bodyType

customContents

entityId

printArticlePageQuery

filter

article

body

urlAlias

articleSectionsContent

articleSeoArticle

articleSourceHeaderArticle

contentSchemaRenderContent

contentSubHeadlineContent

contentHeadlineContent

mainImagePrintArticleArticle

authorBlockPrintArticleArticle

contentSponsorTagContent

articlePianoPaywallContent

scmpYoutubeContent

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

query printArticlePageQuery(
  $entityId: String!
  $customContents: [CustomContentInput]
  $bodyType: BodyFormatTypeEnum
) {
  article(filter: {entityId: $entityId}) {
    entityId
    body(customContents: $customContents, type: $bodyType) {
      json
    }
    urlAlias
    ...articleSectionsContent
    ...articleSeoArticle_3o8td4
    ...articleSourceHeaderArticle
    ...contentSchemaRenderContent
    ...contentSubHeadlineContent
    ...contentHeadlineContent
    ...mainImagePrintArticleArticle
    ...authorBlockPrintArticleArticle
    ...contentSponsorTagContent
    ...articlePianoPaywallContent
    ...scmpYoutubeContent
    ...hooksTrackPageViewArticle
    id
  }
}

fragment articlePianoPaywallContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...hooksPaywallPromiseContent
}

fragment articleSectionsContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  sections {
    value {
      ...helpersCheckIfNewsSectionInFirstIndexSection
      ...entityLink
      name
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment articleSeoArticle_3o8td4 on Article {
  ...hooksArticleSeoArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
  ...helpersGetArticleTypeArticle
  entityId
  publishedDate
  updatedDate
  summary {
    text
  }
  subHeadline {
    text
  }
  body(customContents: $customContents, type: $bodyType) {
    text
  }
  keywords
  sections {
    value {
      name
      id
    }
  }
  topics {
    name
    entityId
    id
  }
  urlAlias
  authors {
    name
    id
  }
  images {
    style(filter: {style: "768x768"}) {
      url
    }
  }
  readingTime
}

fragment articleSourceHeaderArticle on Article {
  urlAlias
  ...entityLink
}

fragment authorBlockPrintArticleArticle on Article {
  ...defaultArticleDateContent
  ...authorNamesArticle
}

fragment authorNameAuthor on Author {
  ...entityLink
  name
  entityUuid
}

fragment authorNamesArticle on Article {
  authorLocations
  authors {
    entityId
    location
    ...authorNameAuthor
    id
  }
}

fragment blockquoteQuoteContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...contentShareWidgetContent
}

fragment checkersCheckContentContainsStarlingImageContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  topics {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment contentHeadlineContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  headline
  socialHeadline
  ...contentHeadlineTagContent
  ...helpersUseContentSponsorContent
}

fragment contentHeadlineTagContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...hooksContentHeadlineTagContent
}

fragment contentNewsletterWidgetContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  topics {
    relatedNewsletters {
      ...helpersMassageToNewsletterItemNewsletter
      id
    }
    id
  }
  sections {
    value {
      relatedNewsletters {
        ...helpersMassageToNewsletterItemNewsletter
        id
      }
      id
    }
  }
  ... on Article {
    relatedNewsletters {
      ...helpersMassageToNewsletterItemNewsletter
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment contentSchemaRenderContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...blockquoteQuoteContent
  ...imageContent
  ...inlineWidgetContent
  ...photoGalleryWidgetContent
  ...scmpYoutubeContent
}

fragment contentShareWidgetContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  entityId
  urlAlias
  shortUrl
  socialHeadline
  headline
}

fragment contentSponsorTagContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...helpersUseContentSponsorContent
}

fragment contentSubHeadlineContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  subHeadline {
    json
  }
  summary {
    json
  }
  ...contentSchemaRenderContent
}

fragment defaultArticleDateContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...hooksArticleDateUtilsContent
}

