was a kid I would secretly ask my elders to buy me paper money recharge cards for pencils and erasers, how I would go to a black internet cafe with a childhood friend who charged 1 RMB per hour, and how I would stay up late at night using sweatpants to block the cracks in the door to let in the dim light. Those were the times of my childhood that I miss the most, and they have left a mark on me for a long time.
As an early beta tester, I would like to express:
Those kids who longed to be adults have grown up and have money now. They have more time and energy to make up for their regrets. They can call on a few friends to play Zakun day and night. As a highly influential and phenomenal game IP, it not only represents the transformation attempt of traditional game giants to the blockchain game field, but also carries the potential to introduce Web2 players to Web3.
Nexon, the developer behind MapleStory Universe, has invested $100 million in operating funds for this Web3 project through its blockchain subsidiary Nexpace until December 2023. This is provided by Nexon Korea through a capital increase. This level of investment is rare in the blockchain gaming field, showing Nexon's emphasis on this project and its long-term planning. In other words: there is enough room for gold farming to attract the market.
Although I personally have some doubts about the current benefits of blockchain games, I prefer the current blockchain game model to gradually move from the "1.0 era" to the "2.0 era", that is, the transition stage from pure gold farming to a focus on playability and sustainability. However, I have observed that more and more traditional game companies in the market are trying blockchain to create "definition-type" blockchain games. Combined with the current general trend, the grand ideal of decentralization, and the blockchain game market in some low-income countries in Southeast Asia and South Africa, I am sure that the early nomads who joined the blockchain revolution do not need to work as cattle and horses, but can achieve a certain degree of freedom in their pockets by lying at home playing games. Undoubtedly, MapleStory Universe is the biggest and best opportunity.
Judging from the two pioneer internal tests last year, the player participation and feedback are enough to glimpse its market potential. Through NFT and token economy, players are given real ownership of in-game assets, and the traditional NPC store is cancelled, replaced by wild hunting and lottery to obtain props. This design attempts to enhance the player's "reward experience" while retaining the characteristics of the core gameplay of the game. This fusion of "Play-to-Earn" and traditional "MMORPG" attracts players who want both entertainment and profit to the greatest extent. At the same time, it can be seen that the project's ambition is not limited to a single game, but aims to create a complete Web3 game ecosystem. The multi-dimensional layout extends the life cycle of the project as much as possible and improves user stickiness. The sentimentality of old players, the reward drive of Web3 users, the expected airdrop of the token $NXPC and the performance optimization of the avalanche chain. All of these are extremely beneficial to set off a new wave of chain game craze and become a benchmark for Web3 games to break the circle.
I am cautiously optimistic about the excellent performance of MapleStory's public beta, and I hope it can surprise us in 2025. The picture is a translation summary of the recent MSU AMA for your reference
