Getting Paid to Play Games is Not Possible for the Casual Gamer? Sgame Pro Begs to Differ
The history of making ‘real’ money playing video games is long and diverse – and it is about to change once again, thanks to Sgame Pro.
In October 1972, a group of enthusiasts was invited for a video game competition in Stanford University. At the time, the computer lab at the university was one of the very few places in the US which had hardware that could run the game Spacewar, a sci-fi spaceship combat simulator (one of the first video games). The prize pool was simple – a yearly subscription for Rolling Stone magazine – but the gathering marked a significant event – the first ever video game tournament in history.
In the 46 years that have passed since that fateful 1972 October evening, getting paid to play video games has evolved from a fringe activity to a popular – and much-sought-after – profession. In 2009, the global financial crisis gave an unexpected birth to professional streamers. Channeling their hobbies and passions towards income generation, video game players sought to monetize their talents.
Today, eSports have taken over the title of “best-paid video game profession”, and the trend has taken off majorly, garnering a huge fan following and community. However, even with this big shift, is making money playing video games accessible to the average, casual gamer?
The eSports status quo
Esports entered mainstream discourse in 2011. The top ten most successful players have since earned over $2 million each, with Kuro Takhamosi (known as KuroKy) leading the list with over $3.7 million in total game prizes. Competitive games dominate online streaming, with teams such as Team Liquid and Cloud9 following the same business model as traditional sports entities such as Manchester United, New York Yankees and Los Angeles Giants.
However, getting paid to play video games is not as easy as it is often portrayed in the media. Behind every major victory, there are hundreds of hours of training, sleepless nights, and stressful uncertainty.
Đ•sports have already been linked to mental and emotional health issues – ex-professional gamers cite insomnia, social isolation, and depression as some of the reasons why they quit - and it is no surprise, considering professional competitive gamers play the same titles for hours every day, sometimes for years.
The same goes for internet streaming on Twitch and YouTube. The most popular streamers on Twitch make six figures a month – reportedly, popular Fortnite player Ninja’s monthly income equals $500,000 – but the road to success is long, frugal, and often fruitless.
At the bottom of the gaming ‘food pyramid’ are game testers and gold farmers – two nine-to-five professions where you get paid to meticulously perform repetitive tasks that have little to do with playing games for your enjoyment.
In all of this, the average gamer is merely left as a consumer. The status quo and the high barrier to entry ensure that casual gaming remains a ‘spending’ activity rather than an earning one.
Sgame Pro aims to change the game
It is hard to change the existing status quo – but that is just what Sgame Pro is promising to do. Sgame Pro is a blockchain-based mobile gaming platform which rewards players for just playing games with its own SGM cryptocurrency.
The premise is simple – gamers get to play whichever game they want, whenever they want, as long as they want to, and in return, they receive tokens which they can use for in-game purchases, buying and selling products/services, or exchange them for fiat currencies.
The model relies on Sgame Pro’s new ‘proof of play’ protocol and its unique liquidity model. The protocol determines whether enough play has occurred – as long as a player has played for a certain amount of time, they get to ‘mine’ a ‘play-block’ and claim the SGM block reward.
The SGM token challenges the very idea of in-game virtual currencies – but it also provides an alternative to the current paradigm where you have to make a choice between gaming as an expensive hobby or a demanding, high-competition profession.
The platform aims to provide an avenue for casual gamers to capitalize upon their hobby without having to jump through hoops. The platform and its native token has varied utilities, and can also be combined with other revenue streams – including streaming and competitive gaming.
In fact, popular gaming figures have already embraced the vision behind Sgame Pro. Notably, the most popular YouTuber Felix ‘PewDiePie’ Kjellberg has announced his support for the platform.
After a hugely successful private sale (raising over $6M), Sgame Pro is now preparing for its upcoming public sale, slated for September. You can learn more about it on Sgame Pro’s official website, where you can sign up for the whitelist to participate. You can also follow Sgame Pro on Twitter and Telegram for more updates.