fragment entityLink on BaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias {
  __isBaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias: __typename
  __typename
  entityId
  entityUuid
  urlAlias
  urlRedirect {
    toUrl
    id
  }
  application {
    entityId
    id
  }
  ... on Section {
    fullSectionPath {
      entityId
      id
    }
    parentSection
  }
  ...helpersAppBarVariantBase
  ...helpersApplicationBase
  ...helpersCheckIsPlusArticle
  ...helpersStyleSectionContent
}

fragment helpersAppBarVariantBase on BaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias {
  __isBaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias: __typename
  ...helpersCheckIsLiveArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPlusPage
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesPage
  ...helpersCheckIsPostMagazineArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsStyleArticle
  ...helpersSectionContent
  ...helpersStyleSectionContent
}

fragment helpersApplicationBase on BaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias {
  __isBaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias: __typename
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesPage
  ...helpersCheckIsPlusPage
}

fragment helpersCheckIfNewsSectionInFirstIndexSection on Section {
  name
}

fragment helpersCheckIsAmpEnabledArticle on Article {
  entityId
  types {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
  sections {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
  disableOffPlatformContent
  sponsorType
  published
  ...helpersCheckIsPlusArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
}

fragment helpersCheckIsLiveArticle on Article {
  flattenTypeIds
  liveArticle {
    status
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsMainTopicContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  topics {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsPlusArticle on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ... on Article {
    paywallTypes {
      entityUuid
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsPlusPage on Page {
  urlAlias
}

fragment helpersCheckIsPostMagazineArticle on Article {
  sections {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle on Article {
  sections {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsPostiesPage on Page {
  urlAlias
}

fragment helpersCheckIsStyleArticle on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  sections {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersGetArticleTypeArticle on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ... on Article {
    types {
      value {
        entityId
        id
      }
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersMassageToNewsletterItemNewsletter on Newsletter {
  entityId
  name
  alternativeName
  description {
    text
  }
  summary {
    text
  }
  homepageDescription {
    text
  }
}

fragment helpersSanitizeArticleTypeEntityIdsArticle on Article {
  types {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersSanitizeAuthorTypesArticle on Article {
  authors {
    types
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersSanitizedAuthorEntityIdsArticle on Article {
  authors {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersSectionContent on Section {
  fullSectionPath {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersStyleSectionContent on Section {
  fullSectionPath {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersUseContentSponsorContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  topics {
    entityId
    sponsor {
      ...sponsorTagSponsor
      name
      type
      id
    }
    id
  }
  ... on Article {
    sponsorType
  }
  ...helpersCheckIsMainTopicContent
}

fragment hooksArticleDateUtilsContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  createdDate
  publishedDate
  updatedDate
}

fragment hooksArticleSeoArticle on Article {
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPostMagazineArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsStyleArticle
  ...hooksContentHeadlineTagContent
  ...helpersCheckIsAmpEnabledArticle
  entityId
  headline
  socialHeadline
  types {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
  authors {
    entityId
    id
  }
  images {
    generic_og: style(filter: {style: "og_image_scmp_generic"}) {
      url
    }
    styles(filter: {styles: ["og_image_posties_article", "og_postmag", "og_image_style", "og_image_scmp_analysis", "og_image_scmp_explainer", "og_image_scmp_editorial", "og_image_scmp_fact_check", "og_image_scmp_debate", "og_image_scmp_live", "og_image_scmp_obituary", "og_image_scmp_opinion", "og_image_scmp_review", "og_image_scmp_series", "og_image_scmp_generic"]}) {
      url
      style
    }
    type
  }
  urlAlias
}

fragment hooksContentHeadlineTagContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  __typename
  ... on Article {
    types {
      value {
        name
        entityId
        description {
          text
        }
        id
      }
    }
    ...helpersCheckIsStyleArticle
  }
  flag
  sections {
    value {
      name
      id
    }
  }
  ...hooksContentHelperContent
}

fragment hooksContentHelperContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...helpersSanitizeArticleTypeEntityIdsArticle
  ...helpersSanitizeAuthorTypesArticle
  ...helpersSanitizedAuthorEntityIdsArticle
  flag
}

