Gamer attitudes to the blockchain

and cryptocurrencies

BITCRYSTALS.COM
 Gamer attitudes to the blockchain and cryptocurrencies

Gamer attitudes to blockchain and cryptocurrencies

Executive Summary

•• 513 gamers that play the collectible card game Spells of Genesis and
bitcoin games wallet Book of Orbs responded

•• Over 90% of respondents were male and the largest age group was•
25-34

•• The largest pool of respondents came from the US at 25% followed by

Japan at 12%, 5% for Russia and 4% for the UK and Canada

•• 46% of respondents had transacted a digital game item on the block-

chain in the last 13 months

•• Of the 51% who had not transacted in the last 12 months, the largest
reason was from 33% of players who said they just did not have the
money. The second largest reason was due to the complexity involved

•• 51% of respondents had bought or traded 4 or more items on the•

blockchain with the most interesting insight being that 27% of re-
spondents had purchased or traded 10 or more items

•• 63% of respondents who transact digital game items on the blockchain

also spend money on in-app purchases in mobile games

•• When questioned about their motivations to transact on the•

blockchain, 58% cited ownership as ‘very important’, and 64% cited
the ability to trade items freely as ‘very important’ It is of little surprise
that freedom and ownership are the key drivers of why people engage
in trading or buying items on the blockchain

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 Gamer attitudes to the blockchain and cryptocurrencies

•• Of our players that had used the blockchain features associated with a
game, the majority said that they had found it reasonably easy

•• Bitcoin and Ethereum were the two most popular currencies that
respondents had invested in with 83% purchasing Bitcoin and 75%
Ethereum. Respondents also demonstrated an apparent desire to in-
vest in a wide range of cryptocurrencies with 42% spending in other
currencies that we had not listed

•• 66% of the players have invested in an ICO in the past 12 months.

Overall investment in ICO’s seems to be quite conservative, with 35%
investing in three or less and 33% not investing at all. At the other ex-
treme, there was a group of 14% of players that have invested in ten or
more

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 Gamer attitudes to the blockchain and cryptocurrencies

Introduction

Although there is a lot of media attention currently being given to the poten-
tial use of the blockchain in the games industry, very little research has been
done into the attitude of gamers themselves towards the use of blockchain
and cryptocurrencies.

For this survey, we approached several thousand gamers who played our game
Spells of Genesis and could buy and trade their cards on the blockchain. This
represented a mix of those who were actively buying and trading assets on the
blockchain, as well as those who had decided for whatever reason not engage
in blockchain purchasing or trading.

From the players that we approached, 513 responded. We asked a se-

ries of short questions to understand why they do or don’t engage with the•
blockchain features in the games they have played. In return for respondents•
completing the survey fully, we offered a collectible blockchain card and some
BitCrystals as a thank you.

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 Gamer attitudes to the blockchain and cryptocurrencies

Respondent profile
What is your gender?

6% 91%
How old are you?
How old are you?

18-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65 and older

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 Gamer attitudes to the blockchain and cryptocurrencies

In which country do you live?

USA

Romania
Finland
Venezuela Japan
Belgium
Norway
Nigeria
Singapore
Belarus
Sweden
Russia
Australia Slovenia

UK
France Mexico
Canada
Brazil Spain
Germany Italy
Netherlands Switzerland
Ukraine
*chart shows only those countries with more than 4 respondents

The largest pool of respondents came from the US at 25% which then halves to
Japan at 12%, then 5% for Russia and 4% for the UK and Canada.

In the last 12 months, have you purchased or traded game items

(such as cards) on the blockchain?

2%
Other

44 %
Yes
No
54 %

When it came to using the blockchain features within a game there was a rela-
tively even split. 54% of respondents had not purchased or traded items in the
last 12 months, and 46% had.

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 Gamer attitudes to the blockchain and cryptocurrencies

Which of the following are reasons that you might NOT have
purchased or traded game items on the blockchain?

Other (please specify)

I have no interest

I was unaware it was a possibility

I don’t have the time

I tried but couldn’t understand what to do

I’m yet to be convinced of the benefits

There are not enough benefits for me

It is too complex/intimidating

I don’t have the money

0% 10 % 20 % 30 % 40 %

This question was designed to understand the core reason why people had de-
cided NOT to purchase or trade game items on the blockchain. Looking at the
data, the standout response was that 33% of players said they just did not have
the money. The second largest response was ‘too complex and intimidating’.

