EnjinCoin

EnjinCoin seeks to address this model by applying direct ownership of goods acquired through microtransactions through a blockchain (Ethereum-based ERC20) solution. To begin to understand how this approach is better than the current state of the market, we will quickly explore some of the functionality of EnjinCoin and then apply this knowledge to the anti-consumer scenarios in the section above.

Real ownership of digital goods is at the heart of EnjinCoin’s offerings, and this is realized through creating a standard payment system that is functional across games and publisher ecosystems. Items are minted using EnjinCoins and have a direct value tied to the cryptocurrency. This allows the item to be tied to a user in an ecosystem outside of the game an item exists in, and this evolution of item ownership allows players to trade items across games.

Look at the following visuals to understand how this model differs from traditional game-based ownership:

Notice how items are strictly tied to the game they exist in and lose value once a player quits the respective game.

Items are able to be exchanged across game and retain value to their owners even after they stop playing a certain game.

Through creating an ecosystem above individual games, EnjinCoin has provided massive value through its direct ownership of goods, but the coin also has another major advantage that benefits publisher, developers, and consumers alike.

Melting is another incredible feature of EnjinCoin as it allows users to “exit” a game altogether. This process allows the developer and user to “recover” some of the value of an item by destroying the item and converting its value to 50% of the original EnjinCoin price. The developer is able to choose what percentage of this recovered price goes to themselves and the user providing an assurance to players that their item will at least have some value in the unfortunate event that their game goes offline or the user simply loses interest.

Now that some of the technology behind EnjinCoin has been explained, let’s re-visit some of the scenarios in the last section and how they play out differently with EnjinCoin’s platform.

Scenario 1: A multiplayer game loses its playerbase or the developer announces they’re shutting down the servers.

As sad as it is, sometimes games just don’t quite draw the audience they hoped they would, and it becomes impossible for the company to keep the servers online. Previously in this case, users lost all of the money they had invested in microtransactions in this game. Not only is this a terrible feeling for the consumer, but both developer and publisher of this game as well as the industry at large may find decreased spending due to consumers’ previous bad experiences with losses like these.

But with EnjinCoin…

Now users are able to melt their items down and receive some amount of the cost they paid for them. They’re better off as they’re able to recover some of the cost they paid towards items, and the industry is better off as consumers fear of losing everything they paid for in other games has been alleviated. This especially helps small development teams targeting niche markets as users are more likely to spend money on microtransactions despite possible failures of any individual game.

Scenario 2: A user has purchased one company’s in-game currency but doesn’t have enough to purchase an item or wishes to spend their money elsewhere.

This is a very frequent and unfortunate reality for many gamers. They find that specific increments of in-game currency must be purchased, and now they’re stuck with some balance in the game that they either can’t spend without buying even more in-game currency (exacerbating the problem) and can’t transfer to another game to purchase something else. This money is locked into an ecosystem and is a loss to the consumer.

But with EnjinCoin…

Now users are able to sell their in-game currency for another game’s currency due to the value of EnjinCoin backing each minted currency or item. They will never have stuck funds within an ecosystem and are able to fluidly move across game titles and ensure that their purchases always have their maximum value.

Scenario 3: A user has decided to move on from the game they are playing

Many gamers will reach a point where they are satisfied with the game they’ve played and are ready to move on to another game. With our current model (see the chart above if you need a refresher), the user loses all of the value of their purchases due to the locked ecosystem of a game. This may dissuade future spending in other games due to the feeling of having permanently lost value on microtransactions.

But with EnjinCoin…

Now users are able to “exit” a game and either trade their assets for items in other games, directly for EnjinCoins, or melt the item and receive EnjinCoin if there are no markets for the items. The user receive at least some value for their investment, and they keep their confidence that spending money on microtransactions isn’t solely a sunk cost.