fragment hooksPaywallPromiseContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  entityId
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
}

fragment hooksTrackPageViewArticle on Article {
  entityId
  publishedDate
  headline
  sections {
    value {
      name
      id
    }
  }
  urlAlias
  authors {
    name
    id
  }
  entityUuid
}

fragment imageContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  headline
  ...checkersCheckContentContainsStarlingImageContent
}

fragment inlineWidgetContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...contentNewsletterWidgetContent
}

fragment mainImagePrintArticleArticle on Article {
  images {
    title
    url
    isSlideshow
    size_652x446: style(filter: {style: "652x446"}) {
      url
    }
  }
}

fragment photoGalleryDialogContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  __typename
  ...contentShareWidgetContent
}

fragment photoGalleryWidgetContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...photoGalleryDialogContent
}

fragment scmpYoutubeContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  entityId
  urlAlias
  publishedDate
}

fragment sponsorTagSponsor on Sponsor {
  name
  type
  images {
    url
  }
}


sections

types

disableOffPlatformContent

sponsorType

published

headline

socialHeadline

authors

images

publishedDate

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

keywords

topics

readingTime

authorLocations

entityUuid

Xinmei Shen

As global fervour for cartoon avatar non-fungible tokens (NFTs) cools, more companies are betting on video gaming as the NFT market’s next potential growth driver even though some analysts have questioned the sustainability of such a business model.
Magic Eden, a marketplace for NFTs based on the Solana blockchain, is hoping that US$27 million of fresh funding raised last month will help “supercharge” the company’s next phase of growth, and “a lot of that is through pushing into gaming,” co-founder and chief executive Jack Lu told the Post in late March.
The company, started in September last year, is now the second-biggest NFT marketplace in the world by trading volume over the past 30 days, ranking behind only OpenSea, according to market tracker DappRadar. Last month, it launched Eden Games, which hosts mini games made by third-party creators who want to sell their game assets as NFTs.
Chinese financial institutions’ NFT guidelines prohibits any major role
NFTs are data added to a blockchain that represent the uniqueness and ownership of a digital file. Their value has shot up over the past year as enthusiasts tout their ability to allow the trading of digital assets, with collections of cartoon avatars and digital artworks being sold for millions of dollars in some cases.
However, after a surge in interest earlier this year, there are some signs that the global NFT market is cooling, with unique buyers of NFTs in March dropping to 664,077 from a peak of 998,271 in January, and global sales also falling to US$2.4 billion from US$4.6 billion in January, according to data from market tracker CryptoSlam.
An NFT of Twitter founder Jack Dorsey’s first tweet, once sold for US$2.9 million, is currently subject to a top bid of roughly US$300,000.
But NFT-based games, often dubbed as play-to-earn games because they encourage players to earn money through trading game NFTs and game currencies, are still attracting huge player numbers.
While traditional video games hoping to incorporate NFTs have always met with pushback from gamers, who have argued that moneymaking mechanisms damage the gaming experience, proponents have argued that gamers would love to monetise their game assets. More blockchain companies are now hoping to use games to further drive up the adoption of cryptocurrencies and NFTs.
Joan Cornellà NFT project apologises to Stephen Chow film owner
“We care about games because we see them as fantastic onboarding experiences into NFTs and Web3,” Magic Eden wrote in a blog post in March announcing the launch of Eden Games. Web3 is a popular concept that loosely refers to a new iteration of the internet that is based on blockchain technology, incorporating concepts such as decentralisation and token-based economics.
“The kind of behaviour of owning digital assets is already [present] in gaming without cryptocurrency, because gamers buy in-game items already,” Lu said. “We think that could be really big, to bring the gaming community into crypto.”
Some of the most popular play-to-earn NFT games include three-year-old Vietnamese game Axie Infinity, which lets players battle with colourful blob-like creatures and be rewarded with in-game tokens that can be exchanged for other cryptocurrencies or cash. In 2021, the game exploded in popularity in developing countries like the Philippines, where more than half of the game’s players are based, with many of them playing the game with the aim of making a living from it.
