Twitch streamer Asmongold is often one unafraid to voice his opinions on whatever topics are trending over the internet. Most recently, he's set his sights on the rise of non-fungible tokens or NFTs, criticizing those who've spent large sums of money on purchasing their own pixelated monkey in a sailor hat.
Multiple influencers have jumped on the bandwagons of cryptocurrency, blockchain technology, and most recently, NFTs. Popular influencer and streamer Amouranth even saw an NFT bearing her likeness created and sold for over $100,000. As the popularity of blockchain technology soars across the internet, it's difficult to miss a conversation or opinion piece on NFTs. Beginning to creep into the gaming sphere, many see the non-fungible tokens as a source of controversy.
Twitch streamer Asmongold is one of those who sees NFTs as a controversial topic, and has recently shared his views over Twitter. The Twitch streamer has a history of speaking out over multiple topics, and has always been willing to share his opinion. Most of his criticisms are to do with the MMORPG games he's famous for playing, such as his statements on the bugs in New World or World of Warcraft's recent updates. Lately though, his sights have been set on NFTs, with his view being that while the blockchain technology is a good idea, the way its being used currently is "ridiculous," along with the people spending thousands of dollars on NFTs.
The streamer has gained some mixed feedback for his viewpoint. Fellow streamer 39daph said that "there are wayyy more people trying to scam each other than people who actually care about the technology/art aspect." Another commenter wasn't so agreeable though, and stated that the "same could be said about people spending money to watch other people play video games." Despite the occasional piece of backlash, Asmongold mostly received positive feedback for his views. The opposite wouldn't exactly come as a surprise though, as Asmongold has faced plenty of criticism before, even from fellow streamer xQc.
Despite Asmongold's views, NFTs are being taken very seriously by many people on the internet. NFT games are even emerging into the gaming industry, causing controversy and unease as many wonder whether the pay-to-play and pay-to-earn systems will become more common. Xbox boss Phil Spencer attempted to ease these worries, stating that "some of the creative that I see today feels more exploitive than about entertainment." Though he didn't say that Xbox would not look into making NFT games, he did go further and mention that "anything Xbox sees as exploitative for fans isn't welcome on its storefronts or platforms." Dead by Daylight developers recently came under heavy fire for including NFTs in their game. At the moment then, delving into NFTs seems a controversial and possibly exploitative move, especially in the gaming industry.