What is a console, anyway? Most would say it’s a platform that publishes games and unites gamer communities. Well, by that definition, gaming sidechains like Ronin are digital consoles, sharing plenty in common with hardware cousins like Xbox.

Think about it: both count premier gaming titles, curate centralized ecosystems and wield distribution and decision-making power. But, web3 gaming platforms go one step further to offer much-needed stickiness in asset ownership, personalized identities, and vibrant community economies.

This is an emerging gaming sector that moves fast and breaks things. But, right now, these “consoles” are sparking a renaissance in how games are published, played, and sustained.

The blockchain is the console

As publisher and platform, Ronin shares more in common with a traditional gaming console than you might think. For example, Microsoft and Sky Mavis operate their respective “console” as centralized gaming ecosystems, orchestrating communities and economies around their protocols/platforms.

Even their onboarding methods are similar. Ronin, the private gaming sidechain, is driven by flagship games that introduce players to the ecosystem. Axie Infinity served this first-party role for the network—attracting early users and developers just as Halo (made by Microsoft-owned Bungie) did for Xbox and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (made by Valve) did for Steam.

This model of launching premiere first-party titles fuels network effects by inviting and incentivizing more peripheral games and participants to join the growing ecosystem. Then, the community can thrive.

Gaming needs web3’s stickiness

Community is a big part of why console fanboys exist. The games matter, of course, but users often find their home by interacting with others. Something like Xbox LIVE makes this possible with universal usernames and profile stats. In turn, “you” can better express yourself.

Web3 and gaming leaders like Immutable, Avalanche, and CARV take this connective tissue of community to a whole new level. For example, NFT standards like ERC-7231 link multiple gamertags to one profile—creating an “identity of identities” that helps players tell their story throughout the metaverse. Moreover, these blockchain-based protocols provide an unprecedented level of data control by allowing players to fully own and encrypt their information directly onchain.

Gaming chains excel at building the ecosystem—the ultimate aspiration of consoles. They enable the seamless transfer of assets between games, nurture user loyalty, and foster distinct communities. The synergy and interconnectedness of these blockchain gaming environments surpass anything we’ve seen in conventional gaming, laying the groundwork for experiences that are not just more immersive but also more player-centric.

The appeal is simple on both sides of the industry equation: web3 gamers enjoy real stakes in player-driven markets and gamemakers tap into new value streams.

A lifeline for an industry at a crossroads

These are big pluses for a gaming industry at a crossroads. Mobile game revenue, which constitutes nearly 50% of the global gaming market, is down for the second consecutive year. Meanwhile, as I recently wrote, user acquisition costs head in the other direction.

Understandably, gaming wants to harness web3’s demographics (users with stronger spending power, high project loyalty, and experience with complex games) and conversion capabilities (improved ability to guide users through in-depth, in-game conversions with incentives and token expectations) in shaping tomorrow.

Additionally, gaming must be eyeing these new revenue streams with envy. Most recently, for example, Telegram showed that even platforms can become consoles via blockchain integration. As one of the world’s biggest chat platforms with almost 1B users, Telegram officially endorsed TON as the app’s “official web3 infrastructure”. Mini-apps inside the platform boomed with play-to-earn games leveraging TON to engage and reward players. The successes speak for themselves – Notcoin is worth more than $1B, Hamster Kombat is one of the fastest-growing web3 apps and BANANA hit 10M users in just over a month.

This integration between protocol and platform once again shows the power of uniting major user bases with incentive-aligned games – and who’s to say what’s the limit or where this goes next? Digital consoles and their various iterations promise to define the gaming landscape, ushering in an era where data, ownership, and community are at the core of every experience. Watch this space.