An online hub filled with individual user storefronts operated by players themselves – like a digital yard sale, players could browse one another’s wares, combing through for a good deal or a brand-new gem they’ve never heard of.
No. Just no. The first problem that will happen is NFT 2.0, “asserting digital ownership” that can be accepted anywhere and transferred to any 3rd party. The second problem is ensuring said hub doesn’t devolve into another Amazon, because you can’t just pop up “digitalgameyardsale.com” and tell people to sell their existing Steam or GOG games there - you need to integrate with Steam and GOG for them to validate the users and their games.
I think the way I’ve put this to others is; it’s cute to imagine the sorts of things people could do ad-hoc in the Geocities style, like with the old web. But anything that can be done by software-based means now must contend with the possibility: What if a Russian script kiddy with a python script does this 10,000 times a second, seeking profit.
Very likely, the moment anyone puts up their copy of Zelda for $45, it will be immediately grabbed by a bot seeking to sell it for N-$2, where N is the price Nintendo is currently selling it for.
I think the way I’ve put this to others is; it’s cute to imagine the sorts of things people could do ad-hoc in the Geocities style, like with the old web. But anything that can be done by software-based means now must contend with the possibility: What if a Russian script kiddy with a python script does this 10,000 times a second, seeking profit.
Very likely, the moment anyone puts up their copy of Zelda for $45, it will be immediately grabbed by a bot seeking to sell it for N-$2, where N is the price Nintendo is currently selling it for.