With the reveal of Devolver Digital MaxPass+, the publisher created another tongue-in-cheek critique of an industry standard practice by packaging its E3 2021 presentation as a fake subscription service that lets fans "pay your subscription fees" on several Devolver Digital games in "easy payments." In addition to its attack on subscription services, the publisher also made a product to poke fun at NFTs, as the Devolver online store had a listing for one limited-edition VHS tape that sold for $1,000.
Devolver Digital's games usually include all kinds of jokes and humor, such as the title Enter the Gungeon being filled to the brim with nothing but gun puns. An E3 conference making fun of NFTs and subscription platforms is something that suits the publisher's presence perfectly. To satirize the topic of subscription platforms, it opened a shop full of merchandise based on the branding of "Devolver Digital MaxPass+" with shirts, visor caps, and more.
One of the items available was a dig at NFTs in the form of a VHS tape advertised to be the only physical copy of Devolver Digital's E3 presentation, unable to be recorded over or destroyed by the buyer's little siblings, and it sold at a hefty price tag. However, the description of the product reveals that Devolver isn't even pocketing the money, as every cent goes to the Scratch Foundation, a charity made to help children learn computer programming.
The item was bought incredibly quickly, even before the presentation on the tape itself had its live broadcast conclude. The purchaser managed to outrace the viewers busy with the presentation, and with the money to spare for the tape.
Luckily for the buyer, the VHS tape is physical, and not an actual NFT. It was also created for a special cause rather than only the buyer's gain, with the entire $1,000 paid for the tape said to be donated by Devolver to a charity that may help the future of the gaming industry.
In the end, what seems like money haphazardly thrown toward a satirical VHS tape of a presentation available to all was made to help children learn how to make video games, similar to the very titles that Devolver Digital publishes. Perhaps one day the kids who benefit from this service will make games that bring smiles to people's faces, just as Devolver Digital tries to do now with newly revealed title Wizard With A Gun.
Source: Devolver Digital