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If I'm running Fortnite, I could be convinced that there's a value in allowing Fornite skins/dances/etc. in other games. The much harder sell is that I should a

by djur 4y ago

If I'm running Fortnite, I could be convinced that there's a value in allowing Fornite skins/dances/etc. in other games. The much harder sell is that I should allow _unrestricted_ use in other games, rather than making deals with other developers to license my content, as companies already do. An even harder sell is that I should also allow unrestricted use of skins/etc. from other games. I have a strong incentive to prevent that in the same way a movie theater has a strong incentive to keep people from bringing their own snacks.

eli 4y ago
Why would other games want to allow Fortnite skins in their game? If their players are willing to spend money on skins wouldn't they be better off just selling skins? Nevermind the technical and practical concerns. What does it even mean to apply a Fortnite skin to a battleship or a racecar?
- djur 4y ago
  Exactly. The incentives are all off here, and it doesn't create any mutually beneficial relationships. The participants who stand to benefit in this hypothetical future are companies making shovelware games who would love to lean on availability of other games' assets, companies selling knockoff "skin packs", etc.
egypturnash 4y ago
Hell, what about skins/etc that already have a licensing agreement? If I buy a Star Wars skin for Fortnite, there’s a bunch of deals Epic’s made with Disney to be allowed to have Darth Vader and friends in their game, as well as a bunch of back-and-forth until Disney’s licensing department has approved of the model and every possible action it can be made to take. If that skin is an NFT that I can theoretically take to Street Fighter, then suddenly Capcom has Darth Vader in there without any deal with Disney, quite possibly doing things the licensing department would never approve of. (This is of course assuming some theoretical process where the NFT has a bunch of data attached that makes it Just Work, instead of it requiring Capcom to sink a bunch of development time into making assets for characters that can only be unlocked by having paid money to another company entirely.)

by djur 4y ago

eli 4y ago

Why would other games want to allow Fortnite skins in their game? If their players are willing to spend money on skins wouldn't they be better off just selling skins? Nevermind the technical and practical concerns. What does it even mean to apply a Fortnite skin to a battleship or a racecar?

djur 4y ago
Exactly. The incentives are all off here, and it doesn't create any mutually beneficial relationships. The participants who stand to benefit in this hypothetical future are companies making shovelware games who would love to lean on availability of other games' assets, companies selling knockoff "skin packs", etc.

egypturnash 4y ago

Hell, what about skins/etc that already have a licensing agreement? If I buy a Star Wars skin for Fortnite, there’s a bunch of deals Epic’s made with Disney to be allowed to have Darth Vader and friends in their game, as well as a bunch of back-and-forth until Disney’s licensing department has approved of the model and every possible action it can be made to take. If that skin is an NFT that I can theoretically take to Street Fighter, then suddenly Capcom has Darth Vader in there without any deal with Disney, quite possibly doing things the licensing department would never approve of. (This is of course assuming some theoretical process where the NFT has a bunch of data attached that makes it Just Work, instead of it requiring Capcom to sink a bunch of development time into making assets for characters that can only be unlocked by having paid money to another company entirely.)