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Blockchain Gaming Is Coming to the PS4 (sludgefeed.com)

Posted by msmash on from the of-course-that's-happening dept.

An anonymous reader shares a report: The relatively new blockchain gaming industry is about to take a massive step forward as non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are making their way onto the PlayStation 4. Arcade Distillery, a game developer that creates titles for PS Vita, PS4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch, is gearing up to launch a new game for the PS4 built around the Ethereum (ETH) blockchain. Plague Hunters is a single-player-focused, turn-based strategy RPG with some PvP elements and the sequel to the successful Plague Road.

The game, which will be free-to-play and feature a marketplace for P2P transactions, has passed the Sony review process, passing all of PlayStation's terms and conditions, despite containing numerous elements of blockchain tech. This marks the first time any blockchain game has been able to accomplish this feat. Similar to other blockchain games, it looks like Plague Hunter's in-game assets, including units, weapons and other items, will be pegged to NFTs.

33 of 48 comments (clear)

  1. Peak buzzword achieved! by Kenja · · Score: 5, Funny

    So... are we done with blockchain yet? Or do we need to wait for the Blockchain Burger at McDonalds?

    --

    "Have you ever thought about just turning off the TV, sitting down with your kids, and hitting them?"
    1. Re:Peak buzzword achieved! by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 4, Interesting

      So... are we done with blockchain yet?

      No. Blockchains have legitimate uses. However the app described in TFA isn't one of them.

      A blockchain is basically distributed trust. If I don't trust you, you don't trust me, and there is no 3rd party that we mutually trust, then a blockchain is useful because it allows a publicly authenticated transaction.

      For the app described in TFA, a blockchain is pointless. There is already a centralized authority (the game publisher) who can just run a normal DB on their server to keep track of the tokens.

    2. Re:Peak buzzword achieved! by nwaack · · Score: 1

      Yeah, but motherfokkin' BLOCKCHAIN!!!!

    3. Re:Peak buzzword achieved! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Yes, they can.

      But they also want to be able to market the player's transactions to the bottomfeeders. To do that they have to be able to uniquely track each transaction and be able to draw definitive metrics based on it. Who had what, for how long, how much did they pay, how much did they make, when, who they bought from, who they sold to, etc.

      tl;cr: They want to turn every action the player makes in the game into a revenue stream from advertisers.

    4. Re: Peak buzzword achieved! by sdinfoserv · · Score: 1

      Bullshit. There isnt a single application of BC that cant be built, faster, cheaper and with increased performance WITHOUT blockchain. as to secure.... You pointed out its "distributed". Any distributed system is only as secure as its least secure node. Every link in the chain can't possibly ensure every other link is secure (ie all patched, secure environment, pen tested, you know, security requirements) therefore the entire chain must be classified ad insecure. Hence... Blockchain is bs buzzwords.

    5. Re: Peak buzzword achieved! by rtb61 · · Score: 1

      The intent here, to sell that blockchain credit for real cash outside of the game, with the claim it is not real money, even though they are attempting to create a method where they can and there of course is how much performance can the steal from your gameplay whilst they grind coin and of course when you are not using your device and it has taken over and you can bet gambling cyrpto targeted at minors or is that just gullible miners, ;D.

      --
      Chaos - everything, everywhere, everywhen
    6. Re: Peak buzzword achieved! by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 1

      Any distributed system is only as secure as its least secure node.

      This is not true in general, and certainly is not true for distributed blockchains.

    7. Re: Peak buzzword achieved! by sdinfoserv · · Score: 1

      It's absolutely true in general. Ever try to bring a business PCI complaint?I have, I'm also responsible for a CJIS environment and I'm CISSP certified.
      My experience, professional work and certifications, tell you you're wrong.

  2. Big balls... by nwaack · · Score: 1

    ...in your mouth. Ugh, seriously? I bet this bleeding edge technology will produce much synergy and be disruptive to the gaming industry while moving the needle to rightsize the company's gaming prowess.

  3. Someone please ... by CaptainDork · · Score: 1

    ... provide a goddam car analogy.

    I'm a retired IT guy of 28 years and I'm up on blockchain on the business side, but I never took the time to immerse myself in the game world.

