Hello, I'm Y, the Protocon editor!
The 3rd in-depth analysis of the NFT game series! At the end of the last episode, as Editor P announced, we would like to talk about the Sandbox. These days, prices are rising tremendously, setting fire to many investors' hearts! Before we move on, did you read Play Games and Earn Money? In-depth analysis of P2E Games - Decentraland? about Decentraland? If you missed it, please click the link!
Image Credit: Nike
When you hear "metaverse", what game comes to your mind? Personally, I think of Roblox, which recently launched an official service in Korea. Roblox, which was recognized as an "American elementary school game" not long ago, is currently enjoying worldwide popularity as it has emerged as a captain of metaverse games. Taking advantage of its popularity, companies are also expanding their advertising areas to metaverse. In particular, Nike is playing a role in taking the lead in the market beyond online and offline by building Nike Land on a large scale in the game.
Recently, in the field of blockchain games, there are several games that attract market attention as much as Roblox. ‘The Sandbox’ entered the top 100 in market capitalization even before the game was released, recently launched the Alpha Season, and settled in the top 30. Let's find out why ‘The Sandbox’ is so popular.
The Sandbox, Blockchain version of Minecraft?
Image Credit: The Sandbox homepage
In the game world, the word sandbox refers to a genre in which users create their own content. It is named because it is similar to digging in the playground and building a house with sand. Like its name, The Sandbox is a game platform that puts these points at the forefront.
The Sandbox is evaluated as a blockchain version of Minecraft due to its similar game methods and graphics to Minecraft, which is gaining worldwide popularity. One of the biggest characteristics of Sandbox is the introduction of the Play to Earn (P2E) method. In ‘The Sandbox’, items and real estate produced in the game can be issued through NFT. It is implemented so that users can receive rewards according to their participation and contribution to the game through NFT issuance and P2E. This can lead to active ecosystem activation and active user participation in the game platform.
Create your own.
Image Credit: VoxEdit
The Sandbox basically provides a tool for users to create their own content.
You can create your own items or characters through a tool called "Vox Edit." However, in order to upload the completed content, you must complete your subscription to the creator fund. A separate application is required to sign up for the fund, and the selection process will be conducted based on the applicant's information and portfolio. The Sandbox Creator Fund is worth $2 million and supports up to 1,000 artists. After signing up for the Creator Fund and completing the artist registration, the content completed through VoxEdit is recorded on the blockchain and can be published as NFT. Since it is issued in the form of NFT that can prove ownership, it can completely protect the creator's ownership. This completed NFT can be traded at The Sandbox Marketplace.
Image Credit: The Sandbox NFT Marketplace - Robot incubator
Currently, the highest-priced work in The Sandbox NFT Marketplace is a creation called ‘Robot incubator’, which is priced at 10,500 SAND, or 12 million won in Korean Won. About 300 works are currently on sale on the Marketplace, so if you are interested, you may want to take a look around.
SAND, how much did it go up…?
Image Credit: CoinMarketCap
SAND is the main currency used to trade land, items, and characters within The Sandbox. In addition to the explosive interest in metaverse for SAND, the price is also on an upward curve. Last October, it broke through the 1-dollar range, and then, due to successive announcements of good news, such as SoftBank's investment attraction and announcements of collaborations with The Walking Dead and ZEPETO, it drew a sharp upward curve and reached a record high of $10. However, due to the decline of Bitcoin, the price has now dropped to around $5. However, its market capitalization has surpassed KRW 5 trillion and ranked 37th in market capitalization on CoinMarketCap, showing off its strength.
The Sandbox, what will happen…?
Image Credit: The Sandbox in-game capture
Recently, The Sandbox has been recognized for its value after being selected as one of the 10 most promising blockchain games in the world and has attracted $93 million in Series B investment from Softbank. In addition, Sandbox established TSB Korea, a Korean branch, to advance into the Korean business in earnest. Last November, they opened the Alpha Season and held a Korean social event that provided 100 limited Alpha Passes to domestic users. If you hold the alpha pass as an NFT in the concept of a season pass, you can experience 18 types of metaverse content during the alpha season, and 1,000 SAND and limited edition NFT are provided as a reward for the experience. Currently, you can participate by purchasing the Alpha Pass separately. It is currently trading at 1.88 ETH on OpenSea (as of December 6th). That's a huge price. I could feel the high popularity of The Sandbox.
Image Credit: The Sandbox in-game capture
Through this alpha season, The Sandbox has presented three main contents: games, meeting spaces, and exhibition halls. First, by releasing an adventure game, I was able to experience in advance how the characters behave and use equipment in-play. And it can be used as a meeting or exhibition space. Currently, it is a club-type space, but in the near future, various events such as fan meetings and concerts are likely to be held. And external NFTs are displayed in the game. Like Nike mentioned earlier, you can expect collaborations with various brands within The Sandbox.
At G-Star 2021 held recently, Lee Seung-hee, director of Sandbox's Korean business, said, "These three are the central axes of the metaverse: an avatar that can replace me, the land as the avatar's living space, and cryptocurrency as a means of trading in virtual space." Based on the solid infrastructure built by the current sandbox, the goal is to make users not just consumers, but creators.
While looking into The Sandbox this time, I thought that this project was not just popular because it jumped on the metaverse boom, but that it was bearing fruit because it was steadily prepared. Personally, I think the possibility that the metaverse will become the basis of the protocol economy is very high, such as the need for a new communication platform and the interest of large companies starting from the COVID pandemic. Protocon will also prepare one by one and continue to develop in order to seize the opportunity. In the next episode, we are going to talk about SPLINTERLANDS, so please look forward to it!
That was it for Editor Y!
Official Protocon Links
Telegram
Twitter
Facebook
Youtube
Medium
Reddit
Github