Pleasure or Profit?

I haven't been in a casino to play, so I can only imagine what's in the head of a casino player.

I imagine it's the profit. The slim chances to beat the house and become rich overnight.

And few do. But obviously most only get the rush and... the empty pockets.

At the same time, what motivates an online gamer to play?

Is it the thrill of winning and being up top on the leaderboards? That's a strong motivator, but let's be honest, many people play online games and don't score so high.

So what is it for them? It can't be profit, because before blockchain games this notion of earning while playing games didn't exist. Maybe some tournaments around the world with prizes for top players, but still that's only illusionary for most online gamers.

What could be then? The pleasure of playing the game. Sometimes the thrill of getting immersed into a virtual reality, one you wouldn't embrace in the real world. After all, how many of us become gangsters and drug lords in reality?

In a game with winners and losers, we all want to be in the winners camp for sure. But that's not always the case.

And now we have online games on the blockchain. And the notion of real profit, as in money you can spend in the real world becomes a real magnet to gamers. How will that affect online gaming?

Will the balance shift from pleasure to profit? Because if it will, my guess is we cannot all profit and expect a game to live on.

Some will probably play just for the fun of it, for pleasure. In the grander scheme of things, economics play a big part in the survival of a game.