    Thanks.

    --
    It little behooves the best of us to comment on the rest of us.
    1. Re:Someone please ... by mlw4428 · · Score: 1

      So let's say you have a car problem. What you do is open up a browser and go to Google. You Google that shit until you find a solution.

    2. Re:Someone please ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      ... provide a goddam car analogy.

      I'm a retired IT guy of 28 years and I'm up on blockchain on the business side, but I never took the time to immerse myself in the game world.

      This would be the equivalent of stamping your VIN on every single part of the car so that piece becomes globally unique, and it's ownership can be tracked through the blockchain.

      So, in the game, when you acquire a thingy, that thingy is unique, and its ownership is stamped as having passed through you should you ever pass it on, thereby establishing its provenance.

      Why this is a good thing? I have no idea.

    3. Re:Someone please ... by CaptainDork · · Score: 1

      Where does the blockchain-supported game theory come in?

      --
      It little behooves the best of us to comment on the rest of us.
    4. Re:Someone please ... by Impy+the+Impiuos+Imp · · Score: 1

      World of Warcraft has features that should have been in these kinds of games all along. Not just immediate buyback of an oops-sold item, but restoration of deleted/destroyed/disenchanted items, as long as you have the materials or money you got from the destructive act. This can be days or weeks later.

      Tracking provenance on items doesn't need a block chain. Just additional coding for owner lists as it changes hands, along with mods to the item. Normally companies scrub that so it just needs to store a generic item ID to KISS.

      --
      (-1: Post disagrees with my already-settled worldview) is not a valid mod option.
    5. Re:Someone please ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Exactly

    6. Re:Someone please ... by hey! · · Score: 1

      I don't doubt you've correctly characterized what they're using blockchain for, but what's still missing is any argument for why blockchain is a good way of doing this.

      Blockchain's advantage for cryptocurrency is that it creates a decentralized audit trail in a situation with no central authority and no mutual trust between users.

      This doesn't describe a console game environment at all. In the console environment the software vendor controls everything -- unless they allow you somehow to play with your own custom-written clients. The vendor controls every aspect of your experience. If it says you own a widget in the game, it can enforce that because it controls everyone's software.

      In fact, here's a thought experiment. Suppose the vendor told you that item ownership in the game was controlled by blockchain. How could you tell if they were lying or telling the truth? You don't have access to the software or the data underlying the transaction. Maybe they're just simulating blockchain with a computationally more efficient alternative. Why would they do this? I dunno, maybe to hijack your console for bitcoin mining?

      --
      Post may contain irony: discontinue use if experiencing mood swings, nausea or elevated blood pressure.
    7. Re:Someone please ... by CaptainDork · · Score: 1

      Point taken. Thanks.

      --
      It little behooves the best of us to comment on the rest of us.
    8. Re:Someone please ... by CaptainDork · · Score: 1

      Even having no idea, I see where you're heading. Thanks.

      --
      It little behooves the best of us to comment on the rest of us.
    9. Re:Someone please ... by CaptainDork · · Score: 1

      My understanding, and I'm open to a call of bullshit on my part,blockchain, in its current form, does not allow for returns or deletions. If it did, hackers would be all over that.

      Thanks for replying.

      --
      It little behooves the best of us to comment on the rest of us.
    10. Re:Someone please ... by hey! · · Score: 1

      Checking the blockchain yourself presumes you have access to the data and documentation on the format.

      --
      Post may contain irony: discontinue use if experiencing mood swings, nausea or elevated blood pressure.
  4. Awful... or maybe not. by Sarten-X · · Score: 2

    I was going to make a snarky post about blockchain being utterly useless in an application where a game operator controls everything, then I realized it actually has a practical effect.

    Back in the bad old days of early online games, a common way to cheat was to attack the game server to tweak the game database. Sure, the admins would come in and correct things soon enough, but it was trivial to just inject a bit more SQL and ruin things again.

    In later games where trading became a part of the game, item duplication or other replication bugs skewed in-game economies in the cheater's favor, as it was possible to have your item and sell it, too.