But critics have argued that such games are unsustainable because existing players are more motivated to cash out their winnings rather than spend money in-game, meaning that these games are always reliant on money being introduced by new players.
The price of Axie Inifinty’s token dropped towards the end of 2021, meaning that many who play the game as a job were earning below the country’s minimum wage, according to a research report published in November by game consulting firm Naavik.
Chinese broadcaster Shandong Television plots NFT, metaverse, blockchain initiatives
Nevertheless, this has not deterred some operators from entering the pay-to-play game arena.
One of them is STEPN, a “move-to-earn” game that lets users earn and trade NFT trainers and in-game cryptocurrencies by walking or running. Co-founded by Australia-based Chinese entrepreneurs Jerry Huang and Yawn Rong, the game has been gaining traction in markets including Japan and the US. Launched in December, the game turned a US$20 million profit in the first quarter, largely through taking a cut from transactions, Rong told the Post last week.
Rong said he has successfully established restaurants, milk tea shops, construction materials businesses and a blockchain investment company in Australia over the years, and Huang was previously the co-founder of a mobile game company.
The team hopes that STEPN will prove sustainable as it charges a fee to other blockchain companies who want to market their products or tokens to STEPN’s users, who will be attracted by the idea of “move-to-earn”, according to Rong.
As third-party companies will need to pay users in STEPN’s native cryptocurrency, Rong said STEPN hopes that its token can eventually support various use cases similar to BNB, the cryptocurrency launched by Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume.
“Everything we do is aimed at empowering our cryptocurrency,” Rong said. “Move-to-earn is our way to acquire customers at a low cost.”
Taiwanese star Jay Chou says Bored Ape NFT was stolen by ‘phishing website’
Analysts point out that with cryptocurrencies and NFT trading at the centre of things, most NFT gaming projects at the moment are more like decentralised finance (DeFi) than actual games. DeFi is an umbrella term for a variety of financial applications involving cryptocurrencies or blockchain.
“The current wave of NFT games are created by crypto bros, and most of the games right now are DeFi with a gaming skin on them,” said Owen Soh, founder of Shanghai-based game consultancy Eastlab.
“Once you have the earning component involved, it just skews the motivation and you attract a different sort of audience,” Soh added.
But some believe that economic incentives do not necessarily have to come first in NFT-based games.
“Play-to-earn implies that you’re playing the game primarily to earn, where we like to think about the idea of play-and-earn where most of the time you’re playing primarily for pleasure,” said Justin Hulog, chief studio officer at Immutable X, maker of trading cards NFT game Gods Unchained.
Hulog, who was previously the general manager of Southeast Asia and Taiwan at Riot Games, the maker of popular title League of Legends, said that Immutable X is planning to work with five to 10 gaming studio partners within the next two years, with the aim of producing “really great” and “meaningful” blockchain games.
“I’m cautiously optimistic about NFT games,” Soh added. “It just remains to be seen who’s going to solve the problems.”


As interest in cartoon avatars cools, operators are looking at NFT-based games as their next big bet

Interest in cartoon avatar NFTs appears to be colling. Photo: Reuters 

Video gaming is moving centre stage for NFT market as cartoon avatars fade. Photo: AFP  

Tech

Tech Trends

Unique buyers of NFTs in March dropped to 664,077 from a peak of 998,271 in January, according to industry data
More blockchain companies are hoping to use video games to further drive up adoption of cryptocurrencies and NFTs


More blockchain companies are hoping to use video games to further drive up adoption of cryptocurrencies and NFTs.


As interest in cartoon avatars cools, operators are looking at NFT-based games as their next big bet

Unique buyers of NFTs in March dropped to 664,077 from a peak of 998,271 in January, according to industry data More blockchain companies are hoping to use video games to further drive up adoption of cryptocurrencies and NFTs

Unique buyers of NFTs in March dropped to 664,077 from a peak of 998,271 in January, according to industry data

More blockchain companies are hoping to use video games to further drive up adoption of cryptocurrencies and NFTs