When examining the answers in the ‘other’ category, a common theme was
also that it was too expensive for people, with some respondents saying that
‘fees are too high on the bitcoin network to make it worth it’. It’s not surprising
that the age group with the largest number of respondents saying this was the
18-24 age group, with just over 50% citing cost as the reason.

Around 20% of respondents cited complexity as a significant reason. Complex-

ity was most apparent in the 45-54 age group with 26% of respondents citing
it as a factor. The fact that 20% of respondents across all ages had mentioned
that the process of purchasing/trading items on the blockchain is too compli-
cated shows that game developers need to focus on making the process as
seamless as possible if there is to be a more significant adoption of blockchain
and cryptocurrency.

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 Gamer attitudes to the blockchain and cryptocurrencies

In the last 12 months, roughly how many game / non-game items

have you bought or traded on the blockchain?

50 %

37,5 %

25 %

12,5 %

0%
1-3 4-6 7-9 10 or more

The next question focused attention back on the respondents who HAD spent
money on game items using the blockchain. The most significant response at
49% was from people who had bought or traded between 1 to 3 items. Overall,
51% of respondents had bought or traded 4 or more items on the blockchain
with the most interesting insight being that 27% of respondents had pur-
chased or traded 10 or more items.

It’s interesting to note that when we compared the four groups above to the
different age groups, the demographics of those who had purchased 7 or
more items were weighted towards the 35-44 age group, with around 38% of
respondents with the 25-34 age group comprising the dominant age demo-
graphic for those who had bought between 1 and 6 items.

This clear age split is likely related to disposable income and probably a finan-
cial driver.

On a final note, the purchasing and usage of these blockchain-based assets

seem to have a polarity at either end of the scale which we found reflected in
later responses.

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 Gamer attitudes to the blockchain and cryptocurrencies

In the last 12 months, roughly how much money have you spent
on blockchain-based game assets?

Under $100
$100-$149
$150-$199
$200-$249
$250 -$299
$300-$349
$350-$399
$400-$449
Over $500

0% 15 % 30 % 45 % 60 %

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the majority of players we asked said they had spent
under $100 on blockchain-based game assets in the past 12 months. However,
right at the other end of the scale, a significant 19% of respondents had spent
over $500. This polarisation between the low and high spending would ap-
pear to correlate with the same people that either didn’t buy many blockchain
assets, or that bought a lot.

In line with previous questions, 65% of the 18-24 age group had spent under
$100. 70% of those who had spent over $500 were over 35, once again sug-
gesting that disposable income - rather than intent - is fuelling any spend on
blockchain game assets.

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 Gamer attitudes to the blockchain and cryptocurrencies

Do you also purchase in-game items (IAP, or in-app purchases)

using regular currency in mobile games?

37 %

No

Yes
63 %

We were also interested to know whether those who had spent money on the
blockchain were actively spending money on IAP’s in mobile games. 63% of
respondents replied that they also spent money on IAP’s. The most significant
percentage of respondents to the ‘Yes’ answer was in the 35-44 age group
with 73% saying that they spent both on IAP and blockchain game assets.

All other ages groups were split roughly 50/50 with 100% of those over 65
saying they had spent money on IAP’s, but considering that this was only two
people, we have to assume it is statistically insignificant and not a wider trend.

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 Gamer attitudes to the blockchain and cryptocurrencies

Please rate the importance of the following factors when it

comes to considering ownership of digital game items in the
blockchain.

I actually own the items I purchase

I can trade my items freely on the blockchain
I can create my own content and trade them
I can make a lot of money from trading blockchain items
I buy the assets as a long term investment
All of my transactions are publicly verified and recorded
I can convert digital items to the blockchain from within games
I can use my items across multiple games
Not Slightly Moderately Very
important important important important important

This question was created to try and understand the key motivations for why
consumers use the blockchain for game-based assets.

Overall, there is a wide blend of reasons that have fairly equal weighting, but
the main three reasons cited was that people could actually own the items
they purchased, that they could trade their items freely and that they could
convert in-game items into blockchain items (or ‘blockchainize’ their items).

Of all the respondents, 58% cited ownership as ‘very important’, and 64% cited
the ability to trade items freely as ‘very important’. It is of little surprise that
freedom and ownership are the key drivers of why people engage in trading or
buying items on the blockchain.

