eSports
IKONIC Releases NFT Esports Platform
(ACN Newswire) – Announcing the launch of IKONIC, the World’s First Dedicated NFT Platform for Esports and Gaming Collectibles. The IKONIC platform will be a full-service NFT marketplace that will serve pro-players, gamers, teams, and content creators within the gaming industry; a dedicated marketplace where they can create unique and rare digital items for their fans.
IKONIC platform allows esports players and gamers to create NFTs with their gameplay.
The IKONIC team realized that some of the most amazing moments in gaming were vanishing just as fast as they were created, and until now, there has not been a way for a player or a fan to own and benefit from fantastic gameplays. IKONIC’s ambition is to fuel each gamer’s creativity by giving them the ability to turn their passion into profit.
Through today’s blockchain technology, we can turn esports moments into digital collectibles that will last for eternity. We have so much more than that on the roadmap, because we aim to empower the creator economy, which will open new revenue streams for gamers and esports players. We will merge the cryptoverse and esports, and for the first time, players and fans will – OWN THE MOMENT.
There are thousands of esports events every week all around the globe. Still, players cannot get the recognition they deserve. Some of them make better plays than top esports players, but they cannot reach their audience because of the system that is in place. Each player has some fantastic moments, and with IKONIC they can immortalize those moments and earn from their gameplays.
We do not forget pro-players; they are our heroes; we cheer for them; we live through them. Ikonic will make it possible for top players to connect with their fans. A place where fans can collect the best gameplay moments.
Players will be able to create unique NFTs of their gameplay with a few clicks, and with a click or two more, they will be listed and ready to trade on IKONIC’s marketplace. But IKONIC will be much more than that. When we progress into advanced development, the existing marketplace infrastructure and its community will become the foundation for a broader marketplace for game-linked digital assets.
The $IKONIC Token will be the key to unlocking rewards for players and fans. Through the $IKONIC Token users will get discounts and have access to specific bonuses within the platform.
Soon gamers will have a chance to see our video editing software for advanced NFT creation. The revolutionary NFT Transaction & Performance Analytics will allow every user to analyze data much more effectively — and efficiently. This year, we will also reveal our Indie Game Launchpad for NFT Games.
Led by industry experts IKONIC will be the prime NFT marketplace for the esports and gaming world.
Sebastian Ionut Diaconu, CEO of IKONIC, says, “The IKONIC platform allows users to immortalize their outstanding gameplay into video NFTs, the next-gen type of memorabilia for esports. Partnerships and collaborations with the biggest names in esports and rising stars to create IKONIC NFT collections, that will be the foundation for an active ecosystem for the fans, creators, and collectors, with extensive benefits for all participants. In addition to the NFT Marketplace, the Indie Game Launchpad allows game developers and the community to come closer together, get access to exclusive content and in-game items.”
“Esports players’ status as athletes has been disputed for a long time. Creating a legacy through memorable moments captured and stored on Blockchain, earning royalties from these NFTs, and sharing their exceptional capabilities with the world, give them the opportunity to make themselves a legendary or even an IKONIC athlete in the esports world.”
eSports
CAPCOM’S STREET FIGHTERTM 6 GOING TO COLLEGE THIS FALL
- CSMG will create and operate College Street FighterTM Tour in North America for the 2024-25 academic year
- College conference Street Fighter 6 champions will punch their ticket to the national Collegiate Esports Commissioner’s Cup (CECC) & May Madness in 2025
eSports
R&D rethink needed for sportsbooks to harness esports’ power
Esports betting is still grappling with a perception problem amongst operators. Despite the leaps and bounds in product development made by suppliers – particularly in the last two years – esports hasn’t shaken off the image built in the late 2010s.
Our good friend, Oliver Niner, Head of Sales at PandaScore, has been kind to share the below article with us.
There’s scepticism around esports betting’s value, how well it can actually perform and what’s needed to make it appeal to bettors. A big part of that comes down to perception, which shapes the research and development (R&D) choices made by each operator.
Self-fulfilling prophecy?
Operators who have put the research and development (R&D) resources into esports are seeing excellent growth, while others are still treating it like part of a long tail. The lack of a uniform approach to esports often translates into hesitancy to be bullish and invest in esports.
Whereas in the United States, post-PASPA sports betting has exploded and operators are seeking to capture as much territory and market share as possible because in most cases, you switch the lights on and the money comes in. It’s, of course, good business sense to take opportunities like this – you can apply the same templates used elsewhere on an incredibly lucrative market.
This kind of approach has been attempted for esports and hasn’t found the same success. Granted, the legislation for betting on esports has been somewhat slower than that of sports betting and iGaming.
However, bullish operators have acknowledged the fact that esports hasn’t found the same success in regulated states and asked what can be done differently, while for others, esports has been thrown into the too-hard basket or relegated to the bargain bucket.
