GREE Group has released a blockchain game. Mr. Murata, the company's business development manager in the Web 3.0 area, and Mr. Honma, producer of "Crypto Catch! Fishing Star," talk about the development process, its significance, and the future.
As a beginning, please tell us about the features of "Crypto Catch! Fishing Star" and the points you focused on.
Honma Takayuki (hereinafter, Honma): When the "Crypto Catch! Fishing Star" project began, we decided not to sell in-game items, and instead targeted people who were new to blockchain games. The game content was designed to be simple so that even beginners to blockchain games could easily play.
However, even if it could be played like a conventional social game, users would not be able to experience the unique experience of blockchain games. That's why we incorporated the characteristics of blockchain games. The two points we focused on were simplicity that even beginners could play, and the inclusion of elements that allow users to experience blockchain games.
Existing blockchain games require you to first buy an NFT, which can be said to be a barrier to entry. That's why we decided to support gas fees required for gameplay so that you can start for free at first.
Takuyoshi Murata (hereinafter, Murata): First of all, this game is very simple and, in a word, it's a fishing game. Every time you catch a fish, your fishing rod grows, and once you collect five fishing rods you can turn them into an NFT.
One thing that we were particularly concerned about was the current situation where only a small number of cryptocurrency investors and people in the gaming industry are expecting blockchain games to be the next big thing.
As a result, we felt that there are currently few users and that the situation is not leading to business, so we focused on "increasing blockchain transactions."
This game uses the Sui blockchain, but is the fact that it was originally a validator related to this?
Murata: Yes. The reason I originally participated as a validator for various blockchains, including Sui, was to understand blockchain. Even if you decide to start a blockchain game, it's quite difficult if you don't have the knowledge.
I decided to validate Sui because I read many articles at the time about how excellent the technology was. After that, I asked many times if I could participate as a validator, and it happened.
The engineers who actually developed Sui all said, "There are few blockchains that are built with such an efficient consensus algorithm."
Honma: We also received strong support from Mysten Labs, the developer of Sui, which was very helpful. I had the impression that it would be difficult to communicate with overseas projects, but that wasn't the case with Mysten Labs.
Please tell us about the background and process that led to the development of "Crypto Catch! Tsuri★Star".
Murata: It all started when we talked with Mysten Labs about increasing Sui's transactions together. When we discussed whether we could create a game that would be popular in Japan and globally, we discussed the possibility of turning "Tsuri★Star," which was released by the Gree Group a long time ago, into a blockchain game.
Fishing itself is a popular activity globally, and since it was well received by Mist Lab, we decided to develop a fishing game using "Tsuri★Star."
Another factor is the difficulty of creating games in the current social gaming industry. Of course, it is a business, so we have to think about making a profit, but with so many different games out there, it takes a lot of time and money to create a game that sells well. If you add blockchain to that, the difficulty increases even more.
This is related to what Homma was talking about, but at this point in time, I think the most important thing about blockchain games is to get people to play them first.
As for "Crypto Catch! Tsuri★Star," we have been able to generate a certain amount of revenue thanks to the validation of the fishing line. We thought that if we allocated that revenue to users, they would be able to play blockchain games without having to worry too much about gas fees.
Therefore, the gas fee currently supported for early login users in "Crypto Catch! Fishing Star" is made from this revenue. In addition, support and the provision of "Crypto Catch! Fishing Star" are handled by BLRD, a 100% subsidiary of the Gree Group and a Singapore corporation that actually validates the fishing.
Honma: We have sent out a message that "Crypto Catch! Fishing Star" also charges a gas fee and that a certain amount is supported, but beginners may not be particularly concerned. However, this is also one of the elements of blockchain games, so we think we need to make some effort to make people aware of it.
I had not been involved with blockchain games that much before joining this project, but I felt that it was still difficult to get into, such as the need to prepare tokens and NFTs before starting. That's why I felt that it should not be complicated, especially since we are using one of the Gree Group's representative contents, "Fishing Star".
You mentioned tokens. Did you have any plans to issue your own token or incorporate them into the game?
Murata: At first, we thought about issuing tokens at the same time as developing the game, but in the end it became too complicated and we didn't develop it. We also considered creating new IP, but we felt that there were difficulties there as well. This trial and error continued for a while, and after considering the current issues with blockchain games, we settled on the current form.
We also thought that issuing tokens would inevitably increase speculative movements and make it difficult to balance them with the fun of the game. Of course, there is a possibility that we can make higher profits by issuing tokens, but I think that sustaining that is a unique difficulty in this business.
Therefore, we wanted to make it a sustainable business, and adopted this game model, taking into account our position as validators of Sui. Increasing the number of transactions of NFTs issued on Sui will also lead to an increase in our validation revenue. We are running this project with the grand vision of operating with an awareness of sustainability.
In addition, we do not sell items in "Crypto Catch! Fishing Star", but this is also based on the idea that the interests of users and operators may not coincide with the existing method.
In the current blockchain game, the item prices tend to be high because there are few users, and I thought that this is not healthy. So we are promoting it as "All items are free! In return, please play!" In a sense, it can be said to be a challenging project for a blockchain game.
