INTERVIEW

Since the beginning of 2021, the word "NFT" has been buzzing in the media every day. Many people may associate NFT with Bitcoin because of its use of blockchain technology, but NFT is much more than that. It is truly a war zone where many players are starting their own businesses day by day overseas. Although there are some companies in Japan that have entered the market, there are not so many compared to the rest of the world. For this interview, we spoke with Mr. Wakao, the representative director of MCH, a company that develops and operates games that implement NFT functions as games for a new era.

Speaker Profile

Toshihito Wakao

CEO , MCH Corporation

Joined double jump.tokyo in January 2020. Planner of MyCryptHeroes.
October 2020: Appointed producer of MyCryptHeroes.
February 2021: Resigned from double jump.tokyo Inc. and assumed the position of representative of MCH Inc.

First of all, please tell us about your company's services.

My Crypt Heroes is a game that uses NFT. The game itself is a simple one where you press buttons to advance, just like RPGs (role-playing games) that existed even in the age of mobile games. There is no advanced animation or 3D, and the screen is made up of dots reminiscent of NES games. The music is also called chiptune, which was also used in NES games. The game was created based on the idea of bringing nostalgic retro games into the digital game age, and that is also its selling point.

How did you come up with the idea of introducing NFT as a game for a new era?

"My Crypto Heroes" was originally released as the first product of another company called double jump.tokyo. After that, the business was transferred to MCH.
At that time, many of the development team members had been involved in social game production, and some of them were familiar with blockchain. Today's social games incorporate elements of the Internet and SNS (community) into video games. I have heard that the idea of realizing a world that expands from that, was developed from the perspective that "blockchain games" with an economy (economic sphere) brought about by blockchain may become the next mainstream. This idea is similar to that of virtual spaces and the metaverse, and I think that's what makes this game so interesting.

An ideal worldview that is easy to understand is the movie "Ready Player 1". A world where games can be played by an all-star cast of IPs from around the world. It would be great if there was a game with such a world view, where various people could create new games and economic areas, and the world would expand like the universe. At the time, I was participating as a player myself, and I sympathized with such thoughts.

To make this world a reality, I felt that one of the most important elements was the ability to take items out of the game and use them in other games.
In Japan, Sword Art Online is a good example of this. In this game, there is a "character conversion function," which is a revolutionary system that allows you to play in Game B while retaining the functions of your Game A character.

As for NFTs, you can add as much information as you want, so we're aiming to make them usable not only in games but also in many other places. As for NFTs, as much information as possible can be added, so we aim to use them not only in games but also in various other places.

Various possibilities of NFT are being discussed around the world. As you mentioned, there seems to be a lot of interest in the new virtual economic sphere and economic activities in it. What do you think are the reasons why companies and individuals should pay attention and participate?

"From a game perspective, I think one of the key points of interest in NFT is the characteristics of blockchain technology, which is the foundation of NFT. Until now, digital contents can be copied as much as possible, and pirated comic books and movies have become a problem in the past. On the other hand, the fact that NFT is on the blockchain makes it easy for users to identify the issuer even if a fake is found. There is also the advantage for the product side that it is easy to return royalties directly to the rights holder.

The second and most obvious benefit is that it is "indestructible". Even if the service is terminated, only the NFT will remain in the data permanently. In the past, games that were no longer in service naturally became unplayable and their data disappeared. For game players, there is nothing sadder than when a game they have been playing every day suddenly ends its service, and their beloved characters and hard-earned items disappear.

In addition to art, NFTs can also be used to create images to preserve memories with friends. One of the advantages of NFTs is that they can be issued and stored by themselves. There are also games being developed that allow users to play with the NFTs they have created and build their own worlds.

Thirdly, I think smart contracts. The existence of a market that allows anonymous yet highly secure transactions between individuals is also unique to blockchain. Existing CtoC services for buying and selling between individuals require the registration of personal information. They operate without problems because the company providing the platform acts as an intermediary to manage money orders and addresses, but if all these transactions were done between individuals, there would be a possibility of problems with mailing products and sending money. However, if all of these transactions were done between individuals, there would be a possibility of problems in mailing goods or sending money, especially if the transaction is with a foreign party where mistakes can occur due to communication difficulties. On the other hand, with blockchain, security is guaranteed on the system side, and transactions can be conducted with a certain level of reliability even with people who do not know each other's face or nationality, which I think is one of the factors accelerating economic activities.

Overseas, there are more and more news about companies entering the NFT market. I think this area will accelerate further after 2022. What do you think is the scale point of NFT from this point of view?

I think the key point is monetization.
Rather than NFT on its own, I think that the exchange of currencies itself will become more active through so-called DeFi. Also, I think the number of users will increase. I think the key point is when it will cross the chasm.

From the perspective of increasing the number of users, I think it is also very important to see how easy it becomes for the general public to trade using existing devices. I think that if there is a trigger like the one when the spread of smartphones accelerated with the iPhone, it will accelerate rapidly.

There are already people who spend most of their time on social networking sites, so I think it's time for the general public to accept this. There are already people who spend most of their time on social networking sites, and as these people gradually shift to virtual spaces, the world of science fiction movies will become a reality.

If such a social infrastructure is eventually created in the virtual space, it is possible that products with more value than real ones will emerge. This will create a new economic sphere, and I believe that the interaction between people will be different from the past.

While there are many possibilities being discussed, there are also some who are skeptical. Based on your experience, is there anything we should be careful of when trying NFT?

First of all, in most cases, a white paper is released before the product is put on the market. After that, NFTs are put on the market, but it is dangerous to believe everything in the white paper. If it is not published, it is better to be more skeptical. This is because if the product is not launched for some reason, the NFTs you have will be worthless garbage. It is important to determine whether the product will really be realized and whether it can create value, based on the opinions of experts and your own judgment.
Right now, DeFi is also in a turbulent phase, so I don't recommend blindly getting involved in new places. You may find vulnerabilities early on and lose your assets. Some people do it not because of system flaws but simply with malicious intent. In the past, the responsibility of running the service was placed on the corporate entity, which earned people's trust. One reason for people's skepticism is the anonymity of the blockchain, for better or worse.
Nevertheless, it is a technology with unprecedented potential, so if you are curious about it, I think it would be a good idea to start with a small amount of resources.
MyCryptHeroes also released a major new content "RAYS Mining" at the beginning of January, making it easier to start with less resources than ever before. We hope you will be able to experience using NFTs and tokens through our games.

Writer's Comments

NFT界隈、日本でもじわじわきていますね。中でもゲームは、ＮＦＴやブロックチェーンの概念をいち早く取り入れて運用してきたという観点からやはりこのトピックを語るうえで外せない要素の一つでしょう。まさに映画のような世界が実現する日もそう遠くないと思わせられる話題です。日本にはそんなにプレイヤーがいないといわれる中、海外からもお声がかかるというＭＣＨさん。もっとお話したいことがたくさんありました。

Interviewer Profile

満木夏子

Pivot Tokyo

Pivot Tokyo 主催。D2C Summit、NFT Tokyo 立ち上げ。日本からグローバルに挑戦する人を増やすため、GKCorsという英語の幼児教室の運営も。