Apple to fix gaming? SEC hates Metaverse, Logan Paul trolled on Steam – Cointelegraph Magazine

Playing on Macs sucks less

Is Apple’s reign as the worst gaming platform over?

Amid all the hype around its long-rumored VR/AR headset, which is due to launch in early 2024 (the wait outside the Apple Store starts in October), there are other signs that Apple may finally be sorting out its gaming-less offering. . It also releases software that makes it easy to run Windows games on your Mac.

Playing on a Mac is really bad. A lot of games – especially early released ones – are not compatible. Keyboard mapping can be funky. To this day, I haven’t been able to attach special tackles to my fishing rod (no, that’s not a hint) on the Mac version of Stardew Valley.

With virtual reality games, it’s even worse. If you like to spend hours watching YouTube videos, you can make most VR headsets work to some extent with your Mac. But for now, the only officially compatible device seems to be the HTC Vive.

The downside to a genuine Apple product is that it comes with an Apple price: a whopping $3,499. It’s hard to justify that much money to explore the empty, lazy metaverse when you can spend a few months traveling and seeing some of the most amazing places in the actual world for the same price.

The endless legal controversy over in-game virtual assets

The Sandbox, Decentraland, and Axie Infinity tokens — SAND, MANA, and AXS, respectively — appeared in the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s June 5 complaint against cryptocurrency exchange Binance.

the complaint There are 13 charges against the crypto exchange, including that Binance sold unregistered securities. The SEC has counted SAND, MANA and AXS among these securities – meaning it considers them to be types of investments, not currencies.

Speaking at the Non Fungible conference in Lisbon, Portugal on June 7, Sandbox’s chief operating officer, Sebastien Borget, said his team was aware of the litigation but they were not subject to any of it.

“We don’t necessarily agree with the characterization that’s been made in this litigation, including the qualification of SAND as security there,” he said, adding that it wouldn’t change the company’s day-to-day business.

Since the announcement, eToro has said it will mine several tokens, including MANA, for US-based clients.

eToro has a framework in place that reviews the crypto assets we offer in light of the rapidly evolving regulatory landscape. Due to recent developments, we will be making some changes to our crypto offering to US customers. (1/5)

– eToroUS (eToroUS) June 12, 2023

Creating securities for in-game currency is a new twist in the fiasco that bridges the gap between virtual game currency and real-life money.

It is nothing new. Controversy over the legal status of in-game currencies even predates the invention of Bitcoin. Second Life got Firstly Millionaire in 2006, and the question of who owes what went on is compounded by the fact that many developers and creators already feel like they’re paying significant “taxes” to platforms.

However, previous conversations have mostly centered around making sure those who sell virtual assets or developer games on the platforms are properly taxed, not about investing and perhaps because Web2 tokens behave like currencies.

On the last check, the US Internal Revenue Service does not appear to be very interested in cryptocurrency if it does not leave the game.

Avalanche wants to help Web2 gamers make the transition to Web3

The quest by blockchains to turn gaming companies to the dark side continues with Ava Labs launching Arcad3, a program to help Web2 gaming giants “launch robust blockchain deployments.”

Ava Labs, which has supported game companies build more than a dozen game subnets on Avalanche and more than 100 Web3 games, will work with teams on game monetization, marketing, user acquisition and risk management.

Among the first companies to participate are Tokyo-based Gumi and GREE (not to be confused with Chinese aircon giant GREE Electrics), as well as Shrapnel, DeFi Kingdoms and Gunzilla’s Gunz Chain.

GREE vice president of metaverse Eiji Araki said he believes the program will help the company stay ahead of the curve in Web3 games and develop relationships with studios experimenting and building the space. She is currently working on her first Web3 game, Project INCURSION.

“I can’t share any details other than the code for the project yet, but it would be a great title that successfully combines nearly 20 years of mobile game development knowledge and the fresh essence of Web3,” he added in a statement.

GameStop’s CEO has been replaced by a meme stock trading billionaire

A long time ago, Furlong died.

The GameStop CEO and former Amazon CEO was fired on June 7 after his 24-month contract with the game retailer expired. During that time, he oversaw GameStop’s transition from a primarily brick-and-mortar retailer to a more Internet-focused company.

Ryan Cohen will replace Furlong. Cohen made his fortune by founding online pet supply retailer Chewy, but he is perhaps best known for his involvement in the stock meme. He successfully rallied people to invest in companies like Bed, Bath and Beyond and GameStop itself, causing their share prices to skyrocket. Critics say it pumps and dumps.

He joined GameStop’s board of directors in January 2021, became chairman of the board the same year and owns about 12% of the company.

Much of GameStop’s subsequent foray into cryptography appears to have come from Cohen. In February of this year, it signed a deal with Immutable to build GameStop’s NFT marketplace, due out later this year.

Hot shot: crypto-themed games on Steam

Since there are no interesting Web3 games hitting my desk over the past few weeks, let’s talk non-blockchain games that are about cryptocurrency.

Steam may not allow crypto games, but it can’t do much in terms of trading simulators and RPGs for a Bitcoin mining tycoon. Nothing beats. Most of them seem to be tongue in cheek.

Take Coin Invaders, for example, which tells players that they must save Bitcoin by destroying altcoins. It’s basically Space Invaders with extra steps, as one reviewer points out.

Or maybe you’ll enjoy Crypto is Dead, where an attack crippled the global economy and physical currency returned. It is up to you to identify the original and fake invoices. gripping things.

Then, you can choose from a half-dozen mining tycoon simulators, which require you to build mining rigs and businesses to profit from cryptocurrencies of varying degrees of complexity. One version contains a simplified children’s version.

But perhaps CryptoZoo, which came out this past February, will go for Best Entertaining Non-Crypto Game. I know what you’re thinking, and the answer is no: Logan Paul has yet to make good on his promise to revive the zombie project that earned him a full series on the Covesilla YouTube channel.

Instead, Rye Bread Games has taken on the task of creating CryptoZoo, which on Steam describes itself as a merchant who makes games for fun.

According to its looks, CryptoZoo is “…the best CryptoZoo on the market…the best of its kind…the absolute best…”

It may not include NFTs, but at least players are getting their long-awaited chance to breed animals into scientifically impossible pairs.

Other things

Heroes of Mavia will launch the first phase of its beta game for Land NFT owners on June 30th. The larger community will be able to play the game in Phase Two from September 1st to October 31st.

Amazon Prime Gaming’s partnerships with Web3 companies continue. It’s preparing another deal with Mythical Games’ Blancos Block Party, where Prime members will be able to claim exclusive bundles to use in the game.

Ahead of the expected launch of Otherside: Legends of the Mara this summer, Yuga Labs is ramping up the Merch Machine with KodaPendants for the Otherside Kodas and Vessels campaign. The pendants are the first “leftovers” in another collection from the Gucci collection.