DEA, which operates the GameFi platform business, was founded in Singapore in August 2018.
It operates the GameFi platform "PlayMining", the NFT marketplace "PlayMining NFT", the metaverse project "PlayMining Verse", and its own cryptocurrency "DEAPcoin (DEP)". Its vision is to "create a world where people can live and play".
『Digital Entertainment Asset Pte.Ltd.』
Nagatomo: You created the world's first Play to Earn economic zone. What was the trigger for the idea?
Yoshida: There are two simple reasons. One is that in games like Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy, you get coins when you defeat monsters, and I thought as a child, "If these coins were money, I could live my life playing games all the time."
The other is that in 2016, former Sony Chairman Nobuyuki Idei told me, "Study blockchain. It is a technology that brings value to data, so it has the potential to change the times just as much as the emergence of the Internet."
I didn't really understand it at the time, but as I studied it, I thought about what would be the most valuable thing for humanity if it brings value to data, and I thought it would be "money."
When I started studying, there were about 3,000 types of cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin. Naturally, I was shocked because I had thought that it was wrong to create money myself until then.
To put it in extreme terms, I thought it would be an amazing world where things like child banknotes would become valuable and many people would trade them. The creation of various exchanges would give value to things like child banknotes.
So I got the idea that I could make a living by using these child banknotes in games. In short, it's like realizing a childhood fantasy.
Nagatomo: Could you share some episodes from your past where you faced significant hardships or challenges?
Yoshida: I've faced hardship and difficulty in everything I've done up until now (laughs). At first, no one understood the idea of distributing money in games. The first person to understand was our co-representative Yama-chan (Co-CEO Yamada Kozo). I think he understood the concept very well at the time.
We are the first in the world to issue our own tokens, give them value, have people buy NFTs to play games, and create a fully integrated gaming economy that also serves as a marketplace.
Being the first in the world means that there is no precedent, so even when it comes to distributing tokens, we didn't know how to do it. For example, if you pay a lot of rewards when you win a lot in a game, the economy won't work, and if you pay too little, users will become dissatisfied.
I felt that it was difficult to create an unprecedented business model, even if I calculated it many times and created the logic. That was difficult.
I also had no idea how to list tokens on various exchanges. Looking back, when we listed "DEAPcoin (DEP)", we traveled to various countries around the world for over a year to negotiate with various exchanges.
There was no precedent for creating blockchain games, so both engineers and producers were feeling their way around. In fact, we remade "JobTribes" twice before it became what it is today. It was that difficult.
Nagatomo: Do you feel there is any difference between the regulations when you actually started the business and the regulations now?
Yoshida: I have the impression that regulations in Japan have become really lenient. Japan may be more lenient than Singapore now. Accounting is strict all over the world, but Japan's tax situation is particularly bad.
However, the revision of the end-of-period market valuation of self-issued tokens has made it easier for startups to do Web 3.0 business involving token issuance.
However, accounting issues remain. This is because large Japanese companies need the understanding of auditing firms to enter the Web 3.0 business. This is difficult.
I don't think the Web 3.0 business will scale if it is limited to startups only. Web 3.0 businesses have many financial elements and require trust and safety, so it is essential that major listed companies enter the business.
If Web 3.0 is to be Japan's national strategy, we should create a regulatory environment that makes it easier for larger companies to enter the business.
Nagatomo: I believe you've produced many hit titles so far, but how do you come up with ideas for game content?
Yoshida: I created games in the 1990s for a company called Grams. Our first title was a computer game for NEC's PC-98. It wasn't just a game, we also produced and included an original drama.
After that, we created titles that were popular with core gamers, such as "Quo Vadis" for the Sega Saturn and "Alice in Cyberland" for the PlayStation, which were not huge hits. "Quo Vadis" was ranked number one in sales for the Sega Saturn.
At the time, the quality of the anime we produced was said to be even better than the games. That's because we also had an anime studio within the company. I loved making games, but I loved writing stories.
So I think in the end, I wanted to make stories. I wanted to make RPGs and simulation games with amazing quality animation.
The games we're making now are casual games. With casual games, we let the creators make what they want. We don't have any particular preferences for game action, either.
I am particular about stories and dramas, and if I'm not happy with them I'll ask to remake them. But with our current games, I leave it all to the young producer.