    Having every item tied to a unique token (and having appropriate verification in the game code) would make such attacks far more difficult. You couldn't just create or duplicate an item... you'd have to also generate a new token for it, and inject it into the blockchain appropriately, which would be a significant amount of effort for an attack payload.

    It has an interesting parallel to multi-factor authentication. You might easily attack one channel, but having to launch a coordinated attack on a second channel makes the whole endeavor much more difficult.

    Of course, it does all hinge on the game code implementing such security properly. I have no idea whether this particular game would do so.

    --
    You do not have a moral or legal right to do absolutely anything you want.
    1. Re:Awful... or maybe not. by shess · · Score: 2

      Of course, it does all hinge on the game code implementing such security properly. I have no idea whether this particular game would do so.

      Of course, all of those other problems are caused by the game code not implementing security properly, so I don't think you need precognition to figure out how well it will work in this case...

    2. Re:Awful... or maybe not. by ctilsie242 · · Score: 1

      I don't see how a blockchain is better than just an item database with a log of what items were created, with what statistics, how they were modified and used, and if/when they were destroyed (sold to a NPC merchant, junked, deleted with a character, etc.) It seems a lot more work as opposed to just having a solid journal mechanism, especially if the only people using it are company internal. However, a blockchain might be useful to guard against internal tampering.

      I can see one place where blockchain tech would be useful in a MMO: Giving players the ability to export (and delete) in-game items or even their characters if they hit the limit. This way, they don't have to worry about permanent deletions, and since things character is tied to the account, having the player possess the archived items/characters doesn't mean they can be traded or sold.

    3. Re:Awful... or maybe not. by farble1670 · · Score: 1

      I don't see how a blockchain is better than just an item database with a log of what items were created, with what statistics, how they were modified and used, and if/when they were destroyed (sold to a NPC merchant, junked, deleted with a character, etc.) It seems a lot more work as opposed to just having a solid journal mechanism, especially if the only people using it are company internal. However, a blockchain might be useful to guard against internal tampering.

      Theoretically, because it's distributed. For example, if you decide to buy a game and pay $XX a month, and invest countless hours and sometimes real $$$ into acquiring digital items... but you don't trust the developer to be able to manage a database.

    4. Re:Awful... or maybe not. by GameboyRMH · · Score: 1

      You're technically correct (the best kind of correct!) but practically, this way of addressing the problem is criminally inefficient and amounts to nothing but socializing the costs of an incredibly expensive marketing campaign. There were more efficient ways of assuring item uniqueness to a reasonably extensive degree, but they couldn't be summed up with a single buzzword.

      --
      "When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
    5. Re: Awful... or maybe not. by denis.goddard · · Score: 1

      Running on the ETH chain, so every transaction will be slow and expensive. This is the same network that was brought to its knees by Crypto Kitties, fer chrisssakes

  5. Bitcoin crashed below $5000 today by xack · · Score: 4, Interesting

    And the Ethereum genesis block cashed out. There';s no more hype for blockchain in gaming, anymore than a fidget spinner mmo.

    1. Re:Bitcoin crashed below $5000 today by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      > There';s no more hype ... a fidget spinner mmo.

      I'll leave this here for you:

      https://www.kongregate.com/gam...

  6. That's all well and good, but... by Bobrick · · Score: 1

    Does it have disruptive AI? If not, you can forget about synergy!

  7. Feck off by PopeRatzo · · Score: 1

    This "blockchain gaming" sounds like a truckload of horseshit.

    I wonder if these new cryptocurrency press releases have anything to do with this:

    https://www.coindesk.com/bitco...

    --
    You are welcome on my lawn.
  8. Mining? by farble1670 · · Score: 1

    gearing up to launch a new game for the PS4 built around the Ethereum (ETH) blockchain

    Is this just a sly attempt to hijack PCs for mining?

  9. Astonishing! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    It's amazing that we've come so far as to have the technology available for people to trade digital assets for digital "currency", We are truly fortunate that "teh bLockChain!!1!" has enabled us to achieve this breakthrough.

  10. what? by sad_ · · Score: 1

    a single player game with PvP?

    --
    On a long enough timeline, the survival rate for everyone drops to zero.