The game was released worldwide on June 20, 2024, but please tell us about the difficulties you faced on the way to its release.
Honma: Initially, we were only developing it for PC browsers. This is because the Sui wallet app had not yet been released at that time.
However, when it was released during development, we decided that we would have to make it mobile compatible as well. Despite this situation, it was a major turning point and the most difficult thing to do to make it in time for the release on June 20.
Murata: We had discussions as a company about whether we were really going to make a blockchain game, whether it would be profitable, and whether we needed to release it at this time, and we explained the situation each time.
But the most difficult thing was that even though we have a lot of experience in developing social games, there were few people with knowledge and understanding of blockchain games at first, so we had a hard time approaching them and explaining them. In fact, it was difficult to distinguish what could be used under the previous guidelines from what could not, and to find the meaning of blockchain games in the midst of an increasing number of conservative plans.
Do you have plans to continue offering blockchain games based on titles released by the Gree Group in the past?
Murata: We don't have any plans at the moment. However, when we actually released the game, we felt that it was easy to make, so I thought we could use that in the future. When you develop a game globally, various issues such as rights arise, but if it's your own IP, you can easily clear those issues and focus on development, so if you can turn an existing title into a blockchain game, it's fine.
Are there any genres or elements that you two think are compatible with blockchain games?
Murata: I think it's interesting that items in blockchain games have interoperability.
In previous social games, even if you bought an item, if the management closed, the item was essentially taken away and you couldn't access it. This is not user-friendly, is it? I think that the fact that items can be turned into NFTs is an area where the unique possibilities of blockchain are incorporated, so I feel that this will become a trend or axis in the future.
In addition, when listing tokens, the game itself may be an allor list (priority purchase ticket). For example, "Hamster Kombat" is one example, and I play it myself, and I feel that it will be one of the templates.
Honma: As with Hamster Combat, games like Pet Simulator, where you play and save coins, spin the gacha to make your pet stronger, are simple and much easier to play, and I think they are easy to relate to tokens. I feel that there will be more casual blockchain games rather than hard games in the future.
As a major social game company, Gree Group, please tell us about the significance of working on blockchain games.
Murata: The reason why GREE Group has made such a big leap as a company is because it was able to jump into the world of social games at a time when mobile became widespread and technology was new. I don't know how blockchain will spread in the future, but I think it's meaningful to jump in and evaluate it in the same way.
I think blockchain itself is still in its infancy, so if you start a business at a time when it's suddenly growing, it will never be enough.
Also, the current social game industry has been developing games for a long time and then closing them soon after, and they are starting to lose their originality. So I think it's meaningful to explore market trends in the blockchain field and create games that users can enjoy for a long time.
Honma: Social games are an area that has grown in conjunction with carrier payments. However, blockchain games are a new category of platform that is different from carrier payments and store payments, and it is possible to provide a payment method linked to tokens.
As Murata said, it will be too late to start when blockchain is really widespread, so we at GREE Group are aware that we need to be able to respond little by little.
Please tell us about your future prospects.
Honma: First of all, I want many people to play "Crypto Catch! Fishing Star". Once we reach a certain scale, we may further steer towards developing blockchain games. I would be happy if people who have never touched blockchain games before could experience it.
Murata: I am not only looking at the gaming area, but also the Web 3.0 area including validation, so I would like to expand all of these as a business.
Initially, there was some skepticism about the stabilization of sales, but validation is going well. I hope that we can use this know-how to increase the number of blockchains that participate as validators in the future. If that happens, there will be more opportunities to create new games.
Fortunately, we have a lot of game development resources. We still have a lot of IP that can be used within the company, so I would like to constantly look for opportunities to create new games.
◉ Takasugu Murata
GREE, Inc. Head of web3 business development
After working in sales at a security software manufacturer, he joined GREE in 2010.
As a business development manager, he was responsible for onboarding third-party games to the GREE Platform. He then became the head of WFS business development and was in charge of partner business. He was responsible for the overseas expansion of game apps, licensing of overseas games, business sales, collaboration with carriers, and JV establishment. In 2017, he became executive officer of business development at Funplex (now GREE Entertainment). He is in charge of the game business, DD and M&A for game companies. Since 2022, he has served as head of business development for the Web3 business, and is in charge of blockchain validation, investment, and game businesses.
◉ Takayuki Honma
REALITY Inc. Game Business Group
Joined GREE Inc. in 2012. He gained a wealth of experience in the development and operation of GREE Platform, WFS, Pokelabo, etc. From 2022, he will be in charge of game development in the Metaverse business. He is passionate about using cutting-edge technology to open up new possibilities in entertainment.
Interview Iolite FACE vol.10 David Schwartz, Hirata Roi PHOTO & INTERVIEW "Yukos" Special feature "Trends in the cryptocurrency industry in Japan", "Trump vs. Harris: What will happen to the cryptocurrency industry?", "Was the reputation economy a prophecy?" Interview: Simon Gerovich, Metaplanet Co., Ltd., Kim Dong-Gyu, CALIVERSE Series Tech and Future Sasaki Toshinao...etc.