Seemingly contrary to popular perception in light of the sums people have

spent on the blockchain, the ability to make money and buy assets as a long-
term investment were two of the lowest reasons cited overall compared to all
of the ones offered. The lowest interest/motivation expressed was around the
ability for players to create their own content and trade it on the blockchain.

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 Gamer attitudes to the blockchain and cryptocurrencies

Using any number from 0 to 10, where 0 is extremely difficult,

and ten is extremely easy, what number would you use to rate
how easy it was for you to trade items on the blockchain?

18 %

15 %

12 %

9%

6%

3%

0%
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Very difficult Very easy

Of our players that had used the blockchain features associated with a game,
the majority said that they had found it reasonably easy to trade items on the
blockchain. Only a minority found the process difficult, so we can assume that
the basic process of using the blockchain is not the main barrier to adoption.
However, this process often takes place outside of the game UI, so there may
be a dissonance between the process of adding funds and assets to a digital
wallet, and how the mechanics and user experience of the game meshes with
that.

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 Gamer attitudes to the blockchain and cryptocurrencies

Using any number from 0 to 10, where 0 is unimportant and

10 is very important, what number would you use to rate the
importance of the blockchain to games in the next 12 months?

30 %

24 %

18 %

12 %

6%

0%
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Very difficult Very easy

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the respondents considered the blockchain to be very

important to games in the next 12 months. Although this statistic should be
taken with a pinch of salt as all of those questioned were already familiar with
or actively engaged in transacting on the blockchain. The current level of in-
dustry buzz around blockchain seems to reflect that many people deem it to be
relevant to the future of the industry, but of course it’s very early in the evolu-
tion of the technology - especially within games.

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 Gamer attitudes to the blockchain and cryptocurrencies

Which cryptocurrencies have you invested in during the last 12

months? (please tick all that apply)

Bitcoin

Ethereum

Litecoin

Zcash

Dash

Ripple

None

Other

0% 22,5 % 45 % 67,5 % 90 %

Unsurprisingly, Bitcoin and Ethereum were the two most popular curren-
cies that respondents had invested in with 83% purchasing Bitcoin and 75%
Ethereum. Respondents also demonstrated an apparent desire to invest in a
wide range of cryptocurrencies with 42% spending in other currencies that we
had not listed. Responses were too varied and numerous to list here.

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 Gamer attitudes to the blockchain and cryptocurrencies

How many ICO’s (Initial Coin Offerings) have you invested in

during the past 12 months?

40 %

30 %

20 %

10 %

0%
None 1-3 4-6 7-9 10 or more

Reflecting the level of engagement and comfort with cryptocurrency we’ve

seen through the previous responses, 66% of the players we surveyed have in-
vested in an ICO in the past year. Overall investment in ICO’s seems to be quite
conservative, with 35% investing in three or less and 33% not investing at all.
At the other extreme, there was a group of 14% of players that have invested
in ten or more.

Looking at the investment in ICO’s by age, the most prolific investors were the
45-54 year olds, with 30% investing in ten or more. It comes as little surprise
that the age group not to have invested were the 18-24’s, with 58% saying
they had not invested. However, 20% of this group had invested in ten or more,
once again demonstrating the polarity of the audience.

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 Gamer attitudes to the blockchain and cryptocurrencies

Conclusion

While it is indeed positive to see that 46% of all respondents had transacted
game items on the blockchain, it is also apparent that there is still some way to
go to ensure that there is more widespread adoption of the blockchain with
everyday gamers. The fact that those who had not transacted on the block-
chain cited complexity and lack of money as the two significant factors should
come as little surprise when some well-documented CryptoKitties have sold
for over USD 100k per card. Likewise, the cost of each transaction is another
factor that is putting players off. Finally, the need to have a separate wallet
for your digital items and then open an account and link it to a specific game
is very likely to be a significant barrier in the future for many gamers, and this
will need to be overcome.

What the survey does show is a healthy appetite amongst gamers for the
blockchain and perhaps not in the way that one would expect. Whereas the
primary focus in recent months has been on cryptocurrencies and buying and
selling items for profit, this survey revealed the real value of the blockchain
to gamers is not financial. The actual value of the blockchain in games comes
from giving gamers a sense of real ownership and freedom - the freedom to
convert their items and secure them on blockchain as well as the freedom to
do exactly what they wish with any digital item they own.

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