For the latter, the fate of the esports vertical becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy – especially if an operator already using a budget esports product that throttles its very growth.
It takes two to tango
When esports is discussed in broader betting circles, you’ll often hear different versions of the same talking point: the problem with esports is no one is doing it well, it doesn’t innovate.
This argument is a case of the pot calling the kettle black. Esports is a driver of innovation, and it is sportsbook R&D that is holding it back.
Multiple suppliers on the market are investing significant resources into R&D, and bullish operators are leveraging these product innovations to acquire new customers and create engagements made for the internet age.
There are understandable reasons why sports betting doesn’t innovate. It’s largely because operators focus on acquisition, entering new territories and spending money on data rights. But the actual R&D on sportsbook products is left lacking, with ever-increasing cost-per-acquisition (CPA) numbers a clear symptom of this.
It means that if an operator does decide to use or acquire an esports specialist supplier but does little to cater its product and attempts to just lay the sports betting template over the top, of course performance will be throttled.
It’s like putting a Ferrari engine in a Prius – no offence to Toyota or Prius owners.
The same problem exists on the platform supplier front. Platforms are understandably focused on compliance and getting customers live, not necessarily improving models or their products.
Even the idea that if you just acquire an innovative company the problem is solved or you have found the solution, doesn’t hold water. In many cases, the company is acquired and plenty of noise is made about it, but there’s little organisational investment in R&D afterwards.
It’s not just in esports
These problems extend to customer acquisition and marketing for most emerging markets, not just esports. There’s a rush to use the same old playbook in newer sectors because it’s easy.
The fantasy vs. house sector in the US is already experiencing an acquisition arms race. As analyst Dustin Gouker points out, deposit match bonuses for new users on fantasy vs house products have jumped from $100 to as high as $500 in some places.
This is the same race that played out in sports betting and despite the costs, there’s little effort from most operators to try something different. There’s less work when you just put the same acquisition template on an emerging sector and call it a day. This seems to be an accepted practice in the industry, for better or for worse.
Esports betting success requires ongoing dialogue
Rather than attempting to wedge esports into hegemonic sportsbook approaches, sportsbooks need to take a completely unique approach.
The fact is the betting sector has barely scratched the surface – communities of esports fans are still dormant. Canadian operator Rivalry has built a successful, esports-first business by embracing the ever-changing internet culture that esports inhabits. French esports organisation Karmine Corp recently sold out a 30,000-person stadium for an event with no prize money up for grabs.
Innovative products developed on the supplier side like microbetting and betbuilders are only half of the equation.
Maximising esports revenues requires institutional investment, ongoing R&D and collaboration between suppliers and operators to create products and experiences. This includes having staff on the operator side that can drive and push the product further, and crucially, rethinking current sportsbook strategies and practices.
Building experiences for betting’s greatest emerging market – one that caters to your future core audience – takes investment, innovation and a willingness to experiment. If the industry wants to make the most of the Millennial and Gen Z audience that will become its primary customers, investment into R&D and close collaboration between suppliers and operators is needed. Many hands makes light work.
eSports
North Star Network Acquires Um Dois Esportes
North Star Network has acquired Um Dois Esportes, a sports coverage and analysis site created from the merger of Gazeta Do Povo and Tribuna do Paraná in 2020.
Julien Josset, co-founder of North Star Network, said: “Thank you to the team at GRPCOM for their faith in us to take the brand forward. Um Dois Esportes is an established and renowned site in Paraná State, and we’re excited about the challenge of developing this asset.
“We’re happy to maintain the collaboration with the existing editorial team, and look forward to working with them, bringing our unique NSN approach, to take UDE forward.”
NSN’s signing of Um Dois Esportes is the media house’s fourth acquisition of 2024, following the recent deals to purchase UK-based SportsMole and MrFixitsTips, as well as Chilean site AlAireLibre, which was announced in March.
The latest addition to the North Star media portfolio joins existing assets including Top Mercato, Afrik-Foot, and Vringe. The Paris-based company already oversees a significant Brazilian operation, delivering over 6 million sessions per month, from the likes of Trivela, Premier League Brasil and Lakers Brasil.
NSN will retain Curitiba-based journalists from the Um Dois Esportes legacy team to maintain the asset’s unique tone and popular coverage of the Paraná sports scene across site and social.
Rafael Mello, Director of GRPCOM, said: “We were surprised by the interest, and initially had no intention of selling Um Dois, but as the conversations evolved, we realised this was a serious group with good intentions. We were very happy to see our project being valued by a large international group and going global, demonstrating the quality of the content we produced.
“We’re also proud that North Star inherited our journalists, who are truly responsible for the success of the product we offer readers every day.”
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